"Guess this Medal"

[MH184]

Revesrse of bronze badge

[MH184]

Side by side to note the difference of a 'worn' gold badge (you can just a trace of gold within the leaves incuse lines) and the hollow back bronze. The enamel differs too.

[Mike G.]

Hi Marcus,

Very nice collection. The two with the open book are indeed the larger first production type. And the bronze one could even be a 1949 production, given that the bronze and silver were first produced in 49, and the gold not until 1950. If you can secure an example of the 1955 (This is the largest of the different types) and also an example of the smaller badge with the open book, you will then have at least one example of each variant type.

But then Marcus, you of course will want to further collect a bronze, silver and gold of each of the 5 different types (15 badges in all).

[Mike G.]

Okay,

I believe Ralph, the "Oversear" of this particular Thread, is temporarily indisposed. We of course all wish him the best and hope all is well and that everything works out okay.

In the interim, we seem to have hit a minor snag. I'm presuming Dag, who was our last "Winner", is not going to be able to post an example of a new pin, badge or medal, so I'm going to suggest we open the floor to a volunteer. In looking over Forum Members that have thus far participated, I noted one in particular who has not yet had an opportunity to post something, and would suggest that he first be given an opportunity to contribute something, and then if not able to, we open it up to volunteers.

The person I have in mind is John F. How about it John? Would you like to be the next contributor? Just post a pin, badge or medal from any Communist Bloc country, with what the guessing criteria is to be, and we will be on our way to another contest.

[Dag]

Dag,

As the winner, you are now entitled to post the next example (pin, badge or medal). If you have something you would like to post, but cannot yet do so, I or anyone else would be very glad to post it for you, along with any additional photos at the conclusion of the contest, if you desire. You also have the option of passing the right as winner to post the next example, to another member. It is your decision.

Michael,
because of the time difference a lot of things happen whilst i'm either asleep or at work (and at work I cannot access this forum as the "wehrmacht" word is in the filter of the IT system).
So I pass my "prize" on to you as I'm sure you have plenty of things to share with us. Not sure if I can repeat this stunt but will try hard.

[Mike G.]

Good morning Dag,

You don't have to pass. If you have something - a pin, badge, or medal, please post it. If you need help, one of us can post it for you. Are still sure you want to pass?

If you still wish to pass, then as before, I propose that we give John F. an opportunity to post something to challenge us all.

Michael

[Dag]

I just got the chance to view the last round and Mike I liked the way you posted your clue and then all of the sudden Dag...BAM nailed it...

Also...Dag I like how you knew about the dates to solve Mike's clue. And thanks for joining the thread and adding your knowledge...

So now I will be eagerly waiting for the next round from Dag...

Hi Ralph,

I was a bit surprised myself realising how quickly I recognised the date. Somehow it was the 26/08/78 which got the thing rolling because it immediately flashed up the name Sigmund Jaehn. Then I remembered that he was up there for a week so 03/09/ would have been the day of return. One quick check verified it and I posted it. If Michael would have started with a different photo I would not necessarily have had the same success. The whole thing took less then 5 minutes.

And as I was still a schoolboy then and it "coincided" with the end of summer school holiday/start of new term it kind of stuck - to my big surprise.

[Dag]

Good morning Dag,

You don't have to pass. If you have something - a pin, badge, or medal, please post it. If you need help, one of us can post it for you. Are still sure you want to pass?

If you still wish to pass, then as before, I propose that we give John F. an opportunity to post something to challenge us all.

Michael

Hi Michael,

Good morning to you (over here it's seven pm and they just issued an emergency storm warning). To be honest, I didn't know that this is a bit of a "game" so I'm completely unprepared. So, I'm happy to pass it on and would agree to let John post something interesting. I can prepare , in the meantime, for my next prize

Before I forget: S Jaehn was Oberstleutnant when he flew to the stars. As he joined the airforce in 1955 he would have been a very bad officer if he was Oberleutnant after 30 years (und wouldn't fly into space). Just before he started his training in Star City he was actually in the Ministry of Defence.

[Mike G.]

Hi Michael,

Good morning to you (over here it's seven pm and they just issued an emergency storm warning). To be honest, I didn't know that this is a bit of a "game" so I'm completely unprepared. So, I'm happy to pass it on and would agree to let John post something interesting. I can prepare , in the meantime, for my next prize

Before I forget: S Jaehn was Oberstleutnant when he flew to the stars. As he joined the airforce in 1955 he would have been a very bad officer if he was Oberleutnant after 30 years (und wouldn't fly into space). Just before he started his training in Star City he was actually in the Ministry of Defence.

