1914-15 Aussig Kriegs Kreuz?

[Scott C.]

I've had this little pin for many years and never figured out what it was for, other than it's a "War Cross" for 1914-15. It measures about 20mm x 22mm and is unmarked on the back.

Can anyone provide some info on this pin? i.e., what country? Is it a WWI-period piece, post-war, or a fabrication?

Thanks.

Scott

[Scott C.]

Reverse...

[VtwinVince]

Aussig was a town on the Elbe, in Bohemia, and was the site of an infamous massacre in May, 1945 when, after the surrender of Germany, Czech forces rounded up the German population, threw them off the bridge into the Elbe, and then machine-gunned them. This was in accordance with the "ethnic cleansing" orders of Eduard Benes.

[Vadim K]

And all of this has to do what exactly with the badge in question..?

By the way, Aussig massacre happened in late July, not in May.

[Scott C.]

Well, I have to admit my ignorance of the 1945 carnage at Aussig . However, if anyone has any info on the pin pictured above, it would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Scott

[Scott C.]

Back to the top with hopes someone has some info on this pin .

Thanks.

SCott

[VerKuilen Ager]

Very likely this was one of the many popular patriotic and donation pins of the period. Though a lot of these were of higher quality, many were pretty much the equivalent of the later "tinnie". These were a lot more popular in Austria and Hungary, but were also used in Germany.

Here are a couple more of the same ilk, one for donating to the Kriegsfürsorgedienst and two with dates.

[Scott C.]

VerKuilen, thanks for your insight. Your suggestion makes sense.

Scott

[VtwinVince]

I thought Herc might have some interest in the events for which Aussig is most famous. And the massacres in question lasted from immediately after the capitulation until well into June, so your July date is wrong, for the record.

[Vadim K]

And the massacres in question lasted from immediately after the capitulation until well into June, so your July date is wrong, for the record.

Bollocks. Where did "the massacres in question" come from? Thats not what you said originally: you said that Aussig was "the site of an infamous massacre in May, 1945" and provided specifics (people thrown off the bridge into the Elbe, then machine-gunned). Well, guess what..? What you described initially is indeed the Aussig Massacre and it did happen in the end of July. And for the record, I have never seen any sources that mention "massacres" in Aussig "from immediately after the capitulation until well into June", but I might be wrong so perhaps you'd care to show us some?

Now back to my "late July" date being wrong. Lets ask the sources, shall we..?

On Tuesday July 31st, 1945, a munitions dump in Usti nad Labem exploded. Rumour spread that German partisans were responsible, and the incident was followed by the lynching of local Germans. Around eighty German-speaking inhabitants of Usti were shot dead or thrown off a bridge and then shot in the water.

http://www.radio.cz/en/article/11302

The Usti Massacre was a mass lynching of ethnic Germans in Usti nad Labem, a northern city of Czechoslovakia in post-World War II Europe, on July 31, 1945.

http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Usti-Massacre

Dozens of Germans and Czechs joined together for the first time on Monday in a "reconciliation church service" to remember the German victims of a 1945 massacre in the northern city of Usti nad Labem. Church minister Pavel Jancik included both victims and culprits in prayers during the service, which was held in both languages. On July 31, 1945, immediately after World War II, Czechs launched a witchhund of German residents and killed some 70 people on a bridge over the river Elbe.

http://archiv.radio.cz/news/EN/2000/01.08.html

The blood bath of Usti nad Labem/Aussig and on the infamous bridge of Usti/Aussig (July 30, 1945)

http://www.sudeten.at/wEnglisch/aktu...20050504.shtml

http://www.wintersonnenwende.com/scr...esg04.html#002
Eyewitness accounts of the Aussig Massacre, check out the date they give...

In the town of Aussig on the Elbe River, on July 31, 1945, there was an explosion at the town's cable works. The Czechs suspected sabotage on the part of the ethnic Germans. A blood-bath followed. Women and children were thrown from the Usti bridge into the river. Germans were shot dead on the streets. It was estimated that between 1,000 and 2,500 people were killed in this act of revenge by the Czechs.

http://members.iinet.net.au/~gduncan/massacres_axis.html

As you can see, the sources may vary regarding number of victims but they seem to be pretty uniform on the date...

[VtwinVince]

Thanks for your learned response, Vadim. The source I'm looking at is E. Franzel's "Die Vertreibung Sudetenland 1945-1946", specifically chapter 11 entitled "An den Ufern der Elbe", which deals with events around Aussig. In addition, I've had discussions with eyewitnesses, as well as losing an uncle there. The July event, involving the killings in response to the explosion at Schoenpriesen, are not in dispute.