WWII Militaria

[Alexanderofmacedon]

Does anyone have any military artifacts from WWI or WWII? What are they? I'm looking to buy some.

[Archayon]

Try to contact some farmers from around Ypres...
they still find obuses and other bombs between their crops
sometimes old pieces of WWI artefacts



this page on (belgian) Ebay offers a lot you might be interested at ...


Arch

edit: working link (oops)

[Uesugi Kenshin]

I have a .50 caliber ammo box from WWI or WWII that's filled with various medals, maps, papers and random other little artifacts from an American that went over there. I don't remember which war it is from, or even what exactly is in it because I was given the box quite a while ago. I'm not interested in selling though.

[Avicenna]

Archayon... the shells found from WWI are, I think, still explosive.

[4th Dimension]

Yep. Explosiv never truly decays. It can wait for 100 years and then blow up some too curious felow.

[Archayon]

Archayon... the shells found from WWI are, I think, still explosive.

indeed ... not all of them... but still ...

some foolish collector's over there keep searching for them,
they stock them in their home ...
and the really dumb ones try to open them...


i was mentioning the bombs ironically though


but still, on the belgian Ebay there are sometimes some very nice pieces of WW artefacts ... i'm thinking of bajonets, helmets, uniform signs, regular use objects, ... from WW I. From WW II, you have the whole nazi stuff of course ... mostly fake.

Sometimes, you can spot a rare air fotograph of the trenches (at least i spotted one once )


The only artefact i have is a diary from a Belgian Corporal who fought in the trenches, written in a local, almost un-understandable dialect. The Belgian soldiers didn't see so many action as the French or the British soldiers , but it's a very nice document. And , i'm not selling that one



Arch

[KrooK]

I got Hitlerjugend knife.
Knife has been captured during ww2 and later given my father who is history teacher. Looks well and is still sharp.

[Csargo]

I have a WWII bayonet but don't want to sell it.

[Banquo's Ghost]

Slightly OT:

Do any of you feel uncomfortable with this stuff or is it just historical for you?

My father has a cavalry sabre which was used by our ancestor when he fought under Napoleon. Whilst it is a beautiful object, the diaries which accompany it make it very clear how many lives that sword ended in bloodshed and pain.

It makes me shudder, and I'm not at all sure how I will feel when I inherit it.

I don't think I could have a Nazi item in the house at all.

Just curious - I imagine I'm being rather over-sensitive, but does anyone feel similarly, or think about what those items might have done in the hands of others?

[Kääpäkorven Konsuli]

German troops used my grandmother's shed as a toilet. Do you want to buy it?

[Uesugi Kenshin]

Banquo I don't really feel uncomfortable with that sort of thing, to me it is just history.

[Mount Suribachi]

I have this Spitfire, made by my grandad during WW2 from spent shell casings

http://www.whatifmodelers.com/forum/...topic=3869&hl=

BG - its an interesting question, one that I believe goes to the heart of us as TW gamers ie how can morally justify our little games, killing 10s of thousands of people every night. We make death and suffering on an enourmous scale little more than light entertainment.

The fact that you pondered this shows that you have a concience and see war as more than just "cool". I had a similar experience when I got back into scale modelling about 8 years ago, the whole "glorification of war" thing. Like you I draw the line at anything Nazi related. I just can't bring myself to model a 109 or Tiger tank without thinking of the regime they helped keep in power.

[Rodion Romanovich]

Interesting views, I probably wouldn't have minded owning a Luger P08, which was considered a trophy for many allied soldiers to capture. Most weapon models have been used both in just and unjust situations but most only in unjust situations, so there isn't much different owning any particular weapon over owning any other, unless you know the individual history of a certain weapon has been particularly horrible. What I wouldn't like to own for example would be a ww2 submachinegun that had been used to guard concentration camps or something like that, or a rifle used for arquebusing POWs, civilians or others against human rights. But owning a German weapon used by a soldier that served on the fronts I don't think I would feel uneasy about. An average German Schutze serving on the fronts, or in the ships, was probably as far from the nazi atrocies as you could get. So owning something used by some average soldier in the frontlines, or something I would be unaware of the exact history of, I don't think I would mind, but rather see as purely historical. Just because it isn't German doesn't mean it hasn't been used for bad things - for instance, British Lee Enfields used in ww2 might previously, before ww2, have been used to slaughter civilians in colonies. I don't think any specific weapons model or nationality of the weapon is that crucial, rather if I knew the specific history of the weapon to be worse than normal (but normal for weapons is quite bad anyway, with a historical perspective). Interesting with Banquo's Ghost owning both the weapon and it's diary.

