You know you've been accepted by Society when....

[Guardian 5]

Dear Friends - As many of you probably know, for many years the Bundeswehr was not the most popular institution with the German people.

I have to think that their stance has softened somewhat after coming across this Bundeswehr nutcracker.

Let us hope that the Bundeswehr is becoming more popular in the society which it has loyally protected since 1955.

TJ

[Hugh Zillmann old]

I love it!
Where on Earth did you find this?
Regards,
Hugh

[Guardian 5]

Hi Hugh - Always nice to have a bloke from the Antipodes checking in with us.

I purchased the BW Nutcracker at a German-American Fest at Ramstein Air Base back in 2004. I was really taken with it because up until that time the Bundeswehr seldom rated the attention of the country's folk art movement.

In any event, this little fellow occupies a place of honor in the study, alongside a fisherman and a hunter.

I don't know if you've had time to slog through "For the Bundeswehr Lover in all of us" thread as of yet (see below), but you may appreciate the Australia inspired posts that start at #250.

All the best - TJ

[Kondor]

Snow Globe

Back in the early 80's I picked up a snow globe with a Bundeswehr Soldat im Stillgestand. He is in green uniform with stahlhelm on his head. It is one of my prized pieces from time spent with the BUndeswehr.

[Hugh Zillmann old]

Dear Thomas (and friends),
I have "slogged" through the 'Bundewehr Lovers' thread, and enjoyed every minute of it.
It is quite extraordinary how much BW (and BGS, for that matter) "stuff" finds its way down here. I started to collect BW material for camping back in the 1970's. Who would have guessed that my camping gear would now be collectable!
But I digress. How many out there have picked-up this type of "trinket"? Better still, how many out there have them and would be interested in photographing them and putting them on this thread? I'd love to see the "snowman". I've always had a certain partiality for these little pieces of kitsch ( I remember seeing them in Vietnam of all places!!!!!).
Best regards,
Hugh

[Guardian 5]

Back in the early 80's I picked up a snow globe with a Bundeswehr Soldat im Stillgestand. He is in green uniform with stahlhelm on his head. It is one of my prized pieces from time spent with the BUndeswehr.

Kondor - Thanks for sharing your memories. We hope to hear more about your time in the Bundeswehr.

Sincerely,
TJ

[Guardian 5]

Dear Thomas (and friends),
I have "slogged" through the 'Bundewehr Lovers' thread, and enjoyed every minute of it.
It is quite extraordinary how much BW (and BGS, for that matter) "stuff" finds its way down here. I started to collect BW material for camping back in the 1970's. Who would have guessed that my camping gear would now be collectable!
But I digress. How many out there have picked-up this type of "trinket"? Better still, how many out there have them and would be interested in photographing them and putting them on this thread? I'd love to see the "snowman". I've always had a certain partiality for these little pieces of kitsch ( I remember seeing them in Vietnam of all places!!!!!).
Best regards,
Hugh

Hugh - Bundeswehr mess kits and canteens were the mainstay of the Army surplus store camping section here in the States for decades and are still frequently encountered.

The Bundeswehr olive drab snorkel parka had to have been the most popular piece of kit however. It clothed generations of university students both here and abroad. A oliv moleskin shirt was a trademark of Eddy Veder, lead singer of the rock group "Pearl Jam".

Kitsch is a lot harder to come by, although you do see some on e-bay every now and again. One can imagine that a lot of it got tossed when space got tight in the household; it is somewhat of an acquired taste.....

The DDR guys have a thread on kitsch if I recall correctly. Some of those socialist-reality inspired pieces were pretty hideous. A popular souvenir given to the DDR officials during state visits from North Viet Nam were knick-knacks made from the wreckage of downed U.S. and allied aircraft.

Regarding the Vietnamese kitsch; are you a veteran of that conflict or did you pay a visit at a different time? There's a newly established Indo-China Wars forum too, although we hope you'll keep visiting with us.

