I came across this little Stalingrad Cross yesterday and I have been trying to work out if it is genuine or not. Several sites I looked into didn't really know if it was ever issued or not......and then I came across a section in the Axis History Forum' which I have attached below which would appear to show that the Stalingrad Cross is in fact genuine and rare! What I would like to know is if anyone of you out there with knowledge of these things could give me some idea as to its value because I want to sell it......but for the right price.
The cross is in excellent undamaged condition with what certainly appears to be a silver mark on the reverse - please see detailed photos.
I now know it's rare, but how rare? Any ideas anyone?
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This is what I have found out.........(written by Paddy Keating - who I do not know....but thanks to him. HIS DESCRIPTION IS OF A CROSS ABSOLUTELY IDENTICAL TO MINE.......pic also attached.
This is a "sweetheart" badge. It is quite scarce. I have only seen two or three in over thirty years. It was probably made by a jeweller near the regiment's garrison town.
The device was based on the Hoch-und-Deutschmeister cross and was worn as a tradition badge on the shoulder-straps by members of 44.Reichs-Grenadier-Division, formed in 1943 after the original 44. Infanterie-Division was all but wiped out at Stalingrad. Hitler bestowed the honour title "Hoch und Deutschmeister" on the new division which was formed in Austria and saw action in Italy in 1944 and then Hungary and Austria in 1945.
It is often stated that the emblem was worn by officers and NCOs of Infanterie-Regiment 134 in memory of their fallen comrades at Stalingrad. However, some sources state that the emblem was worn by officers, NCOs and enlisted men of the new 44. Reichs-Grenadier-Division "Hoch-und-Deutschmeister".
Infanterie-Rgt 134 was destroyed at Stalingrad along with its parent division, 44 Infanterie-Division, and reformed as a Reichs-Grenadier-Regiment on the new division's ORBAT. It appears as Reichsgrenadier-Regiment "Hoch und Deutschmeister".
So, which story is correct? Was the emblem only worn by members of Reichsgrenadier-Regiment "Hoch und Deutschmeister", erroneously described as IR 134, the regiment it replaced, or were all members of the Hoch-und-Deutschmeister division eligible to wear it?
Another source suggested that it was also worn on fieldcaps. I have never seen evidence of this but then, I have never seen a photo of the emblem in wear on a shoulder strap although I am told they do exist. It would make sense that enlisted men wore this emblem on the side of fieldcaps like other tradition badges as it would look a bit odd on a plain EM shoulder strap.
You have a very nice little pendant there and there is nothing to suggest that it is not a wartime piece intended, as you mused, for wives, mothers and sweethearts - and even sisters - of soldiers serving in the unit. If so, it would have been sold through the regimental tailor or shop and perhaps also by the jeweller who made it, if he had a retail premises. Are there any hallmarks on the reverse. It's a long time since I saw one of these and I just can't remember any hallmarks.
Paddy Keating
Can anyone please give me any clues as to value, it would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Terry.
The cross is in excellent undamaged condition with what certainly appears to be a silver mark on the reverse - please see detailed photos.
I now know it's rare, but how rare? Any ideas anyone?
--------------------------------------------
This is what I have found out.........(written by Paddy Keating - who I do not know....but thanks to him. HIS DESCRIPTION IS OF A CROSS ABSOLUTELY IDENTICAL TO MINE.......pic also attached.
This is a "sweetheart" badge. It is quite scarce. I have only seen two or three in over thirty years. It was probably made by a jeweller near the regiment's garrison town.
The device was based on the Hoch-und-Deutschmeister cross and was worn as a tradition badge on the shoulder-straps by members of 44.Reichs-Grenadier-Division, formed in 1943 after the original 44. Infanterie-Division was all but wiped out at Stalingrad. Hitler bestowed the honour title "Hoch und Deutschmeister" on the new division which was formed in Austria and saw action in Italy in 1944 and then Hungary and Austria in 1945.
It is often stated that the emblem was worn by officers and NCOs of Infanterie-Regiment 134 in memory of their fallen comrades at Stalingrad. However, some sources state that the emblem was worn by officers, NCOs and enlisted men of the new 44. Reichs-Grenadier-Division "Hoch-und-Deutschmeister".
Infanterie-Rgt 134 was destroyed at Stalingrad along with its parent division, 44 Infanterie-Division, and reformed as a Reichs-Grenadier-Regiment on the new division's ORBAT. It appears as Reichsgrenadier-Regiment "Hoch und Deutschmeister".
So, which story is correct? Was the emblem only worn by members of Reichsgrenadier-Regiment "Hoch und Deutschmeister", erroneously described as IR 134, the regiment it replaced, or were all members of the Hoch-und-Deutschmeister division eligible to wear it?
Another source suggested that it was also worn on fieldcaps. I have never seen evidence of this but then, I have never seen a photo of the emblem in wear on a shoulder strap although I am told they do exist. It would make sense that enlisted men wore this emblem on the side of fieldcaps like other tradition badges as it would look a bit odd on a plain EM shoulder strap.
You have a very nice little pendant there and there is nothing to suggest that it is not a wartime piece intended, as you mused, for wives, mothers and sweethearts - and even sisters - of soldiers serving in the unit. If so, it would have been sold through the regimental tailor or shop and perhaps also by the jeweller who made it, if he had a retail premises. Are there any hallmarks on the reverse. It's a long time since I saw one of these and I just can't remember any hallmarks.
Paddy Keating
Can anyone please give me any clues as to value, it would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Terry.
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