GERMAN REFERENCE INDEX


WW1
  1. IMPERIAL MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS
  2. IMPERIAL MEDALS

WW2
  1. MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION
  2. GERMAN CLOTHING, FLAGS AND UNIFORMS OF WWII
  3. MILITARY BADGES AND AWARDS
  4. PARATROOPER (FALLSCHIRM-JAGER)
  5. BELT BUCKLES OF THE THIRD REICH
  6. CIVILIAN AND POLICE AWARDS
  7. EDGE WEAPONS
  8. NAZI PROPAGANDA
  9. THE HITLER YOUTH
  10. PAPERWORK
  11. TINNIES
  12. STICK PINS
  13. MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT AND HOMEFRONT ITEMS
CONTEMPORARY MILITARY
  1. POST WWII EQUIPMENT



Hitler's rise to power in Germany in 1933 set the stage for what was to become one of the bloodiest wars in history. Shortly after assuming power he started building up the countries armed forces in direct violation of the treaty of Versailles. By March 1935 Hitler revealed that an air force existed and had an army composed of 36 divisions. A year later German troops marched into the Rhineland. This move secured Germany's borders. By 1938 German forces were present in Austria. by March 1939 Czechoslovakia was annexed to Germany.
On 1939 fifty six German divisions backed by 1,500 airplanes marched towards Poland introducing a new warfare tactic called Blitzkrieg. Poland surrendered on September 28th.
The German military medals, awards, field equipment and general artifacts of the WWII era have fast become a very expensive and desirable collectible.

The purpose of this page is to provide the visitor with a glimpse of a historic period by displaying some of the artifacts employed at the time and providing its historical background. Some of the items shown here might be for sale but the majority belong to private collections whose owners don't want to sell. However, we do have a couple of stores where items similar to those shown here can be acquired.



MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION


This section is dedicated to providing an in depth view at various topics relating to the German war machine. Detailed information such as manufacturer's logos, uniform buttons and others will be included in these web pages. Information of this nature is an invaluable tool to the collector of militaria.

THE MAKING OF THE Me109 The Me109 was one of Hitler's most successful airplanes. This section provides several photographs that show how the plane was designed, built and used. The photographs show a great deal of detail.
NAZI DAGGER COLLECTING BASICS This page provides detailed information about nazi daggers. The data includes things such as decoding the numbers on certain daggers, materials of construction, etc.
CLOTH INSIGNIA OF THE THIRD REICH Several close up pictures of the various cloth insignia of the Third Reich are provided here. This information is very useful to help identify reproductions from the original items.
MANUFACTURER'S BRANDS & MARKINGS This section provides several photographs of various manufacturer's of military equipment. The companies represented here manufactured edge weapons, badges and awards.
IDENTIFYING FAKE BADGES AND AWARDS
 This section provides tips on how to identify fake badges and awards of the Third Reich. The guide offers very detailed photographs of the replicas to point out the areas where the differences between the fakes and the real thing exist. In many cases pictures of the fake and the original item are provided for comparison purposes.


IMPERIAL ITEMS

The German military machine had a prominent role during WWI. Many of the uniforms, equipment and awards from the "Great war" had a definite influence in the development of WWII items. This page is dedicated to the study of the military artifacts that were employed by Germany during WWI.
  1. View Miscellaneous Imperial items.
  2. View 1914-1918 Cross of Honor collection (Hindenburg Crosses)


MILITARY RIBBONS, BADGES AND AWARDS

The military badges of the Third Reich provide one of the most interesting aspects of military collecting. At the same time it presents one of the biggest challenges because these items are heavily reproduced. The purpose of this section of the web site is to provide the collector with reference information about the badges and awards via the use of highly detailed photographs.

  1. View the German badges and awards collection.
  2. View the Ribbon collection


GERMAN CLOTHING AND UNIFORMS OF WWII

The German uniforms of WWII were of extremelly high quality. Every branch of the military had its own design and style. Even paramilitary, nazi political, forestry, and many other organizations would have a surprising array of designs. These facts contribute to the desirability and collectibility of the uniforms. This page is dedicated to the study and history of such items.

  1. View the German uniforms collection.
  2. View the Armband collection.
  3. View the Flag collection


PARATROOPER (FALLSCHIRM-JAGER)
The German paratrooper, their techniques and strategies helped revolutionize and shape modern warfare. German paratrooper items are highly sought after making the artifacts very expensive and hard to find.

Paratrooper forces started as part of the Army. However, these units did not see combat. Once the war started, the paratrooper units became a part of the Luftwaffe and saw extensive combat.

The collector must also be aware that reproductions of German paratrooper items are very abundant so extra care should be taken when acquiring paratrooper items.

