Wonderful "trench-art" from Baden

[JensF.]

Here is an estate of an soldier of Baden with an EKII, the Silver Merit Medal with ribbon of the Military-Karl-Friedrich-Merit-Medal of Baden and wonderful pieces of "trench-art". Just enjoy the pics.

PS: The paper-fasteners are NOT from me!!!!!




I am still trying to identify this writing. I am not very good with old German handwriting. Someone here to "translate"?


This one is made of silver-plated iron. Always better than zinc


Should have a silver-plated frame because of strange steel-like color.


The "Greif" (gryphon) of Baden made out of a grenade guidance ring (I don't know the exact english word for "Granatenführungsring"). A wonderful and detailed piece of craftmanship!


Enameled EKI soldered on the "guidance ring". The ring is usually made of copper, but they have gold-plated these. Very often they used them to make different "commemorative tools" like letter openers because the soft copper is very decorative and easy to work with.

[JensF.]

Got something:


Geboren in Karlsruhe am 1. August (?) 1890.

Born in Karlsruhe, august 1., 1890.

Dies sind die Ehrenzeichen von ??? Ch. ??? vom Krieg 1914-1918. Gestorben am 19. April 1932.

??? ??? ???
Vollzugs?????

These are the awards of ??? (rank?) CH. ??? from the war 1914-1918. Died at april 19., 1932.

So he got no Hindenburg cross; this was instituted in 1934.

[Rick Research]

awful handwriting!

"Geboren in Karlsruhe am
1. Sept. 1890
Das sind die Ehrenzeichen
von unseren lb. Papa
vom Krieg 1914-1918
Gestorben am 19. April 1932
Joseph (...............)
Zollassistent"

I'd guess that this was written by a child, and Joseph Illegible, Customs NCO was the "dear Papa" died in 1932 and not the person signing this label.

[JensF.]

Thank you Rick!!!!!!

[Frank Heukemes]

Middle name might be Leonhard, last name might be Münch.

Cheers, Frank H.

[JensF.]

Danke Frank!!!

[Rick Research]

Frank's right-- NOW I can "see" "Leonhard Münch" in there...

sometimes you have to squinch up your eyes, look sideways under a strong light... and go by what the rest of the line says.

The worst--the absolute WORST--I have EVER seen was a WW1 postcard written by a left-handed German who could not spell:

none of the letters connected the way they should "flow" in the old script handwriting..... aaaaauuuuggggghhhhhhh!

[JensF.]

Yes, it's really bad they hadn't a laser printer then...

But the artwork at these guidance rings (right word?) is really great.

How about your pieces of "Grabenkunst" (trench-art)?
Lets make some postings of these interesting commemoratife items. I have a letter-opener made of a guidance ring and with the inscription "Toter Mann 1917". Anyone who knows the history of the battle of Verdun knows what this means. I don't know how many blood and death this letter-opener has seen before he ever opened a letter at the home of the maker.

A friend of me found a half-completed letter-opener or knife made of one of these copper rings in Verdun some years ago. Who knows, what happened to the maker so he couldn't complete his work.........

[VerKuilen Ager]

The granate inGranatenführungsring is a shell (usually more specifically a mortar shell, but it can refer to a conventional artillery shell). According to my TM 30-506 (U.S. Army German-English Military Dictionary) the term would translate to "shell rotating band."

[JensF.]

Thanks for the information!