What's the most pleasant thing that happens on a war patrol? I think that many will agree with me if I name German trophies – breastplates, crosses, tokens, rings, etc. This is the real joy of a trophy owner! Oddly enough, the Kaliningrad region (formerly Koenigsberg) is especially rich in such things, and this is no coincidence. Since ancient times, the lands of this glorious city belonged to Prussia. The Prussian spirit and traditions of its army grew on them. Hence the abundance of pleasant things in this land.
Silver ring with the initials “FH” and “skull”, which served as a cockade for tank crews. The Germans called it “Totenkopf” (“death’s head”), but it should not be confused with the SS division of the same name; it had nothing to do with it specifically.
Freshly dug up General Assault Badge or Allgemeines Sturmabzeichen. This is a badge that was awarded for distinction in battle. Quite a massive award, an analogue of the Soviet medal “For Military Merit,” if such different awards can be compared at all. This “silver” grade of the badge was intended for personnel of artillery, sappers and other branches of the military, except infantry and tank forces. In fact, it is of course not silver in itself; it was often made of zinc or a special alloy, the so-called. “rebellion metal”.
At the sites of former battles, elements of abandoned ammunition are often found. The photo shows a German waist belt with a buckle – Koppel mit Koppelschloss. Please note that this is pre-war nickel silver yarn from the Weimar Republic. At that time there was no notorious Third Reich and the swastika in the national symbols of Germany.
Surprisingly, there are even iron crosses. For example, this Iron Cross, 2nd class, was awarded for a feat in the First World War, but was lost during the Second. Traditionally, these crosses were made of iron, so the condition is often very sad – time has not been kind to this artifact, leaving descendants with only a silver edging of the cross.
Many organizations and paramilitary forces of the Third Reich had their own uniforms, insignia and symbols inherent to them. The theme of Nazi regalia opens up a vast field for collecting artifacts of a bygone era. The photo shows an aluminum belt buckle from the labor construction organization RAD (Reichsarbeitdienst), literally “state labor service.” Often German youth at the age of 16-17 ended up in this structure to prepare for military service. The whole daily routine was like in the barracks, only instead of rifles they were given shovels.
“Schmeisser” is also a good souvenir 😉 MP-38/40s don’t come across as often as everyone would like. The machine was not a common weapon in those days either. Contrary to the widespread cliche from Soviet cinema, the German infantry only had this submachine gun in service with squad commanders and combat officers on the front line.
Often there are remains of shoulder straps and buttonholes. This photo shows the shoulder straps of the lieutenant colonel of the 6th regiment. It is a pity that the lining of the shoulder straps, the color of the military branch, has rotted and it is impossible to determine exactly which regiment the shoulder straps belonged to. The aluminum eagle from the officer's uniform is imprinted on the shoulder straps.
See more educational finds in the section !