The future of our hobby..

[rusted180]

I've noticed a couple other young guys post on this thread, so I'll add my 2 cents for what it's worth. I'm now 27 years old, and I've been seriously interested and invested in learning about the second World war since I was 10. Of course for me, the curiosity of it all came with finding out my grandfather was in the Battle of the Bulge attatched to a field artillery battalion in the 1st Army. My Dad had told me about Germans he captured and a Luger he had. I immediately became enthralled with this giant war my Grandpa was in, and why he was in it and why the bad guys were the bad guys.

I began finding every book in the school library that had anything to do with WW2, and I'm pretty sure I read every book on WW2 all the schools I went to had to offer. Fast forward and here we are, in a time where I too, feel like history is being looked at less and less every day. I can honestly say that it hurts when people don't know much about what I consider to be one of the most magnificent struggles mankind has endured. World War 2 was phenomenal, in a good and bad way, and I think we as collectors can all agree on that, and that's part of what draws us to these little things that we collect, that were part of such a tremendously gripping time. I personally can also say that the hobby will steadily increase in younger people getting interested, maybe not drastically, but since I am one of the younger ones I feel as though I can say that.

When I was a lot younger though, maybe 15 or 16, I always knew I was into a hobby that consisted of older men, and that typically kids my age weren't spending their time putting together 82nd Airborne uniforms or German LAH uniforms for reenactments.

Politics has never been something I love talking about, because I know a lot people turn into whiney babies when it comes to it, and I won't bring anything up here. I just know that collecting anything from the Third Reich is a slippery slope as far as letting certain people know about your interests in it. My interest in German combat soldiers of the second World war has led me to meet great people who are like minded and know that our hobby is strictly out of passion for history and the fighting men who were there. What I've learned is that soldiers are soldiers and history is written by the victor. There are no winners in war, everyone loses. War turns good men into monsters and that's that.

Its easy to know why somebody with little to no knowledge of WW2 would call a lot of us sympathizers, but that comes with the hobby, understanding that most people are ignorant to the facts of a lot of things. I have sympathy for good men, and I've also learned that bad men lurk where there are good men, so take that for what it is. I respect all the fallen soldiers who did their duty, I'm not talking about einsatzgruppen here, I'm talking about all Soldiers allied and axis who were rank and file. I'm ranting here but the point is is that I'm spending a decent amount of time typing this to prove that younger generations are still pationate about history and especially WW2.

Collecting German helmets, US M1 helmets, German insignia, uniforms, bayonets and everything in between has led me on the longest most wild goose chase I've ever been on and I love it. By the way, big thanks to all the older collectors here on the forum with a vast array of knowledge in even the most difficult and miniscule details that really make a difference in today's collecting world. I wouldn't know a lot of the things I know without so many of the members here, I used to use the forum a lot when I was younger and just only semi recently became a member. I appreciate anyone who's read this far, sort of just went off on a tangent. So thanks again everyone, God bless and take care. I'm always on here somewhere.
-Pete

Well said Pete! Seriously.. well said!

With all this mention about reenacting.. I remember I wanted to join a so cal imperial Japan reenactment group years ago... Never got around to it. Now I regret it. I should find the pamphlet I received at a show and contact them!

This will definitely open up another rabbit hole in my hobby hahaha! My wife will probably think I'm an even bigger lunatic than I already am. It would be pretty cool to join a German reenactment group too. I'll just pretend I'm a Japanese conscript that somehow got enlisted into the 1st division LAH.

I did watch Mark Felton's video about a Japanese regiment that served in the German army during the war. That blew my mind!

Anyway, Pete... You summed it up sir! My hats off to you and others here that are younger than most of us! I wish you guys the best and hope to keep the fire burning and then passing it onto your children!

[The Devil's Bank]

Times just change, I'm sure there's lots of kids still interested in collecting WW2 and other militaria..

Just think it will pick up again soon, also the prices of stuff is so high.

