S&L DKiS (wide pin)

[all1knew]

The question is not whether this is a S&L or not - it certainly is!

The question is this: why are there German Crosses in Gold and Silver by S&L marked with "4" and some are unmarked?

Regarding to Mr. Preuss (VP of S&L) he got an order on 20. July 1944 from Dr. Doehle personnally in the office of the Praesidialkanzlei, both for Gold and Silver GCs. He does not say how many and whether the order ever made it to Berlin.

I am personally sure about one thing and one thing only: if the production ever made it to a stage of finished products, these finished products would have been stamped with the "4" as it was required with all orders delivered to the PKZ (EKs, DKs, RKs, EL, ELmS, ..). I also think that this order from S&L did not make it to Berlin since no S&L were ever found in Klessheim nor are there any recipients known.

It is very likely that the "4" marked GCs stayed in Lüdenscheid and when that production run was dispersed (after the war), a new run w/o the number "4" was produced.

There is no logical reason whatsoever for a German Cross in Gold or Silver to bear no "4", especially in the light of Mr. Preuss' statement.

Dietrich

so with that logic, a DK with a "4" stamp may be wartime produced, correct?

William Kramer

[Dietrich Maerz]

Yes, it could be IMHO. But it unfortunately bears down to believe, until new evidence is discovered. I also think that one can dismiss the non-4-marked S&L as post war with a very high degree of certainty.