SCHUPO
Well-known member
Gents,
I noticed there have been a couple of very interesting threads on the Iron Cross and the Wound Badge recently. There is an often overlooked version of these, and other, awards and that is the 1957 version of WWII German awards. These are known as "'57er" awards and are basically the wartime award without the swastika. They are not fakes or reproductions as they are the wartime award with motifs other than the swastika. They were authorized to be worn by military or police personnel who were awarded the medals during the war.
This is a 1957er medal grouping of a career policeman, Gunter Ortmann, who started out as a Schutzpolizei Leutnant before the war and served with the 4th W-SS Polizei Division on the Russian Front. He rose to the rank of W-SS Major in the Police Division by 1945 and subsequently continued service in the West German Police after 1948 rising to the rank of Polizei-Direktor. His gold Wound Badge indicated severe, or repeated, wounds and this award signaled the end of his athletic career. The kicker is that he was also a Gold Medal winner in handball at the 1936 Olympics and the 1938 World Games. After the war he was responsible for physical fitness training for the Polizei.
I hope these distinctive awards are of interest.
I noticed there have been a couple of very interesting threads on the Iron Cross and the Wound Badge recently. There is an often overlooked version of these, and other, awards and that is the 1957 version of WWII German awards. These are known as "'57er" awards and are basically the wartime award without the swastika. They are not fakes or reproductions as they are the wartime award with motifs other than the swastika. They were authorized to be worn by military or police personnel who were awarded the medals during the war.
This is a 1957er medal grouping of a career policeman, Gunter Ortmann, who started out as a Schutzpolizei Leutnant before the war and served with the 4th W-SS Polizei Division on the Russian Front. He rose to the rank of W-SS Major in the Police Division by 1945 and subsequently continued service in the West German Police after 1948 rising to the rank of Polizei-Direktor. His gold Wound Badge indicated severe, or repeated, wounds and this award signaled the end of his athletic career. The kicker is that he was also a Gold Medal winner in handball at the 1936 Olympics and the 1938 World Games. After the war he was responsible for physical fitness training for the Polizei.
I hope these distinctive awards are of interest.