[LuckystrikeM42]

@rusted180

Yes, reenactments are a great way to immerse yourself into the past. Just being around a bunch of other men accurately dressed as whatever soldier they are portraying really makes you understand what it may have been like. Of course we will never truly understand, but its great fun if your with the right guys. Good exercise too.

Again, I will say this about the hobby, as long as guys like us are around, we can teach those who are interested and especially the younger ones. Collecting these pieces of history is fun, but let's face it, its the history itself that's the most important. With how the world is these days, WW2 is a prime example of how we don't want things to go. May God watch over us all! Have fun everyone, keep your eyes peeled for that next little thing your looking for. I just picked up a tropical Kreigsmarine breast eagle. Take care!

[Chopperman]

Well done, Pete

[Danmark]

Here in Australia ( the "lucky" country!!?? ) we are heading down a slippery slope.

From the ABC news yesterday .... "The federal government has announced it will introduce legislation next week to ban Nazi symbols and the sale of goods-for-profit featuring Nazi symbols.
The Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment (Prohibited Hate Symbols and Other Measures) Bill will be introduced into parliament next week, outlining a ban on symbols related to Nazis or the SS, including on flags, armbands, T-shirts in public and online, with a maximum penalty of up to 12 months' imprisonment"


Very vague at this stage but I'm betting online selling will be caught up as well as gun show displays I guess??

Time to crawl underground to my shelter!!!

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Dan, that is not good. I can see it happening here.

Sweeping things under the carpet is a diservice to all the victims of the Nazis.

Cheers, Ade.

[Danmark]

I predict lots of carpark meet ups and brown paper bag sales on the increase......

[christek]

I am an Australian history teacher and some of the comments here bagging my profession are ignorant, out of touch and unfair. I DO teach children HOW to think and I always keep politics out of the classroom. Australian schools are in a staffing crisis at present and posts such as this are not helping…

[christek]

... And kids love tangible history! I am pretty confident our great hobby is safe with younger generations!

[MadameVoltaire]

As a fellow history teacher, I completely agree with christek. We don't teach students what to think, but how to think and the importance of questioning information. The world has, and sadly, will always be filled with misinformation, "fake news", unreliable sources and people who will perpetuate untruths. It is our job as history teachers to make students aware of the importance of questioning the sources. Every time I hear students say "but I saw it on TikTok...I read it on Facebook...my friend's mum's cousin told me...so it must be true...", my faith in the future of this planet erodes slightly. But a passionate history teacher will turn these comments into teachable moments. We need more young people out there who question sources of information, who don't always take things at face value and put into practice the higher order thinking skills and creative problem solving that their history teachers help them to develop. Understanding the outcomes of historical events, both positive and negative, help students to foster this mindset. A passionate history teacher encourages this with their students.
I can, with confidence and experience, reassure members on this forum that WW2 in particular, is not glossed over in the History syllabus and teaching programs in Australian schools. Both junior and senior students are provided with multiple opportunities to learn about this devastating world event. We also teach students about WW1, Vietnam, the Cold War and the Russian Revolution. We encourage students to conduct in-depth research on historical events of their own choice using primary and secondary sources. We frequently discuss with our students current world events that will no doubt become the content of history text books in the future. Opportunities to handle historical objects are used in schools to remind students that all of the events they learn about involve real people; a fact that can sometimes get forgotten between the pages of a history book.
christek, I hope your students know and understand how incredibly fortunate they are to have a passionate history teacher such as yourself. Your display of historical objects would no doubt encourage excitement amongst your students.
The fact that this thread has prompted so many responses is encouraging. When we are passionate about what we know is important in this world, the more passionately we defend it. I don't believe the future of our hobby is under threat. Yes, it may be affected by the misinformed, those who see no value in preserving historical objects or those who see no value in trying to stop repeating the mistakes of the past. I like to think that those people are in the minority no matter how loud their voices may sound. History may be written by the victor and the first casualty of war is often the truth, but by collecting the historical objects we are passionate about means that their stories are able to outlast those who do not care to listen.