Knights Cross Recipients Photo Collection

Hi Paul, he is and ill pass along your kind words to him when I start to get ready to try to top last years Bday greetings to him ;-))

Glad to see you here Mate, and I have nt forgotten about W.R forums-just not enough time lately to visit more than 2-3 sites.

Oh and, I knwo I have said this for almost a year but, im finally in the process of mailing pomised stuff to people, but probably can only do about 3 things a month due to recent med bills :-( I got soem great images to send to you.

Take care my friend and hope can get these things to you before you decide to retire ;-))

 

Hi Anderw, thats to say the least ;-)) At least many of us here know more truth about such things than the lamestream people here in the USA and worldwide. Luckily most of the people I run iinto that I share to them about my experiances with WWII German Vets-is always 100% positive. The few who I get any flak from, dont have a leg to stand on anyway as they have never been in our shoes and gave any interest or any time, to talking with a WWII German Vet. Heck, almost every American Vet I ever talked with or corresponded with that also know that I was friends with some fo their former ememies-that it was a grand idea to get to know some of themm-and believe it or not? but, a few American vets asked me to get them in touch with some WWII German vets. I did so and a few friendships developed because of that ;-)) If im ever known for something positive, imy hope is that I will be remembered for doing simple things like that.

PS, glad you already know Paul, I was going to tell you about him had you not heard of him-and so that you Gents could share info and such about the RKTs you know and have written to ;-)) Glad to see you two already know about each other.

Take care--Carl.

 

Hi Carl

Yes, I have had the great pleasure of getting to know Paul and he was a terrific help in my early days of collecting.

My father in law was in WWII and always found it interesting that I was in contact with those whom he had fought against. It actually brought us closer together as we talked about his time in Germany, where he had been, etc.

I always find it interesting what people think of my interests. Most are positive, some are negative. What I find is that the negative ones are generally part of what I call the "clueless crowd." They couldn't find the Ardennes on a map if their life depended on it. They have no interest in history other than what has been spoon fed to them. It's hard to have any respect for them or their opinions.

At one time I had done some re-enacting and it was always interesting to hear the vets comments. They actually seemed to enjoy the whole "spectacle" and would critique things. For me it allowed me to get a better idea of what it "felt" like. You can look at photos or watch movies, but it is not until you put on a pair of hobnailed boots and try to navigate a snowy rocky hillside................ Not to mention hitting the ground when the "rounds" start flying. You learn real quick why equipment was carried the way it was

Sorry to hear about the med bills, I have custody case bills, I empathize with you brother.

Andrew

 

Well said Andrew. Oh and, one cant get a better mentor than Paul on things like this ;-))

 

I have been collecting Luftwaffe and U-boat Aces (knight cross winners) as well. I feel lucky that I have over 200 various signed photos so far. I was able to find an old collector that collected them from veterans in Germany back in the 1970's and 80's and have acquired a large part of my collection from him.
Most of my photos were signed before 1985 and they are on nice Argenta post cards which I like better than the reproduced photos on photo paper. I plan on making an album of them here on this website but I just became a member so it will take a little while for me to get that set up
great to see your photos thank you
Lacy

 

Lacy

welcome aboard, hopeful you can just put down 3-4 pics just to tantalize us with part of your collection. Mine started back in the 1960's, had a full bird colonel uncle stationed near Wiesbaden and was quite involved with the local glider airfield and of course many the ex-Luftwaffe vets/aces were involved in this as it just does not go away (flying that is). It seemed a natural for me to send a few questions which my Uncle promptly re-wrote and of course into German since he was fluent, so the collection started with day and night fighter aces

alright let's crank it up folks !!

 

I'm a bit wary of people I've seen on OTHER forums who post their entire collections (or so it seems). I don't know, it's very cool that they have the same hobby as me, and appreciate the same things about these brave men. However, there's an underlying element of boasting, or even a slight implication of "superiority" to whomever has the largest collection of signed photos, or goes to the OdR every year, etc. within circles of WWII history buffs. I was discouraged by a few people like this about writing to veterans until I came to THIS forum, where I received the support and direction I needed, and now I have a growing collection and memorable letters and photos from some German veterans that I whole-heartedly appreciate. Does anyone else think it's sort of a personal experience, collecting signed photos of RK winners? Unless its a rare photograph that everyone would appreciate, or you and your friend are having a fun competition or something, I don't understand the motivation behind "showing off" one's collection of autographs by posting several pages worth of scanned pictures. Maybe someone has insight into this, or can enlighten me - I would like to know.

