Kriegs badges found today

[Norm F]

Wow.

Yes!
Probably Ob.Waffenw.Joseph Rehm.
He served on the Atlantis.
This makes sense to me as the crewmembers of the Atlantis were all handed the Juncker type badge at an award ceremony in Berlin in Jan 1942.
If it turns out to be him then to me this is an incredible set of awards and a fantastic find.
You are a very lucky man.

Regards,Martin.

Astounding Martin! How do you know these things?
Best regards,
---Norm

[huestur]

Nice score ken you are the man I cant wait to see them in person

[Martin W]

Norm,

i have a complete crewlist of the Atlantis and Kormoran.
Joe Slavick,who is a member here wrote a very fine book,"The Cruise of the German Raider Atlantis".
During his research he interviewed many former crewmen.Some gave him their awards and they were all "Junckers".
Rogge handed out these awards during the ceremony in 1942.
They all came in brown cardboard boxes.
In the photo below you can see Rogge handing out the awards and notice that the officer behind him has a handful of the brown cardboard boxes,which contain the awards.
I am fortunate to have one of these Juncker's myself from an Atlantis man.His name is scratched on the reverse.

Regards,Martin.

[kenneth wolfe]

Hi

Wow thank you so very much!! Really this is the coolest thing I ever heard. I just called him and I asked him if it was Joseph and he says he thinks it is. I also asked him if he had any pictures of his grandfather in uniform and he said his mom has a bunch. I asked him if I could get them and he said yes. As soon as I get them I will post them.


Kenneth

[Norm F]

Wow..again!

Wow thank you so very much!! Really this is the coolest thing I ever heard. I just called him and I asked him if it was Joseph and he says he thinks it is. I also asked him if he had any pictures of his grandfather in uniform and he said his mom has a bunch. I asked him if I could get them and he said yes. As soon as I get them I will post them.


Kenneth

What a story! On the one hand I'm so impressed with your wonderful find, and on the other hand, saddened that the gentleman's grandson doesn't feel it important to retain the tangible artifacts of his family history.
I'm not judging him; perhaps not enough time has passed for some affected families to be able to separate out the painful political stigmata from the history and personal integrity of many of the KM Navy men just doing their job.
Oh well, I'm glad the history can be retained intact by collectors with integrity such as the members here. Who knows, maybe someday in the future the information can be "re-patriated" to his great-great-grandson who wants to learn more about his ancestor.
Best regards,
---Norm

[Martin W]

Kenneth,

i would love to see the photo's,if you get any.
This is a great story Norm,at least in my opinion.As a collector of Hilfskreuzer awards and photo's it is good to see these artifacts come to life,so to speak ,rather than just sit in a box or draw,etc.
Maybe they will be cherished more by Kenneth,as a collector,than they were by the family?
I am really happy for you Ken and i am glad you posted these items.

Regards,Martin.

[huestur]

I now have had the privlage of seeing these badge first hand and all I can say is WOW. Ken is over and if anyone could help with the rank of this guy it would be great thanks

[Alex K.]

The badge on the right side in the first picture is a unmarked Schwerin Berlin, not Juncker.

[Martin W]

Thanks for pointing that out Alex.
I am almost certain that the Atlantis crewmen were all awarded the Juncker type of badge.
This is not the first Schwerin i have seen from from an Atlantis grouping.I wonder if these were later private purchases?

Regards,Martin.

[Martin W]

I now have had the privlage of seeing these badge first hand and all I can say is WOW. Ken is over and if anyone could help with the rank of this guy it would be great thanks

I did.
Ob.Waffenw,Joseph Rehm.
Oberwaffenwart=Chief Petty Officer.

Regards,Martin.

[JustinG]

Incredible find and nice you can trace the source. I too agree with NormF; it is a shame that the family did not want to keep their heirlooms. However, Now that you know the origins of this incredible grouping, As a collector, you are entrusted to keep this sailor's life and memories.

A great and wonderful collection.
Congratualtions. Would love to see how you are going to display this.

Regards,
JustinG

[Norm F]

Thanks for pointing that out Alex.
I am almost certain that the Atlantis crewmen were all awarded the Juncker type of badge.
This is not the first Schwerin i have seen from from an Atlantis grouping.I wonder if these were later private purchases?

Regards,Martin.

That makes sense since why else would he have 2 Hilfskreuzer badges -- presumably the one on the left was his original issue for daily wear and the minty one on the right a private purchase "spare".
Regards,
---Norm

[Tim B.]

Martin,

Isn't that one Aux Cruiser an unmarked Schwerin? Very nice!
Tim

[dmwg40]

no updates on the photos yet ?

[mrg]

Beautifull awards