[Homo Sapiens]

I have my grandfather's WWII service uniform and copies of his prisoner-of-war papers, but they're sentimental to me, so no, not for sale.

[The Stranger]

Does anyone have any military artifacts from WWI or WWII? What are they? I'm looking to buy some.

i could get you a book at our bookstore its very beautiful and it has many cool things bout ww1...but it would cost alot to buy and send it. the books costs around 55 euro and i dunno how much sending would cost. if youre willing to pay for those 2 things...i would do the rest for free...but i dunno if you trust me etcc..

[Alexanderofmacedon]

Banquo I don't really feel uncomfortable with that sort of thing, to me it is just history.

Yes, I feel the same way.

Well guys since I have been to this thread last, I have done a few paint jobs to earn myself $500.00. I'm sure you all can guess what I'm going to get with it. I've made sure all these things are 100% authentic.

-Annexation of Austria medal.

-Also the eighth one down on this page. The 12 Year Luftwaffe Service Award. Just scroll down you'll see it. .

-This Romanian crusade against communism medal. This is the back.

-This German Russian Campaign medal .

-And also this Infantry Assault Badge. The back of it which is $140.

I'm also getting the display cases for free because I have some inside people in the militaria business.

[Avicenna]

Whoa, AoM, you're only interested in Nazi artifacts?

[Alexanderofmacedon]

Whoa, AoM, you're only interested in Nazi artifacts?

Yeah. I'm more fascinated with German culture than any other country, hence my title. I'm NOT a neo-nazi, I just find them more fun to collect and more interesting, not to mention they're worth more.



EDIT: NOT A NEO-NAZI!!!...bad typo...

[Red Peasant]

Sorry, but collecting Nazi memorabilia is plain creepy and fetishistic.

I agree with BQ, although I thought he may have been the Irish priest from Father Ted with the Nazi war criminal and collection of Nazi regalia in his back room!

[Red Peasant]

I'm a neo-nazi, I just find them more fun

[Alexanderofmacedon]

Sorry, but collecting Nazi memorabilia is plain creepy and fetishistic.

I agree with BQ, although I thought he may have been the Irish priest from Father Ted with the Nazi war criminal and collection of Nazi regalia in his back room!

Think what you'd like, but there are 12,000 people from the USA and UK mostly who seem to love it..

http://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/index.php

I'm not expecting you to understand, but call it creepy or fetishistic.

[Red Peasant]

Believe me, I don't want to understand.

[Banquo's Ghost]

I agree with BQ, although I thought he may have been the Irish priest from Father Ted with the Nazi war criminal and collection of Nazi regalia in his back room!

More in the Father Jack mould, I'm sad to say...

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

I'm a neo-nazi

This is a typo, right?

[Red Peasant]

More in the Father Jack mould, I'm sad to say...

Nothing wrong with Father Jack!

[Alexanderofmacedon]

Wow, BIG mistake...

I'm NOT NOT NOT NOT a neo-nazi. That's a REALLY bad typo...

[Red Peasant]

Wow, BIG mistake...

I'm NOT NOT NOT NOT a neo-nazi. That's a REALLY bad typo...

Well, that's a relief

[Alexanderofmacedon]

Yeah, two of my best friends are Jewish, and I plan on visiting Auschwitz and Birkeneu to the memorials. It was a horrible thing what they did.

[Mount Suribachi]

Think what you'd like, but there are 12,000 people from the USA and UK mostly who seem to love it..

http://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/index.php

I'm not expecting you to understand, but call it creepy or fetishistic.

I don't care how many people are into it, I still find it disturbing. Sure, all 12,000 aren't nazi-wannabees, but Capo & PJ show the disturbing mind-set of some nazi-fetishists.

[Avicenna]

German military culture or normal German culture, eg Currywurst's and all?