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GERMAN MILITARY COLLECTIBLES REFERENCE
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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.
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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.
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MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION
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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.
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THE MAKING OF THE Me109
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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.
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NAZI DAGGER COLLECTING BASICS
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This page provides detailed information about nazi daggers. The data includes things
such as decoding the numbers on certain daggers, materials of construction, etc.
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CLOTH INSIGNIA OF THE THIRD REICH
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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.
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MANUFACTURER'S BRANDS & MARKINGS
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This section provides several photographs of various manufacturer's of military equipment.
The companies represented here manufactured edge weapons, badges and awards.
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IDENTIFYING FAKE BADGES AND AWARDS
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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.
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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.
- View Miscellaneous Imperial items.
- View 1914-1918 Cross of Honor collection (Hindenburg Crosses)
- View Imperial Medals collection.
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MILITARY RIBBONS, BADGES AND AWARDS
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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.
- View the German badges and awards collection.
- View the Ribbon collection
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GERMAN CLOTHING AND UNIFORMS OF WWII
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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.
- View the German uniforms collection.
- View the Armband collection.
- View the Flag collection
- View the Hat collection
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PARATROOPER (FALLSCHIRM-JAGER)
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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.
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- View the Paratrooper collection.
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CIVILIAN AND POLICE AWARDS
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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.
- View the Civilian Awards collection.
- View the War Merit Cross collection
- View 1914-1918 Cross of Honor collection (Hindenburg Crosses)
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BELT BUCKLES OF THE THIRD REICH
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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.
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- View the Belt and Belt Buckle collection.
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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 .
- View the Nazi Propaganda collection.
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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.
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- View the Hitler Youth collection.
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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.
- View the ID Book collection.
- View the Miscellaneous Paperwork collection
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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.
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- View the Tinnies collection.
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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.
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- View the Stick Pins collection.
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MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT AND HOME FRONT ITEMS
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