Looks like a fair few of those 'tinnies' and German equivalent of 'war bond' badges too. Is the dark belt buckle a standard 'Gott mit Uns' one? or something else. I'd guess they grabbed every shiny thing they could from any passing German.
I'm no expert either but I'd just like to say that I'm really, really envious of what you have. Kitty has the right idea. Get it valued at a credible auction house, then keep and pass it onto your future generations. You never know, one of 'em might be a millionaire one day. :wink: And make you grandfather-in-law proud. marcus
http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/attachments/general/6350d1185845578-info-ww2-memorabilia-captured-flag-flaggroup-jpg Looking at the gun trails and towing hook I'd say that gun was a M2A1 105mm Howitzer. Like this one. The Military and Mizzou: 1861-1946
Thanks for all of the replies and kind words. I will get more close ups of the individual medals and badges tonight and post. Several have mentioned credible auction houses to value..any recommendations ? For the record, I agree w/most on here in the fact that it is worth a lot to us as a keepsake/memory (unless of course it would be life changing, of which I doubt). I wish more than anything that our grandmother had told us about this so we could have had a good history. My mother-in-law was born (only child) in '48, and she says she never heard one mention of the war "it was not up for discusssion". My wife was born in '71, one month before her grandfather passed away, so she never knew him.
That's quite a collection! I am glad that you have decided to keep it rather than sell it. The flag itself is the German Civil Ensign (1933-45), often referred to as the Party Flag. Of the two closeups you have shown, the medal in flag2.jpg is a civilian award, the Cross of Honour in light bronze awarded to the next-of-kin of a fallen service man. The military version had crossed swords. The ribbon was identical. The military version is worth around $60, but the civilian version, the one you have, is worth at least double that. The badge shown in the other closeup (flag3.jpg) is a rarity. It is a pre-Nazi badge of Imperial Germany. The top medal in flag5.jpg is the War Merit Cross, the earlier ones were made of bronze but later they were cast in zinc.
The photo you have of Hitler saluting from a car was taken at Nuremberg at the 1934 Party Rally (the year after Leni Riefenstahl had filmed the rally as Triumph of the Will). The car they are in (evidence from other photos of the 1934 rally) is Hitler's Mercedes Benz 770 Cabriolet, registration number 1A-103808. The man seated besides Hess is Baldur Von Schirach, the Hitler Youth leader. This photo was first published in an article by Von Schirach titled The Führer and German Youth, at page 111 of Goebbels' propaganda volume Adolf Hitler, published on 15 September, 1935. It was taken by Heinrich Hoffman, Hitler's press photographer, the man who introduced Eva Braun to Hitler.
