HSK badge from an Atlantis man.

[Martin W]

Hi everyone,

this badge arrived from Germany yesteday.It is a worn and highly polished badge of the unmarked type attributed to Juncker.

[Martin W]

The reverse has a name and service number scratched onto it.It reads"Alf Grzywotz N1733/39".

[Martin W]

Here is a close up of the name.The badge belonged to Matrose Alfons Grzywotz who was a crewmember of the Atlantis.

[Martin W]

Finally,here is part of the Atlantis crewlist from the book by Ulrich Mohr,"Die Kkriegsfahrt Des Hilfskreuzers Atlantis",showing Grzywotz' name.
A real nice addition to the collection,i think.

Regards,Martin.

[mike smith]

In one word fantastic.You lucky man,i would give anything for that.

[Martin W]

Thanks Mike.I have to admit i'm pretty excited to have this one.This is the second named HSK badge i have.I also have a zinc Schwerin from an Orion crewman.

Cheers,Martin.

[DaveNZ]

Thats a great addition to your collection Martin: very nice And to know who the badge belonged to and the ship as well is just great.

[Dennis GT]

WOW!!! What great find. Nice addition to the Fleet.

Dennis

[ekrogh]

Martin,

Congrats on a terrific acquisition! Wonderful to see a named badge for such an important ship.

All The Best,

Erik

[Martin W]

Thank you all for your comments.It seems,after talking to other collectors that have badges that came directly or indirectly from Atlantis crewmen,that the "unmarked Juncker" type was the badge they received initally during the award ceremony in Berlin in January 1942.The badges were awarded in a brown issue cardboard box and wrapped in brown tissue paper.
The photo below from the Mohr book,mentioned above shows Atlantis Commander Bernhard Rogge handing out Hilfskreuzer badges to his crew.
You will notice that the officer standing behind Rogge has a handful of brown cardboard boxes that contain the badges.
I have seen a Tombak Schwerin that came in an Atlantis grouping but i think that the badge may have been a later private purchase?

Regards,Martin.

[Darrell]

....
I have seen a Tombak Schwerin that came in an Atlantis grouping but i think that the badge may have been a later private purchase?

Regards,Martin.

OR .. put together ....

[lemalouin]

Hi

A real piece of History and Glory The Atlantis was sunk on 1941 the 21 of november
Do you know if Grzywotz is dead this day ?

Cheers

Phil

[Mark C. Yerger]

aside from being personal and historic, badge is in very handsome condition too.

Mark

[John R.]

What a wonderful addition to your collection. Just great. John

[Martin W]

Hi


Do you know if Grzywotz is dead this day ?

Cheers

Phil

Phil,

i am afraid i do not.The badge came from a dealer in Germany.But i do intend to try and find out.

Regards,Martin.

I have just received an e-mail from a fellow collector who has a "wealth" of information on the Atlantis.It seems,all we have on Grzywotz is a name in the crewlist.There is no mention of him in the log,no mention in reunion notes,and no mention in the war graves database?.