Beltring 2010

[iannima]

Klaus with Regulierer MZ motorbikes

[iannima]

Understandably, our Political Agitator, Genosse Feldwebel Lewis was quite pleased with the overall effect ...

For the first time as far as I can remember, Warsaw Pact vehicles outnumbered the NATO ones at such an event... which is historically accurate after all ...

[81REDSTAR]

It is really impressive to see the column of WP vechles,never saw that many before in reality.The purely deffensive vechles are really showing the might of the Warsaw Pact in protection of World Peace.Sadly i missed that on friday,should have come earlier.

Met Matteo and James on saturday,was preparing for flag parade,but due to various things goes on,the parade did not take place,but had a nice time in the east german camp.Hoepfully can do the parade next time.

These are the photos i took on saturday,not many though.
Genosse matteo is observing the situation

Genosse james on guards duty

Me and Genosse james infront of the entrence

[iannima]

Video is not of good quality but it gives an idea of the scale of the operation...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1-Q6...layer_embedded
Klaus at the very front...

[David H]

Matteo, I think you are all as mad as a bag of frogs, but looks like you a smashing time.

[iannima]

The highlight of Beltring was obviously the re-enactment and meeting of friends (old and new). However some state property WAS recovered to the people ... not a lot but at good prices...
My tonnage includes:

1. The Ostbahnhof guy had a pile of boots in various states... all at £15. I personally recovered a pair in my size of officer parade ones with leather soles dated 1960, probably the oldest pair I own... never worn but with storage marks. I made sure that the other two similar pairs in similar conditions went to good homes I simply cannot see boots like those left unloved and unpolished, exposed to the risk of being nazified . The political pedigree of their new homes is impeccable
2. Some Polish chaps had a full box of black leather belt loop D rings, allegedly presented as WW2 but I am pretty sure they weren't. They were all used and priced at £5 each. No markings, but the quality of the leather and the D rings made me think they were East German. I got two...
3. A stall I visited last year had again a couple of 1971 dated Stiefelhose with the dual attachment for the two types of braces. One pair was mint with label attached, the other was lightly used. They were on a rail outside the stall, all priced at £5. Having noticed that they were marked MfS (which is rare) I recommended the purchase to Genosse Drugo as Stasi is not my thing... and he duly got the mint pair . By the Saturday, he had left, and I stumbled upon the same stall to find that the rail outside had gone and in its place there was a pile of stuff all at £1 each, including the used pair of Stiefelhose. I couldn't really leave them there could I? Drugo now holds it against me that I have led him to pay his pair FIVE times as much... It is a difficult job being a shopping assistant
4. A Dutch stall had the Teil 1 and 2 full with the extra underwear etc., blanket and Zeltbahn for £25. Tempting but I had it all any way, so left it. I did get from the same stall an unused Blumentarn bag in the shape of a rucksack but without the attachments for the Y strap . I think I have seen it before here but cannot remember where.

Otherwise my best purchases were Soviet, but that's probably just because I am rather new to that and I get excited when perhaps I shouldn't ...

[olivyaya]

Great coverage Matteo ! Thank you for this quality report cheering people far away beyond socialist borders !

[KevinH]

Looks like it was a really fun time. That vehicle parade must have been quite a sight! I wish I had the money to travel to the UK to attend such an event, but alas I am not that bourgeois. I am infinitely jealous of your Stiefelhose finds Matteo. Any pair you come across in the US is grossly over priced; but I admit I have shelled out the money to rescue a pair from an establishment with questionable political perception before..

[Viktor]

Genossen,
It is with a happy stroke of the Keyboard I can "Note" a Positive Report has been sent to Moscow Centre regarding the Beltring Front...

As Genosse David H put it...

Matteo, I think you are all as mad as a bag of frogs, but looks like you a smashing time.

... if it was "as mad as a bag of frogs", you can be sure it conformed to the Norm for Lissamphibia Transportation Vessel Complexes as laid down by the Active lateral orbitofrontal cortex motivated Amphibian's Directorate, Executive of the Soviet Union.

Though this Rezident has reported Genosse iannima for his ( past and continued) crimes against the Dress Regulations of the DDR, more times than Moscow Centre wishes to remember, ( but of course does...) is not to say it was not an honour to be requested to support his Parade as a Genosse Oberstleutnant and to ride at the Head of a Column of (purely defensive) NVA Battle Technology the like not seem in the UK SSR in many a year.