 

Why is it boasting to want to show off your collection of photographs signed or otherwise relating to WW2 ? Many forums are frequented by collectors who like to see examples of all types of Militaria held in the collections of others not sure why photos should be different it's got nothing to do with boasting but sharing with like minded people and particulary in the area of directly contacting veterans themselves it can build up trust and contacts regarding addresses etc if people can see a genuine interest.

It is good that you are buidling up your collection of photos but you have to realise that many people are reticent to give out addresses to posters on an internet forum with no personal knowledge of them which is why you rarely see addresses posted in open forum. and this is a policy that you should also follow , imagine if you start to hand out addresses to someone you don't know who then writes to a RKT and abuses them etc etc !!

As many here know i have been an OdR Member for 10 years , have been to many veterans meetings in Germany , written to many hundreds of RKT and other vets and have access to all the addresses of all living RKT but i owe all that to guys whi have been doing it a lot longer than me with far bigger collections of photos who posted their expereince and allowed me to tap into it to advance my own collecting , to you that may be boasting but to me it is letting people know that i and many others have knowledge and experience in certain areas that could be a help to others now or in the future.

This thread was started by Andrew a well known RKT collector who wanted to show some of his photos for the enjoyment of others.

regards

Paul

 

I take it you Vonkoenigsberg you were referring to Wermacht-Awards, when Phil, POSTS PICS OF HIS COLLECTION to respect the passing of the RKT.

 

It appears that Vonkoenigsberg has gone quiet on this matter !! Your right he was probably referring to Phil who he could definately learn from , only a few years ago Phil was also a young collector but has built up a great collection of signed photos and personal contact with RKT's by conducting himself in the right manner !!

 

Agree with Paul, the photo sharing on this particular site is for historical purposes and really this is what this site is all about is it not ? knowing Phil from another site plus WAF all can be said is he is a kind and thoughtful man and full of knowledge and willing to share his collection NOT at all on a from a perspective of "look what I have".

 

I totally agree with Paul and Erich, on this matter,i myself have only been collecting signed foto's from RKT for a few years and been a member of the OdR SINCE 2009, and Phil has been helpful to me as other's have been and vice-versa.

 

I wanted to put my 2 cents worth on this subject. I have recently started writing letters to RKT winners and have been lucky to receive many responses. I have read many of the other forums and looked at the pictures that have been posted. I personally dont see an aspect of "boasting" or anything like that in the posts. I have found them useful because there are some names that I am unfamiliar with and then can begin researching the winner to see if they are still alive and if so, Can I locate information on that RKT. If anything, I am envious of some of the collectors who started much earlier and the persons they received signatures from. This is just my views

 

I would add this, for those of us who have just recently started out, some tips might be useful. While I agree with all of you that simply handing out an address to an unknown person is simply foolish, perhaps providing tips and encouragment would be useful. I assume someone helped you get started and to pass that knowledge on would help build a new generation of collectors. For me, I have written to aprx 50 RKT winners and received about 14 back so far. In addition, as I am a Panzer collector, I have located Tiger and King Tiger commanders and crew. I have managed to get responses from a few and awaiting even more. But the research itself has been a joy as I have learned more now than I even knoew before and my son assists with the research which makes him even more enthusiastic.

Sorry, I strayed off my topic.

 

Greg

expand your knowledge, may I give an example. go to ebay.de and type in Ritterkreuzträger. And although expensive it would be wise to build up your library with the German volumes (many to choose from) covering the recipients in their appropriate military fields. I note a brand new volume 1 of the Stug- RK winners which will replace the long out of print and quite excellent Biblio series of RK titles. Will admit it is a joy to engage in written conversation with any Ww 2 veteran from either side of the conflict but one needs the other sides story as well................. read up !

 

Yes alot of publications, mostly in German but undoubtedly worth getting a hold of, some RKT, still living have their own book's with great information, the only advice i can give on writing these Vet's is to be patient, great hobby..

 

Oh Yeah, Patience is the one thing you have to have. I wrote to Herr Heder 6 months ago and only recently recieved a reply. As for reading, I read as much as I can consume between a job and family. I will look into the books that Erich suggested