REFERENCE BOOKS 

GERMAN REPRODUCTIONS

For a quick look at German items on our website that are not listed in the catalog
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Although we are adding to this website all the time, 
our illustrated catalog lists numerous items that do not yet appear here.  

For more information, just click on the button below 

REPRODUCTION
ORDRE POUR LE MERITE 
(The Famous "Blue Max")

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for more information.

   The military cross of the Ordre pour le Mérite  was Imperial Germany's highest decoration for valor. This blue and gold neck order has long been considered one of the most beautiful decorations ever designed. 

  The award was nicknamed "the Blue Max" after Max Immelmann, who was one of the first airmen to receive the honor

   Although the order was discontinued after 1918, those who had earned this coveted distinction proudly wore it the rest of their lives. Among the famous World War II personalities to do so were Hermann Göring, who won his flying with the Richthofen Geschwader, and Erwin Rommel, whose military daring as a young lieutenant resulted in the capture of over 1000 Italian soldiers at Caporetto in 1917. 

The last man entitled to wear the Blue Max was best-selling German author Ernst Jünger, who earned his in the trenches of the Western Front and died in 1998 at the age of 101.

Enameled on front only (smooth gold back)
GRR001....$19.95 

Enameled on both sides, like the original
GRR282....$24.95  

THE IRON CROSS
GERMANY’S HIGHEST AWARD FOR VALOR    

   The traditional German order for bravery was the Iron Cross, established during the Napoleonic Wars in 1813 and re-instituted for the wars of 1870, 1914, and 1939. The pertinent date appears prominently on the lower front of the cross.

   From 1813 until 1939, the Iron Cross was worn on a black and white ribbon and consisted of two classes, First and Second. A special class added later was the Grand Cross, a larger decoration worn at the throat. Fewer than ten awards were made for each war, all to high-ranking generals. An even higher special award was the Star of the Grand Cross. Only two of these were ever awarded: one to Field Marshal Blücher after Waterloo in 1815, and the other to Field Marshal Hindenburg in 1918.

   When the Iron Cross was reinstituted in 1939, the design was modified by the addition of the swastika in the center of the cross, and the changing of the ribbon to the national colors of red, white, and black. The most common award was the Iron Cross Second Class, which was worn on a ribbon through the third button hole of the tunic; it was standard practice to wear only the ribbon. The next level was the Iron Cross First Class, a pin-back award without a ribbon worn on the left breast pocket.

   At the same time, the order was filled out by the addition of two important classes: the Knight's Cross, which became Germany's highest award for military achievement, and the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, indicating a second award. As the war progressed, more classes were added to the Knight's Cross: Oak Leaves and Swords, then Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds, and — with a single award to Stuka pilot Hans Rudel — Gold Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds. The only 1939 Grand Cross was awarded to that master collector of trinkets, Hermann Göring.

   Bullion embroidered crosses were private purchase items popular with pilots and panzer crews who had trouble with the metal crosses snagging on cockpits and tank hatches.

   Recipients of the Iron Cross First and Second Class who had previously won the award in World War I wore their 1914 cross or ribbon with a distinctive 1939 eagle and bar device to indicate the multiple award.

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WORLD WAR II  IRON CROSSES

1939 Knight's Cross 
GRR007.....$19.95
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.

1939 Knight's Cross 
with oak leaves 
GRR006.....$22.95
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.

(NO LONGER AVAILABLE)

1939 clasp 
for 1914 Iron Cross 
(cross not included)

GRR202....$13.95

REPRODUCTION
MILITARY IDENTITY BOOKS

The Germans were famous for their meticulous record keeping, and nowhere was this better exemplified that in the soldbuch (pay book) that was carried by each member of the armed forces. It contained not only the necessary personal information — photograph, date and place of birth, parents, etc. — but also detailed records of the man’s promotions, payment, clothing issue, and weapons for which he was responsible. This was the soldier’s most important personal document, and  pity the poor landser who accidentally lost his! Needless to say, captured soldbuchs were a useful source of information for Allied intelligence.

These copies are taken from original documents, and are correct right down to the color of the cardboard covers and bindings. They are ideally suited to the requirements of the collector or reenactor.

                GRR306     Army Soldbuch                          $12.95          GRR 452   Army Cover   $5.95
                                                                                                     

                GRR307     Luftwaffe Soldbuch                    $12.95          GRR453     LW Cover   $5.95
                                                                                                    

                GRR 308    SS Soldbuch                              $15.95            GRR454   SS Cover   $5.95
                                                                                                    

                GMP117     Navy Soldbuch                           $19.95            GMP118    KM cover  $5.95
                                                                                                   

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