Struck in the back of the head

[Dick]

The one I posted with the normal std. white paint. The cross is not a modern creation, and the details of it's age are unfortunately not shown in the photo.
Now we have two showing 1940, instead of 1939 on the cross. If 1940 means something for both, I don't know what it is, YET!

[Paul D]

John's cross relates to a death in 1940 so we can assume that is the relevance on that one.

[Dick]

When the war was going bad, they emptied the schools, and everything else, cause they needed men to fight, more than they needed students.
That is documented historical fact.
The burrial teams used what ever they had to work with, and obviuosly not much some times. Some times nothing, and then it said unknown, or could only give a rank, and or division.
I don't have all the answers on these, and no one else does, but were trying.

[Paul D]

When the war was going bad, they emptied the schools, and everything else, cause they needed men to fight, more than they needed students.
That is documented historical fact.
The burrial teams used what ever they had to work with, and obviuosly not much some times. Some times nothing, and then it said unknown, or could only give a rank, and or division.
I don't have all the answers on these, and no one else does, but were trying.

Dick that doesn't answer my earlier questions , these wooden markers are for field graves and were never intended to be permanent he would have later been removed to an Ehrenfriedhof, the wooden markers were usually prepared at unit level from local wood etc and the burial parties were usually at Kompanie or Bataillon level . In this case the burial party know his name, rank , date of birth, date of death , the only way a burial party could come by that sort of detail is by checking with his official documents as mentioned earlier as the Erkennungsmarke doesn't carry those deatils , these records were held at company and Regimental level so they could only have been obtained form his unit !!

regards

Paul

[John Brandon]

John's cross relates to a death in 1940 so we can assume that is the relevance on that one.

now i wish it was

I can give more information on it

It was in Sedan in France, and taken by an officer a week or two before war's end, That might narrow it down a bit

[Dick]

Maybe the school he was attending had his documents, before he ever made it to were he was initially asighned, Wiking. Maybe the Berlin document center is the place to get the answers that I am also asking.
I am not easy to convince, but I totally believe this cross to be !00%, from there I am looking for more info. from record centers with anyone welcome to help.

[Paul D]

One thing the Germans were good at was record keeping right until almost the end of the war in 1945 , his documents would have gone with him to any unit he belonged to the training unit wouldn't keep them.He was required to carry his soldbuch himself.

If this cross was from Eastern Poland where Wiking were fighting in August 1944 and not Normandy it would have a lot more credibilty

[uber_soldat]

that's the problem - it doesn't make any seance - if they were short on money I'm sure that the mg would be worth more than any old helmet. I should be reported to the authorities so they can contact the war graves commission.

[infin1ty92]

In Denmark where i live, some of the german soldiers during ww2, helped warning the jews to get away in time, when the soldiers got a message to capture them.

[gibba1008]

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