1st October medal

[Buster]

Heres another from my small medal collection, it's the October 1st Sudetenland medal,

 

The Sudetenland Commemorative Medal was a decoration of Nazi Germany awarded in the interwar period.

 

Instituted on October 18, 1938, the medal commemorated the union of the Sudetenland to Germany and paving the road for the annexation of Czechoslovakia.

 

The medal was awarded to all German and Sudeten State officials. other recipients included members of the German Wehrmacht and SS who marched into Sudetenland. Later it was awarded to military personnel participating in the occupation of the remnants of Czechoslovakia on March 15, 1939.

 

The medal was awarded until December 1, 1939. In all 1,162,617 medals where issued.

[Fritz]

The 1st. of October 38, also called "Sudetenland Medal" was also issued with a bar, known as the Prager Spange, only for those who took part in the occupation of the remainder of Czechoslovakia in 1938/39. This is considered comparativley rare, although larger numbers have been emerging on the market recently. It features the skyline of the city of Prag with the so-called "Prager Burg" (Hradzin), which was then the seat of government of the Protektorat Böhmen und Mähren. Prague had the oldest German University, and Böhmen und Mähren had always belonged to the Austrian Empire before achieving independence in 1918. The medal was usually issued in a red cardboard case, now scarce.

 

Two more medals in this series were the 13th March 1938 or Anschluss Medaille, same design, but silver finish, and the much rarer Memelland Medaille of 1st. May 1939, which again has a bronze finish.

[Buster]

Thanks Fritz, yes the bar is very nice & if one comes up for sale at a reasonably price I might get it. There is a company here knocking out repro ones ( and selling them as such) but they will probably end up being passed of as originals further down the line. i have included a pic of said repro bar for reference. i like the Anschluss medal also but again a little more expensive here in the UK.

 

PS.....i just compared the bar picture Fritz supplied to the repro one I posted! the repro one's definition just doesnt come close to the original one.

[Fritz]

and a miniature on a ribbon bar, photo is not too good, but definition relatively clear.

[Buster]

That's a very nice bar you have Fritz, i know the war merit with swords,Luftwaffe long service,1st October with Prague bar, but what's the light blue with white stripes?

[Fritz]

Yes, that's a good question. A few years back, I was looking at the last photo of my girlfriend's father, which was said to be from the year 1944. He was wearing a (miniature) ribbon bar with four ribbons. By that time, I thought I knew all his decorations from the many other photos. I could see in the black and white photo it was a very pale ribbon, with two thin, also lightish stripes (actually, silver metallic thread) near to the edges and with crossed swords, so from that date on, I began to get interested in ribbon bars. Up till then I had always dismissed these as a minor detail, being more interested in the uniform itself. But my father in law caused me to take an interest in the "biographies", and these were then an important detail. I looked through many internet pages and auction catalogues, and gradually found similar to identical comibinations, often to Luftwaffe recipients.

 

I then evenually found this was a Bulgarian decoration, with several possiblities, the combination of pale blue with two thin silver wire embroidered edge stripes being a war ribbon or combattants ribbon, the most likely candidate being the Bulgarian Soldier's Cross 4th Class - Militär Vedienstkreuz IV. Kl. I have discovered, Bulgarian decorations are quite fascinating and well worth collecting, have been more in demand in recent years. The cross itself was initiated in 1879, when the Bulgarian Monarchy was founded - these Balkan lands had been under Turkish rule for centuries and the 1878/79 Wars of Liberation, with Russian and Western aid brought about new European states, Roumania, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, etc. The first Bugarian King was Prinz Alexander von Battenberg, a Lieutenant in the Imperial Russian Army, and also a relative of the British Royal and other familes.

 

The cross was renewed when Bulgaria entered the War in 1915 on the side of the Central Powers. The decoration, unchanged, was then re-awarded after 1941, when Bulgaria entered into WW2. Later, a new issue appeared with the date 1941, until 1944, when a communist coup enthroned Zar Boris and changed sides, going over to the Soviets.

 

Bulgarian decorations were widely awarded to German recipients in both world wars.

[Buster]

Thats great Fritz, very interesting and something I wouldn't Have known, you certainly know your subject.

[Fritz]

Here is a selection of decorations with the previously mentioned Bulgarian Merit Cross with Swords, this display as awarded to my late father in law, Oberfeldwebel Walter Neusüss (1914-2009), who served with Kampfgeschwader 26, Kampfgeschwader 4, and later Luftkriegsschule 7 in Tulln, here also portrayed with family in Summer 1943. His original decorations were taken by the Americans in May 1945, this is an attempted reconstruction on my part. The flight clasp is depicted here in Bronze, he had Gold. No idea what happened to his papers, He flew over 283 missions as a Bordfunker (Radio Operator) - Heinkel He 111. I feel quite proud of him.

 

I have written quite a number of posts connected to his name, almost a biography, see further earlier posts.

[Fritz]

and today is his daughter's birthday