Original Items: Only One Set Available. This is a very nice collection of German WWII Awards and Insignia, which was brought back from the European theater by a USGI after the war was concluded. Many solders traded these on the way back, and would end up with a pocket full of various different collectible items, and this set represents the typical "haul" one might have come back with. It includes a rare 193 Saar Referendum Medal, several different WWII awards, various insignia, and a good number of tinnie event badges!

This lovely set includes:

- One RARE German Pre WWII DEUTSCH DIE SAAR - FREI DIE SAAR 13. January 1935 Commemorative Medal with original ribbon. These were made for the referendum of the territory of the Saar basin on January 13, 1935 in which 90% of the voters opted for re-unification of the Saar with Germany. The medal bears a dramatic representation of a man breaking free of his chains by a eagle representing the Third Reich, captioned: 'DEUTSCH DIE SAAR' (The Saar is German), the reverse bearing oak leaves, acorns, and the words 'FREI DIE SAAR' (Free the Saar).

- One German WWII Wehrmacht 3rd Class Long Service Award (Gold Medal), for four years of service. It comes with a detached ribbon with a pin at top, which does not have any eagle device on it, so it could be used by any branch.

- One German WWII Wehrmacht 4th Class Long Service Award (Silver), for four years of service. Complete with a medal bar style ribbon pin with a silver Wehrmachtadler eagle, for service in either the Heer Army or Kriegsmarine Navy. The original silver wash on the eagle and medal have almost completely worn away.

- One German WWII NSRL/DRL Bevo Embroidered Bronze Sports Badge. The design is a round badge with a golden "closed wing" eagle in the middle, surmounted with a Swas. These were awarded in bronze and silver grades, and later examples also had a date. It is still on the original backing and does not look to have been attached to a uniform at any time.

- One German WWII Eastern People's Medal 3rd Class (Ostvolkmedaille II. Klasse) in bronze, with the correct green ribbon without stripes. This is the version without swords, for merit in areas other than combat. The original bronze wash has completely worn away

- One German WWII Nationalsozialistische Frauenschaft (National Socialist Women’s-organization) badge, which is a triangle shape with NAT. SOZ. FRAUENSCHAFT at the top, and letters G, H, and L surrounding the Swas for “GLAUBE, HOFFNUNG, LIEBE” (“FAITH, HOPE, LOVE”). It is missing just a bit of the enamel, and is maker marked on the back.

- One German WWII 1933-1939 Pattern NSDAP Local Group Hauptstellenleiter Head Department Leader Collar Tab, left side. It has the correct tan color and light blue piping for a local group (Ortsgruppe), and the back still retains an original RZM tag, though for some reason it has an HJ marking on it, so it may have been added post war.

- One German Pre-WWII Soldatenbund Breast Eagle Insignia. The Soldatenbund (Registered Soldier’s League) was an early Veteran's association founded in 1936, which proved to be very short lived. The insignia features a Reichsadler National Eagle surmounted by crossed swords and an Iron Cross. It has a pin attachment on the back, and looks to originally have been silver with a gold eagle.

- One Two Award Medal Ribbon Bar, with ribbons for the Imperial German Iron Cross 2nd Class 1914, and Hindenburg Cross with Swords.

- One Weimar Period Reichskriegertag Stockschild (Imperial Veteran's Day Pole Plaque) from 1927. It shows Paul von Hindenburg at the top, with text around and information about the event below.

- One German Pre WWII 1933 Reichsparteitag Nuremberg Rally Tinnie Badge, made from silvered zinc. This was the year of VICTORY for the NSDAP, when they seized power of the government, and the badge is far more substantial and well made than from other rallis.

- One German WWII Heer Army Field Gray Wool uniform Obersoldat Sleeve insignia "Pip".

- One German WWII RAD Labor Corps BEVO cap insignia, removed from a cap. It has the edges folded under, and has the BEVO and RAD markings on the back.

- One German WWII Reichspost Style Visor cap eagle insignia, both prongs still intact.

One German WWII WHW "Archaeology" Theme donation tinnie, showing purported ancient Germanic Designs with the swas in them.

- One 1934 Niedersachsen-Tag Braunschweig NSDAP Tinnie, for the NSDAP in Lower Saxony.

- One 1. MAI TAG DER NATIONALEN ARBEIT Labor Day / May Day tinnie.

A wonderful totally genuine grouping perfect for the German collector. Ready to research and display!

"Tinnies" (Veranstaltungsabzeichen - Event Badge) are small commemorative pins or medals, acquired when one attended a specific event held in Germany. They were often made of thin stamped metal, bakelite, or even pressed paper. Many of these were given out as part of the WHW (Winterhilfswerk - Winter Help Work) Organization, which often involved Germans traveling quite a bit to help out the war effort.

More information on some of the Items in this grouping:

Wehrmacht Long Service Award
The Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung (Wehrmacht Service Award) was a military service decoration of NSDAP Germany issued for satisfactory completion of a number of years in military service. The award itself is cumulative, so after the 3rd class, both a cross and a medal were worn, and the color indicated service.

On 16 March, 1936, Adolf AH ordered the institution of service awards for the first four classes, each reflecting the completion of a select number of years of military service. Each branch of the Wehrmacht (army, navy, and air force) maintained their own version of the Long Service Award and the decoration was issued for four years (silver medal – fourth class), 12 years (gold medal – third class), 18 years (silver cross – second class), 25 years (gold cross – first class), and 40 years (1939 special class). The 40 years special class service award was introduced on 10 March 1939.

Professor Dr Richard Klein designed the awards. Recipients of lower year awards would wear the decoration simultaneously with higher level decorations. The manner they could be worn was:

3rd Class with 4th Class (gold medal with silver medal)
2nd Class with 4th Class (silver cross with silver medal)
1st Class with 3rd Class (gold cross with gold medal)

The Long Service Award was retroactive throughout a service member's career, encompassing Reichswehr service as well as service dating during and before World War I. As such, there were a handful of 40 year awards presented, even though the NSDAP era only lasted 12 years (1933-1945).