Curious About Real PLM’s?

[Stogieman]

Check out this picture I swiped from FB this morning! The Brothers Richthofen 

[VtwinVince]

Yes, a famous photo, and always cool to see multiple holders in one family. My own family has three holders.

[Stogieman]

Well that’s pretty interesting and impressive!

[VtwinVince]

Yes, two out of three were for arts and sciences, on my mother's side of the family. On my dad's side one holder of the military version.

[medalnet]

On 14/03/2025 at 19:03, VtwinVince said:

Yes, two out of three were for arts and sciences, on my mother's side of the family. On my dad's side one holder of the military version.

 

Do you still have the crosses?

[VtwinVince]

I wish, my grandmother's younger brother, Professor Dr. Ludwig Finscher, died a couple of years ago, and I believe my aunt returned the insignia to the chancellery, but she still has the VU and the minis. The other holder of this grade, my ancestor Carl Sigismund Kunth, a close associate of Alexander von Humboldt, lived many years ago, so the insignia is long gone. I don't know what happened to the estate of Generalleutnant Georg von Heimburg on my dad's side of the family.

[medalnet]

The government does want them back. I had contact with the orders chancellery years back conducting research, and the first question they ask me was, if I had one.

[Stogieman]

Good Morning Andreas, well that’s a little concerning!

[VtwinVince]

Yes, they are pretty paranoid about the disposition of the current PLM insignia. I am still trying to secure the remaining items from my uncle, including the Grosses Bundesverdienstkreuz and the French Legion of Honour.

[medalnet]

Yup, but, they can not demand the old Hossauer pieces back. I was told at the time that the 1957 version was only made by Wilm at the time. I'm good, too.

[Grafzee]

Very impressive Vince, certainly something to be proud of.

[VtwinVince]

Yes, and thank you. I've been quite interested in the career of Kunth, a botanist and one-time roommate in Paris in 1815 of Alexander von Humboldt. My family connection to the Humboldt family runs even deeper, as my great-great-great grandfather, Gottlob Johann Christian Kunth, was the Erzieher of the brothers Humboldt, was the uncle of Carl and is today memorialised by a monument at Schloss Tegel in Berlin.