I've been collecting since I was a kid. I've always loved medals and badges, and especially the Iron Cross. My years of collecting medals and badges are over, however. Now I only collect Iron Cross documents and document groups. I avoid buying medal/document combinations as I am always skeptical of whether they actually belong together. Who knows what happened with these groups over the last 70 years? I have sold off an EK2 here and there, as I'm really not a medal collector and don't want it around if I can't guarantee that the two belong together.
I have found myself with a few interesting pieces, however. I just put together a new, but small display of these items. I acquired all of these medals because it was the award documents that I wanted. It turns out that they make a nice display and they could be original to their respective award documents. If I am to believe that these EKs belong with their documents then the six EKs on the left are attributable to the following:
Left to right (top)...
1. A member of a flak unit who protected Hamburg from Allied air raids.
2. A Gefreiter who served with a railway battery
3. A fighter pilot who served with JG52 and had at least five kills on the Eastern Front (at least three of which came before his EK2)
Left to right (bottom)
1. An Obergefreiter who fought with 246. Volksgrenadier Division at Aachen
2. A member of a Werfer unit who won his EK2 in the Kurland pocket
3. A member of FJR7 who served in France but probably earned his award as result of fighting on the Eastern Front in the spring of 1944.
The medals on the right of the case all come from two groups, both of which I acquired on the estand within the last two years. The top group (GAB, KVK2, Ostmedaille, and EK2) came with documents to a member of Artillerie Regiment 96. He earned his EK2 and GAB while fighting with 44. ID at Stalingrad.
The second group (EK2, Driver's Badge, BWB and KVK2) all belong to an ambulance driver with the Panzer Lehr Division. He was wounded in action at the Battle of the Bulge - Christmas Day 1944.
If these medals and badges all have the provenance they appear to have, then its quite an interesting little set-up. To me, the makers, die characteristics, materials, etc. are basically meaningless. But, if the stories are to be believed then there is quite a bit of history in one little case. And, it basically came together by accident!!
I have found myself with a few interesting pieces, however. I just put together a new, but small display of these items. I acquired all of these medals because it was the award documents that I wanted. It turns out that they make a nice display and they could be original to their respective award documents. If I am to believe that these EKs belong with their documents then the six EKs on the left are attributable to the following:
Left to right (top)...
1. A member of a flak unit who protected Hamburg from Allied air raids.
2. A Gefreiter who served with a railway battery
3. A fighter pilot who served with JG52 and had at least five kills on the Eastern Front (at least three of which came before his EK2)
Left to right (bottom)
1. An Obergefreiter who fought with 246. Volksgrenadier Division at Aachen
2. A member of a Werfer unit who won his EK2 in the Kurland pocket
3. A member of FJR7 who served in France but probably earned his award as result of fighting on the Eastern Front in the spring of 1944.
The medals on the right of the case all come from two groups, both of which I acquired on the estand within the last two years. The top group (GAB, KVK2, Ostmedaille, and EK2) came with documents to a member of Artillerie Regiment 96. He earned his EK2 and GAB while fighting with 44. ID at Stalingrad.
The second group (EK2, Driver's Badge, BWB and KVK2) all belong to an ambulance driver with the Panzer Lehr Division. He was wounded in action at the Battle of the Bulge - Christmas Day 1944.
If these medals and badges all have the provenance they appear to have, then its quite an interesting little set-up. To me, the makers, die characteristics, materials, etc. are basically meaningless. But, if the stories are to be believed then there is quite a bit of history in one little case. And, it basically came together by accident!!
Wow, the mother load of EK2 Docs
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