Fall 2024 Militaria & Collectibles Auction
Lot 183:
Description
Exceptionally rare right out of the woodwork estate group to WWII German Army Chaplain D. Loewenich who served as a Catholic Priest in WWI and WWII. There were only approximately 1,000 military chaplains in the German Wehrmacht, roughly half of which were Catholic. Loewenich served in the Eastern Front just outside Stalingrad in 1941, however no further research is known about his military exploits.The group includes his tunic with chaplain purple piped bullion collar tabs, bullion breast eagle, pin back ribbon bar, and a nice WWI issue Iron Cross 1st Class pinned to the pocket. The jacket does not bear any name inside it. The jacket includes the following items located within the pockets- Neck cross, two extra catholic crosses, named pocket bible, two German coins, and a memorial program for a fallen German Soldier. His chaplain visor hat is also included and has correct piping and the chaplain cross pinned to the front. Other included items are his black jack boots, two framed photos of him labeled as being outside of Stalingrad conducting religious ceremonies, a framed article about chaplains that he is standing within the group photo, and a two piece wooden pole with a cross and cloth stole on it. Condition on all parts is generally good, although there is a musty/moth ball smell to some of the parts. He was captured at the fall of Stalingrad and was a Prisoner of war of the Russians, until he defected and joined the Freies Deutchland group and appeared in the Russian propaganda newspaper shown. The jacket and pants do not have names or tags within, the group is named to him via the photos and song book with his name on it. The rarity of this set cannot be emphasized enough, especially in such a complete and identified archive that has never been offered publicly before. There is a reserve on this lot.
Condition: See description for notes on condition. Please note that all items are sold as is without returns, so please ask questions in advance of bidding.
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