Wehrmacht Awards and Decorations 1933-1945-1957, by Sebastian Bianchi

[Richard T Eger]

This website gives an excellent presentation of the military awards and decorations of the Third Reich. Each award/decoration is illustrated, its history given, and the requirements for receiving it presented. Information is given for some specific recipients, but I was unable to find massive lists of recipients for each award/decoration, not even the highest ones. Perhaps they are there, but I couldn't find them.

I was happy to see under documents a good write-up on what a Soldbuch really is, as well as on the Wehrpass and the German equivalent of dog-tags, the Erkennungsmarke.

The site has a very active discussion forum.

The website address is:

http://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/


The following discussion about the site is copied directly from the site:


"<u>Images</u>

All awards pictured here are originals unless otherwise specified. The images used either come from my collection or have been used with explicit permission of their owners who are listed in the credits section. If any copyright infringement has occurred please contact me and we will solve it immediately. If you would like to use any of them all I ask is that you let me know.

<u>Viewing</u>

This site is best viewed with a screen setting of 800x600 and medium fonts. I test it with a variety of browsers, but if you find something that just doesn't look right please drop me a line as this may be the only way I know something is wrong.

All the articles/info posted will be factually correct and every effort will be made to have the most accurate and up to date information. Should you encounter what you believe to be a factual or spelling error please report them to me.

At the bottom of the each page there are links to the other main pages, and from there all other grades are found.

<u>The Goal of the Site</u>

The goal of this web site is no other than to provide information and illustrations of all Werhmacht awards between the years 1933-1945, with information on the 1957 reissue of these where applicable. Considering the number and complexity of Third Reich awards, this will not be an easy task and it will take some time to complete. The site will be updated weekly (as time permits), with sections expanded and new sections added.

I have found that there is abundant information dealing with the Knights Cross to the Iron Cross, German Cross, and other well-known decorations. These awards will be covered here with additional information presented in the form of recipients’ stories, the circumstances surrounding presentations, and the political/military situation of the time. These famous awards, however, are often out of reach for the beginner collector because of both their price and the fear of buying a reproduction. It takes time to establish trust with a dealer, acquire the necessary knowledge, and convince your wife/significant other that it’s really worth several thousands to get that Knight’s Cross. There are many interesting campaign medals, war badges and achievement awards that may be relatively common in the collector’s world but very interesting and of historical significance. Amateur historians and individuals with only a general interest in Word War II may have heard of the Knights Cross to the Iron Cross, but may not have had an opportunity to explore the vast number of interesting awards presented during those times. This site, then, is not only geared toward beginner and experienced collectors who may be looking for further reference material, pictures or articles, but also the historians who are not collectors, but may want to read about or see these awards.

<u>Contacts and Contributors</u>

One of my personal goals is to contact other collectors with whom to share experiences and information. Please do not hesitate to drop me a line or leave a message on the guest book. To read a little bit about me, go to the about the author page. Also, art