Click HERE to view the paratrooper information.


CIVILIAN AND POLICE AWARDS


The Nazi party developed a very extensive network of civilian and police organizations as part of the general support infraestructure of the armed forces. The swastika symbol was widely employed in the awards and logos of such organizations. The civilian groups played a very important role in the gathering of information and dissemination of propaganda. Also, as the war came to an end and the advancing troops closed into Berlin, the civilian organizations provided the last line of defense as they fought the incomming enemy.
  1. View miscellaneous civilian awards
  2. View the War Merit Cross collection
  3. View 1914-1918 Cross of Honor collection (Hindenburg Crosses)


BELT BUCKLES OF THE THIRD REICH


The third reich employed a wide variety of belt buckles. Political, military, police, government and paramilitary organizations had specific types of belt buckles issued to them.

This section of the website is dedicated to providing information about belt buckles. See the collection by clicking HERE


EDGE WEAPONS
The Third Reich produced some of the most interesting edge weapons of all times. The German armed forces have a dagger or sword for just about every branch and occasion. Due to the high quality, design and rarity these blades have become very desirable and might be second only to the legendary Samurai sword.
The following section provides several, high detailed pictures of various German blades.

Additional dagger information is found here:
  1. View the Collection
  2. NAZI dagger collecting basics
  3. NSKK Hilt markings
  4. Hitler Youth knife markings
  5. SA Hilt markings
  6. Non-RZM Manufacturer markings

NAZI PROPAGANDA
Propaganda has always been one of the most powerful weapons during war time. Hitler mastered this art by surrounding himself with individuals who were very skilfull at the development and production of propaganda.

This section of the website allows the visitor to view some of the propaganda posters employed by Nazi Germany .

  1. Press HERE to access the Nazi propaganda page.



THE HITLER YOUTH
Early in the days of Nazi Germany, Hitler saw the usefulness of indoctrinating kids into the cause of the Third Reich. An organization called The Hitler Youth was born. This group was tasked with training kids physically and politacally. Making the transition into the armed forces much easier.

In the last days of Germany, Hitler Youth kids were among the last line of defense against the invading Russian forces.

This section of the website allows the visitor to view some of the items used by the Hitler Youth.

Press HERE to see the Hitler Youth collection.


PAPERWORK
Hitler's Germany kept tight controls over the population. One way in which this was accomplished was to issue a identification paperwork that would specify various aspects of an individual. From the type of work that they performed to the areas where they were allowd to travel.

This section of the website is dedicated to illustrate and explain some of the paperwork that was issued. in addition, paperwork given out with awards, death cards, etc. are also studied here.

  1. View the ID Book collection.
  2. View the miscellaneous paperwork collection



TINNIES



Tinnies are small metal or plastic objects that were issued in commemoration of a specific event. These items were usually constructed with a pin-back which allowed it to be worn like a button. Some tinnies are of political nature while others simply celebrate events like labor day or some sort of relief effort.
Most of the tinnies are fairly inexpensive so their reproduction is at a minimum or non-existent.

To see the pictures of the tinnies press HERE


STICK PINS
Stick pins were issued to military and civilian personnel for various reasons. In the case of soldiers, stick pins were often awarded along with a full size badge, the stick pin could then be used on the dress uniform at parades and special events instead of wearing the larger awared.

Click HERE to see a large collection of stick pins issued during WWII war and before.



MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT AND HOME FRONT ITEMS
WWII marked the birth of the modern military uniforms and equipment. When one compares the items used at the begining of the war to those used towards the end, a great deal of evolution is found.

The German armed forces employed a wide array of uniforms and equipment. These items have become an ever appreciating collectible. This section of the web site is dedicated to providing information about these items.

Click HERE to see a complete listing of miscellaneous equipment and home front items.
  1. AFRIKAKORPS ENLISTED MAN TROPICAL BELT
  2. AFRIKAKORPS PITH HELMET
  3. LUFTWAFFE M-43 CAP
  4. LUFTWAFFE M-35 DOUBLE DECAL HELMET
  5. SS M-35 VOLUNTEER HELMET


POST WWII EQUIPMENT
After the defeat of the German Army, the country was divided in two. One side was governed by the allied forces (West Germany) while the other side belonged to the Russians (East Germany). All of the uniforms, medals and awards of the armed forces were redesigned but the general patterns remained intact and bare a similarity to the WWII era style and materials.
With the fall of the Berlin wall, many of the military items of the East German army have become available. This section of the website feature artifacts from both areas of the country.
  1. CORPS OF ENGINEERS UNIFORM (EAST GERMANY)
  2. ARMY UNIFORM (EAST GERMANY)
  3. OFFICER'S HAT
  4. ENLISTED MAN CAP



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