Recent pick up

[CPB]

Hey guys

I thought you might like to see this.

It's an Ike jacket belonging to a guy who was in the US 441st AAA Battalion and fought right through the war, right up the end when he unit entered Berchtesgaden. The 441st was attached to the 45th Infantry Division, and also the 3rd - which was the first to enter in may 1945. He received the Bronze Star.

On arriving in Berchtesgaden, he managed to get into the Berghof/tunnels below and take a few items, including some flatware pieces which are shown in later photos. Please note, the large serving platter did not come from him, only the knives/forks.

I have the guys name, plus an interview he did with the author Mark Griffith, who I got this lot from. The photos don't so the silverware justice I'm afraid. They are really nice and beautifully engraved pieces. The guy also took a pistol that was engraved in exactly the same way, which I don't have unfortunately. Probaly part of a set. I doubt these pieces were used in the Berghof, and were likely a gift to Hitler that he just stored along with all the others in the bunkers under the Berghof.

Anyway, hope you like. I may well be able to pick up the remaining haul of these flatware pieces (25 or so) so if anyone's interested please drop me a line.

Chris

[CPB]

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[Br. James]

Dear Chris,

Many thanks for sharing examples of this unique AH flatware pattern with us. Your photos are much better than the ones found in Dr. Griffith's "Collectors Guide to 'Liberated' Adolf Hitler Memorabilia," Vols. I & !! (1986). There is not much description of these pieces in Griffith's book; do they include a maker's mark and silver content? Griffith apparently intended to publish a third volume in this series, as he says "More on this pattern in Volume III" -- but to my knowledge, a third volume was never published. Has anyone ever seen a copy of either Volume III or a single edition including all three volumes?

Thanks again, Chris,

Br. James

[CPB]

I didn't realise this pattern appeared in any of Dr Griffith's books. I have both volumes, but perhaps there are more up to date versions. He mentioned a while back of a plan to bring another book out, and I guess it's still an ongoing project.

To answer your question, no, there is no maker attributed to this pattern. They are marked only with '800' on the reverse and some very small imprints which I haven't taken a loop to yet.

Anyhow, glad you like them - and thanks for the photography compliments. It's really all down to good lighting and a half-decent camera.

Chris

[Jon. H]

Hello Chris,

Superb Grouping, thank you for sharing !

That is indeed a very nice pattern, lovely details !

[CPB]

Thanks Jon-Olav, glad you like it.

[Br. James]

Dear Chris,

The edition of Dr. Griffith's book in my library is the "Revised" edition and it "Includes Volumes I & II" plus "Additional 'Liberated' Items." This edition was self-published by Griffith in 1986. I have never seen a copy of either volume I or volume II as a single publication. There is neither a Table of Contents or an Index in the combined edition, so one cannot tell what material was previously published as "Volume I" or "Volume II," but in the edition I have the pattern in question appears on the very last page of the section entitled "Miscellaneous."

Please do have a look with your loup and let us know what additional information is to be found there.

And in case you don't have the two recent books on Third Reich cutlery by James A. Yannes, I've checked them both and your pattern does not appear in either volume. Jim tells me that yet another volume is nearing completion, so he may still be able to contribute to this conversation. He is an avid collector and only includes pieces in his books that he actually owns...which may tend to somewhat limit the scope of his work, though again, he does have one of the largest collections of TR cutlery that I know of!

Br. James

[Trigger]

Might be a bit of a late reply, but I must have missed this topic.

Damn fine pickup with an interesting history behind it. Make sure you treasure that lot!

[Thorsten B.]

Interesting story.

It would be great if you could provide some more shots of the pieces, especially the decor and the marking - it appears to be a typical luxurious late Jugendstil/early Art Déco decor and just the content "800" is surely a good sign.

[Wim Vangossum]

Quality of these pieces looks outstanding.

Regards, Wim



Freedom is not for Free

[CPB]

Hey fellas, thanks for your comments.

I'll try and take some more photos but they're in storage somewhere and I need to dig them out. I have some more from Mark on the way so if anybody wants a few, let me know.

Chris

[CPB]

I finally managed to get the interview Mark Griffith did with this guy. It's very cool. Here is an excerpt:

"When we got to Berchtesgaden, we noticed there was a lot of trains sitting in the rail yard. And many of the guys were going in there and coming out with items that they said belonged to Fat Hermann. I got in there and got some silver items, including a bowl and a small picture frame. There was no photo in the frame. I just thought it looked pretty.

Some of the officers said that Hitler's home was up on the mountain and wanted to go up there. I was allowed to go mainly I think because I had a jeep.

When we got there, it was pretty torn up. The house was a little bit down from the top of the hill. There were our guys running all around all over the place carrying silver, linens, pictures anything they could carry. Actually, it looked like these riots you see on TV.

There were a number of guys who were sitting around just drinking champagne, which immediately caught my attention. A few officers and me went down into the cellar and brought out all kinds of bottles of alcohol, various types, and loaded them into the mail truck. I also was able to get from one of the officers as a favour for delivering the alcohol a small caliber pistol with Hitler's initials in gold on it. There was also some silverware that he said came with it, but it was mostly a smattering of silverware and it wasn't a complete set. Apparently it had gotten split up. He gave me a cigar cutter too."

He goes on to talk about other things...Eagle's Nest etc.

[Br. James]

Many thanks for sharing this section of your interview with Dr. Griffith; perhaps you should consider sharing it with the National WWII Museum in New Orleans -- I believe they have a program for interviewing soldiers and it sounds like the information contained in your interview would be a solid addition to that reference library. I have one request for clarification: at the beginning of your note below you mention that "many of the guys were going in there and coming out with items that they said belonged to Fat Hermann" -- did this refer to US soldiers scavenging through boxcars sitting on the rail sidings at the Berchtesgaden Depot, including those that were packed for shipping from Göring's house on the Obersalzberg?

Again, a wonderful reference work in progress and a delight to read!

Br. James