Original Items: One-of-a-kind grouping. This is a fantastic named Heer award and document set, with three original German WWII awards, each with their original BESITTZZEUGNIS "possession/award" certificates. All are named to the same soldier, Karl-Heinz Krusch. The earliest document lists him as an Obergefreiten (Senior Exempted), an enlisted rank equivalent to a U.S. Army Corporal, while a document dated a year later lists him as a Gefreiten (exempted), a slightly lower rank. We do not know if this is a technical oversight, or whether he was demoted for some reason. The last document has his rank as Unteroffizier, a junior NCO rank equivalent to a U.S. Army Sergeant. So this shows this progression over the war from a Senior Enlisted man to a Junior NCO, with some interesting research potential!

The three awards earned by this soldier in date received are the Medaille Winterschlacht im Osten 1941/42 (Eastern Front Medal), the Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse 1939 (Iron Cross 2nd Class 1939), and finally the Verwundetenabzeichen III. Klasse im Schwarz (Wound Badge 3rd Class in Black). All of the awards are in good condition, with their original ribbons (if issued with them). Even better, the Eastern Medal and EKII come with their original labeled and maker marked paper packets!

All three of the documents measure approximately, 8" x 5.5", (20cm x 14cm), and are printed on mid-weight paper with black print and typed in particulars. All of the documents are dated, with their correct stamps and signatures.

The first award document indicates that the Eastern Front Medal was awarded to Krusch on 20. 8. 1942, when was a member of the Stabsbattr. I. / Art. Regt. 329 (Staff Battery, 1st Company, Artillery Regiment 329), and is listed as Obergefreiten. This document bears the stamp of the Art. Regt. 329 and is signed by a Leutnant.

The second document indicates that the Iron Cross 2nd Class was awarded to Krusch on 26. 8. 1943, and he is listed as a member of the exact same unit, except his rank is given as Gefreiten. This document bears the stamp of the 329. Inf. Div., and is signed by Generalleutnant u. Div. Kdr. Johannes Mayer. At the time Mayer was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, and would later receive Oak Leaves and then Swords as commander of the 329. Infanterie Division.

The last document indicates that Krusch was awarded the Wound Badge in Black for a single serious injury received on 11. März 1944. He is listed at this time as Unteroffizier Karl-Heinz Krusch, and is listed as being part of Einheit (Unit) 23814 A , which is unfortunately not a marking that we understand. The award document bears the authorizing signature of a Senior Staff Surgeon & Chief Doctor, and was awarded 17. April 1944. We assume that this wound may have taken him out of service for the rest of the war.

All documents are in good condition, with the expected wear and yellowing from age. They all show folding and light staining, as expected of documents of this age. Please consult the pictures for condition specifics.

A really nice German WWII award set, complete with the original documents named to the same soldier. Ready to display!

There is no more iconic German military award than the Iron Cross (Eisernes Kreuz, abbreviated EK). The long history of this order began during the Napoleonic Wars. It was established by King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia in March 1813, backdated to the birthday of his late wife Queen Louise on 10 March 1813 (EK 1813), who was the first person to receive this decoration (posthumous). The award criteria changed somewhat with time, but generally speaking, Iron Crosses could be awarded for individual acts of bravery, or for leadership achievements on the battlefield. The design was created by a Karl Friedrich Schinkel, his choice of the black cross with silver outline was derived from the heraldic emblem of the Teutonic Knights.

There were a number of different type and grades of Iron Cross awards throughout its long history, but the basic details of the most widely awarded grades: The Iron Cross 1st Class and Iron Cross 2nd Class- remained the same. The first class award was a breast badge, with fittings on the reverse to allow it to be worn on the uniform. These fittings varied widely over time and from maker to maker, and could be a simple in and catch, a screw post and retaining disc, or more elaborate setups. The second class award was suspended from a ribbon, originally in the Prussian colors of black and white, later in the Reich colors of black, red and white.

On the original versions of these crosses, in 1813, the front of the iron core of each grade was bare, and only the second class award had ornamentation: a crown over the initials “FW” representing the King, a sprig of oak leaves, and the date 1813. The core was redesigned in 1870, when the cross was re-instituted during the Franco-Prussian War. The reverse ornamentation on the Iron Cross 2nd Class remained the same, but the front of the core on both grades now bore another crown, a “W” representing Kaiser Wilhelm, and the date 1870. This pattern repeated again when the cross was reinstituted for WWI- everything stayed the same, only the date 1870 was replaced with 1914.

The final reinstitution of the cross came in 1939. For this version, the front of the core for both grades bore a swas and the date 1939. The oak leaves, crown and royal initials were removed from the reverse, with only the date 1813 remaining as a reminder of the legacy of this award. In WWII, hundreds of thousands of Iron Cross First Class awards were bestowed, and four and a half million Iron Cross Second Class awards. Iron Crosses were made by a large number of authorized manufacturers. Some variants of these awards were mass produced in huge numbers. Others were made in very limited quantities.

The Iron Cross was normally a military decoration only, though there were instances of it being awarded to civilians for performing military functions. Two examples of this were civilian test pilots Hanna Reitsch who was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class and 1st Class and Melitta Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg, who was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class, for their actions as pilots during World War II.

The Eastern Front Medal (German: Medaille Winterschlacht im Osten 1941/42) was a World War II German military decoration awarded to both German and Axis personnel. It was awarded to those who served on the German Eastern Front during the winter campaign period of 15 November 1941 to 15 April 1942 It was instituted on 26 May 1942 and was commonly known as the Ostmedaille (East Medal) or Russian Front Medal.

The medal was wryly called the Frozen Meat Medal or the "Order of the Frozen Flesh" (German: Gefrierfleischorden) by Heer, Luftwaffe and Waffen-SS personnel to whom it was awarded.

Qualification
Armed service personnel qualified for the badge after a minimum of 14 days served in active combat; 30 combat sorties for Luftwaffe members; 60 days of continuous service in a combat zone; being wounded or suffering a "frozen limb", severe enough to warrant the issue of a Wound Badge. The medal could be awarded posthumously.

The Wound Badge (German: Verwundetenabzeichen) was a military decoration first promulgated by Wilhelm II, German Emperor on 3 March 1918, which was awarded to wounded or frostbitten soldiers of the Imperial German Army, during World War I. Between the world wars, it was awarded to members of the German armed forces who fought on the Nationalist side of the Spanish Civil War, 1938–39, and received combat related wounds. It was awarded to members in the Reichswehr, the Wehrmacht, SS and the auxiliary service organizations during the Second World War. After March 1943, due to the increasing number of Allied bombings, it was also awarded to wounded civilians in air raids. It was awarded when the wound was the result of enemy hostile action, with an exception being for frostbite.

The badge had three classes:
- Black (3rd class, representing Iron), for those wounded once or twice by hostile action (including air raids).
- Silver (2nd class) for being wounded three or four times.
- Gold (1st class, which could be awarded posthumously) for five or more times wounded.

The "progression" could be waived in the event of loss of a limb or eyesight; when such a severe wound occurred, the silver badge was awarded.