Hi Dag,

About Dr. JAEHN's rank.

That is what we call a "TYPO". Leaving out two little letters ("st") changes everything. You of course are correct. He was a Lieutenant Colonel. One would have to agree that he would at the very least have had to have been a Major if not higher in rank to be an Astronaut, or Cosmonaut. Thanks for pointing out the error. I certainly would not want to mislead anyone.
I will go back and make the correction to the earlier post to insure it is not misunderstood. Thanks again Dag.

[Mike G.]

Okay John,

The ball is in your court, unless you decide otherwise. Looking forward to hearing from you and to seeing what interesting item you are going to post for all of us to ponder.

[Dag]

[QUOTE=Panzer Fuehrer]Hey, it ain't past my bedtime yet.

Okay,

I’m pretty sure this came up in a preceding thread awhile back. If memory serves me right, we learned that this badge is one of a total of five variants. And we agreed that these badges could actually be worn on active duty military uniforms, even though they were achieved and received when the recipient was still in the FDJ.

Whilst you could have achieved it before you joined the army you had to repeat it on a regular basis (gold every two years and the other two every year with the option to achieve the next grade).
You did not leave the FDJ when you joined the army. Everybody who joined the FDJ would stay in until his 25th birthday. And even after that you could stay a member as long as you paid your membership fees (hence Eon Krenz was still a member in his mid 40ies, otherwise he could not have been the leader of the FDJ; the East German slang was "Berufs-FDJler"= professional FDJ-member).

On the other hand whilst you should have worn the badge on the Ausgangs-or Paradeuniform, not many people really did. As I wrote in another topic, it was prefrred by many (conscripts and NCOs) to wear the badges and medals which were really hard to achive and keep. The "Abzeichen fuer Gutes Wissen" was not regarded as such as you could achieve Bronze by (effectively) copying an article from a newspaper.

[Mike G.]

Dag,

Thanks for your insight into this medal. I didn't know it was one for which it was a requirement to continuously requalify. Your comment about the fact the bronze could be achieved by copying a newspaper article is profound. I'm pretty sure I could have earned a bronze badge. I don't however know if I could have kept my dues up.

[MH184]

Great info Dag, so you left the FDJ at 25 that's (and were still a member even if serving in the forces) really interesting information

Was it that you were in the TP first then the FDJ, did it progress like that ?

Mike,

Yeah I think I'd have definately got the bronze, I'd have cheated and copied someone or an article...sounds good to me (it's not cheating really it's called initiative in my book )


Kr

Marcus

[Dag]

Great info Dag, so you left the FDJ at 25 that's (and were still a member even if serving in the forces) really interesting information

Was it that you were in the TP first then the FDJ, did it progress like that ?

Mike,

Yeah I think I'd have definately got the bronze, I'd have cheated and copied someone or an article...sounds good to me (it's not cheating really it's called initiative in my book )


Kr

Marcus

Markus,

You joined the "JP" at the age of 6 or when you started school. When you were 10, you became a TP . When you were 14 you joined the FDJ until you were 25 (exceptions applied as explained). However, you could become a candidate of the SED and a year later (or more) a member of the SED without loosing your FDJ membership. When you joined the army, you would keep the membership in parties , the FDJ and some mass organisations. By the way , the neck pouch which is often referred to as the place to keep the WDA was used to keep the membership books/cards of the parties and mass organisations.

All,

As for the cheating: That was actually very common. Whilst at the sergeant training school a friend and myself had to do the normal maintenance routine on a tank used for drivers training. Whilst the NCO instructor was very good on the technical side (one of the few who taught without shouting etc) he did not like things like log essays. So my friend and I were asked how good our handwriting was and ended up with 2 hours in a dry room with tea and coffe and wrote him some essay for test. he passed the test 2 days later and we actually made sure that he got the Bester award.

[Mike G.]

Dag,

That was a great story. I can see there were a lot of similarities between the armies of the different countries, no matter what the politics of the armies government.

In many respects, as soldiers, we all seem to have had some things in common. One of them being how to "Get Over", or how to turn a not so good situation, into a better one. There is never anything wrong about being enterprising.