Lets see your pics of big ass TR medal bars in wear

[kaiserwilhelm2]

Hi Guys,

I would like to see in period pics some big ass TR military medal bars in wear. Criteria for posting: a minimum of 5 medals and no WWI awards on the bar! Foreign awards (1933-1945) such as Spanish campaign award, Rumanian Anti-Communist medal a.o. on the bar are fine. In order to qualify as a military bar the bar would need at least a EK2, a KVK2 w. swords or a WH Dienstauszeignung. I found this pic on ebay which has more military TR medals (EK2, KVK2, Ost, DA 4, Schutzwall, Sudeten) on one bar than I have ever seen in any other pic or in real life. Can anyone top this?

Cheers, Willem

[Tom Yanacek]

A very nice photo, Willem. A six-place, all-Third Reich medal bar is a very scarce thing indeed. Most of the large, all-Third Reich medal bars that we see today are modern put-together monstrosities.

Best regards,
Tom

[Tom Yanacek]

Very unusual, though, that this Oberleutnant with six, ribboned decorations plus a Krim Shield would have no badge other than a DRL Sports Badge. You would almost expect this guy to be wearing some sort of assault badge, or wound badge, or even an EK1 by this time.

Best regards,
Tom

[kaiserwilhelm2]

Yes that is pretty remarkable. I noticed that as well.

[Andrew Harris]

Only "5":~)

First one (last award in the medal bar is Finnish Medal of Liberty 2nd Class):

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[Andrew Harris]

Second one (last award in the medal bar is Bulgarian Soldier Cross of Bravery IV grade):

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[kaiserwilhelm2]

Super Andrew! Great pics!

[12thPanzer]

original photo of General Werner V. Fritsch and General Walter V. Blomberg
(has a rough pebbled-like front, so thats why it looks pixelated, sorry)

[kaiserwilhelm2]

12th Panzer thanks for contributing but these are not all TR medal bars! No WW1 medals allowed.

[kaiserwilhelm2]

Another great all TR-medal bar in wear! This pic proves quite clearly that Wehrmacht personell, especially officers, were absolutely a-political.
Now I understand why after the war SS-men all claimed to have been just ordinary soldiers like everyone else - Soldaten wie andere auch. Enjoy!

[VtwinVince]

I would say a pre-war Party official who transferred to the Wehrmacht. Of course it is true that members of the Wehrmacht could not also be Party members.

[stonemint]

Not only a Party member, but Allgemeine SS as well. Great pic.

[kaiserwilhelm2]

I would say a pre-war Party official who transferred to the Wehrmacht. Of course it is true that members of the Wehrmacht could not also be Party members.

That is not correct. Professional soldiers could not be politically active or party members of any party prior to 1933. After 1933 they could but then of course only of the NSDAP. As we all know the Wehrmacht was greatly expended under Hitler and as such many people who belonged to the Nazi party or its affiliates (SA, SS, HJ and so on) became professional soldiers. An important reason why there were not more NSDAP members among the Wehrmacht officer corps is that for most of the period of the TR era it was impossible to join the party as no new members were admitted. Hitler wanted his party to be a vanguard of the people and to consist of no more than 10 percent of the total population at any time. Party admission was closed from 1933-1937 and from 1938-1942 and after that only reopened in 1944. Even that late in the war people flocked to it. Outside the acceptance years of 1933, 1937, 1942 and 1944 entrance into the party was impossible for anyone not already a more or less prominent nazi party affiliate member. The fact that is was difficult to join the NSDAP as such meant that many joined its affiliates as a way to show loyalty to the regime.

[jacques]

a former member of the Legion Condor

[kaiserwilhelm2]

Does anyone have a picture of the 5th medal on the medal bar posted by Jacques (Romanian medal III class)? Thanks.

Jacques, thanks for an excellent picture contribution.