All the best - TJ

[Hugh Zillmann old]

Dear Thomas,

The Australian Army had the pleasure of my company from 1974 to 1980. I missed out on a fully paid tour of Vietnam. My Wife and I have been there since (mainly the North, as we both love Hanoi). I move between forums (this one and the Indo-China being my favourites).
The subject of BW "gear" fascinates me. For example, a couple of weeks ago I stumbled upon a "cache' (six to be precise) of Esbit stoves in a local disposal store. All were marked "Bund" and all had Nato code numbers. I had seen "commercial" Esbits before, but never ones which were obviously military (or para-military) marked. There were two distinct styles of script evident (new and old style?). I've also run into two different styles of blanket (both marked "Bundes Eigentum" - one in lower case and the other in capitals). The question which always intrigues me is: why here (Australia)?
If you are interested I'll send some photos of what I've picked-up locally. It's really quite mind-boggling what falls out of the sky here.
Best regards,
Hugh

[Guardian 5]

Hugh - Start posting those pictures!

It wouldn't surprise me at all to find out there's an esbit stove specialist out there somewhere. I'd have to check, but as far as I know, esbit stoves were used on both sides of the Iron Curtain, with plenty of commercial knock-offs besides. This may account for some of the different script you describe. I'm sure the many BW and NVA veterans amongst our membership could tell us for certain once they saw a picture.

I'd love to see your equipment. I am pretty much a gear freak, sometimes less politely referred to as a "gear q_ _ _ r". As you probably ascertained from your perusal of the "Bundeswehr Lovers" thread, there is a lot of interest in this subject.

I never made it to Viet Nam. The closest I got was Thailand, on the way to your beautiful country, in fact. Soon after walking across Bondi Beach at sun rise I asked for political asylum, but alas, was denied. I'm sure the waft of Power's Bitter coming off my breath had nothing to with the nice immigration man's decision.......

All the best - TJ (U.S. Army, 81-06)

[Furor Teutonicu]

http://www.bw-online-shop.com/cgi-bi...nr=9A4165&all=

You can get Bundesmarine, B.G.S, Luftwaffe and police ones as well.

[Hugh Zillmann old]

Furor,

Thanks for the link. The one illustrated appears to be the "civilian" model. Do you have any images of those for BGS; Marine; uzw.? I'm curious about this because, up until a month or so ago, I had never seen an Esbit which had the markings for (what I assume to be ) service use.
As a "newbie" on the Forum, I don't have image posting rights. What I've done in the past is send them by PM to Gordon. Can I send images to you, Thomas? If so, I'll take some shots (or better still, get my Wife - a much better photographer - to take them).
Regards,
Hugh

[speedytop]

Hi Hugh,

here is the military version, for 50 Cent, used:

http://www.bw-online-shop.com/cgi-bi...ebr.&x=15&y=14

Bundeseigentum = federal property

Uwe

[Hugh Zillmann old]

Dear Uwe,

Thank you for the link. Despite my best efforts, I still cannot see the markings.

In any event, the use of "Bundeseigentum" as a marking has always intrigued me. Does it, and the use of "Bund" (presumeably as a contraction thereof), signify use by potentially all governmental organisations? In my country (Australia), although we have a Federal system of government, items such as blankets (intended for non-military use) would be issued by the States. We certainly have no equivalent to items such as the government-issue Esbit cooker(let alone jerry-cans and the like).
How do we determine what is and what is not for use by the Bundeswehr? What are the clues? What do we look for?
Over to the Forum......
Regards,
Hugh

[Guardian 5]

Hugh - I think at one point Klaus1989 established that the "BUND" stamp was placed on gear destined for Federal Agencies such as the BGS and Red Cross but NOT agencies that came under the Ministry of Defence, i.e. the Bundeswehr.

Bundeswehr gear is usually stamped with the manufacturer's code. "H.R.E.", a code found on early field flasks, stood for Heinrich Ritter of Essinglen. The trademark seen below, found on the long handled entrenching tool, is the company trademark of Idealspaten of Herdecke in the Ruhr Valley.

I think I'm on solid footing on this, but I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm off base.

Take care - TJ

[speedytop]

Hi Hugh,

sorry, please try it once more with 2-times clicking of the picture

And let us try it in another way:

http://www.bw-online-shop.com/shop/i...ils/4e7101.jpg


BUNDESEIGENTUM in combination with the NATO Stock Number NSN (Versorgungsnummer) is German and military.

NSN:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO_Stock_Number

and open > languages > Deutsch

The NSN with the digits 12 at the fifth and sixth place is for German articles, mostly used in the Bundeswehr.

Uwe