His Hard work, Passion and Political Perception is worthy of a "Shock" Activist and Agitator, ( which we are all of course anyway) and have been Noted, receiving several admiring glances and nodding snorts of approval from the right places.

I was thanked for my help.

Genossen, ..... HET!, it was and is my place to thank him and the Colour Party for the Honour.... a Great Moment....

Thank you Genosse iannima, I had a ball !.

Hurrah!, Hurrah!, Hurrah!.

Genosse Klaus conformed to the Norm and up staged everyone, it was his show.

Genosse Sean ( of the Progressive organ DBO der DDR ), work held this all together, his Language skills and organising of the Column as we formed up has also been Noted at a high level of the Progressive Re-enactment Command Complex Organ of Moscow Centre.

He is an Activist and Agitator of the old School respected by this Command from my first steps into the Sweet Sickness I hold so dear, ( as it is so Sweet) from the early 1990's.




As for Tonnage of Recovered State Property, this is where you are glad you sent the Contact Report to your Control in " Grey", so not to be purged as a Wrecker and Counterrevolutionary.
There were few Dealers with lots of interesting bits and pieces going for a song... you had to look and pay through the Nose for it... a sad reflection in past years where you got sick of looking at really interesting bits and you got blind to them.

The Cost of everything was 1/3 again what you would think it was worth...

Names ( many, many many, many names, many many names,) were taken.

The Economic Wrecking of Capitalistic intrusion into the Lawful Recovery of State Property is going to use up a lot of Small arms ammunition when it is put right.

[MCox]

Viktor,

Yes, it was a good show this year, especially the Red Alliance camp. Sorry we didn't get to say goodbye before we left, also shame we didn't bump into Sean, iannima or the others as we hadn't seen them for quite some time. Would have loved to see that guard post.

The only DDR gear that I saw, aside from the usual, was some suspicious bundles of strichtarn trousers. £20 each, but something was off about them, possibly repro. I also managed to snag a Tesla PR-35 Stasi radio.

Maybe next year if I don't have so much going on, I can stay for more than a day

Mike

[iannima]

was some suspicious bundles of strichtarn trousers. £20 each, but something was off about them,

£20!!!
I bet they looked off... they are normally available between €4 and €6-7
Strichtarn I think is still available in pallet sizes. The only thing we know for certain being reproduced are the Winter padded jackets in big sizes, but I doubt that anything else would be economically viable...

[Serb]

Matteo, are there any tell-tale signs to look for when buying one of these padded winter jackets? I purchased one that does not have any NVA stamps on it, but otherwise is authentic in every way. Thanks!

[iannima]

Sorry I don't really know about tell-tale signs. The size, i.e. BIG, is usually an indication. When they are sold on Ebay they go for €30-35. At a certain point we thought they could be detected by a slightly darker shade of the cloth colour, but that could also just be DDR production.
Here is a link to an Eaby auction where they say very clearly that it is a reproduction:
http://cgi.ebay.de/NVA-Winterjacke-W...item439c0885fd
I don't think that the NVA ever had a size 64 ... even a 60 is a rare beast.
From what I have seen on Ebay.de, sizes 44 and 48 seem all original and priced cheaply. It is sizes 56 and above and non ordinary sizes, e.g. 54, 58, that are most likely to be reproductions and priced over €30.

[RedBaran11]

Genosse Ianima,
Absolutly amazing work put on by you and your fellow Genossen in the UK. One of these years when I'm done with school and all that fun stuff I am going to make the trip acorss the pond, just so I can make it to Beltring

[Viktor]

Genossen,
This Image has been declassified and released by Moscow Centre,



This is the briefing by this Rezident ( medals by Genosse iannima) of the Flank Protection Gruppe supplied by " Our Friends", VDV ( urrah!, Urrah!, Urrah!) Desantniks for the Honour name "Iannima" Parade we have so far posted in this thread.




As a point of Dress Regulation, I'm wearing a side hat as I will be wearing my Steel Helmet in the parade, as I have yet to mount up and get into character, it is an Order of Dress noted in several Historical Documents, could Genossen please correct this Rezident if this is incorrect, so I can save the Duty Car the petrol and make my own way to the Reeducation Complex, likely passing Genosse Iannima on the way..