BACKGROUND: The bestowal of all awards during the Third Reich was regulated by the Statutes of Titles, Orders and Decorations which was originally revised on January 30^TH 1934, with numerous additional revisions as new awards and decorations were introduced. The regulations prescribed the criteria for bestowal and the specific form of wearing the award. Although the Statutes of Titles, Orders and Decorations held the ultimate decision in all matters of awards the Wehrmacht, (Armed Forces), was given control over the bestowal regulations of all military awards as long as they conformed to the appropriate statute. When bestowed the awards were usually accompanied by a "Vorläufiges Besitzzeugnis", (Preliminary Possession Certificate), followed by the official award presentation document. Depending on the specific award, bestowal authorization could be initiated by the commander of a divisional or smaller unit and the appropriate award information was entered into the recipients Soldbuch, (Pay Book), and his permanent Wehrstammbuch, (Military Service Book), which remained in the possession of the issuing recruitment authority. This example is for bestowal of a gold Wound Badge. The wound badge was originally established on March 3^RD 1918 by King Wilhelm II to recognise the sacrifice of those wounded during WWI. The badge was instituted in three classes, of black, silver and gold with the class bestowed reflecting the number or severity of the wounds received. On May 22^ND 1939 Adolf Hitler re-instituted a slightly modified version of the wound badge with the addition of a swastika to the WWI pattern badge for award to German volunteers who had been wounded supporting the Spanish Nationalist Falangist Generalissimo Francisco Franco against the communist allied Republican Loyalist party in the Spanish Civil War. (July 1936-March 1939). With the outbreak of WWII, on September 1^ST 1939, Hitler once again re-instituted another slightly modified version of the wound badge by altering the WWI pattern helmet on the badge to the newly designed M35 style helmet. The badge was awarded to both military and uniformed non-military personnel and later, (March 1943), to civilian personnel who received wounds as a result of enemy actions. The gold wound badge was the highest of the three classes and was awarded for five or more wounds, or if the individual was totally disabled. It was also awarded posthumously if the individual was killed in battle.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Roughly, 8 1/4" x 5 7/8", mid-weight paper, "Besitzzeugnis", (Possession Certificate), document with black printed Gothic script and typed particulars. The printed and typed script indicates that a, "Gefreiter", serving with, "Panzer Abwehrabteilung 196", (196^TH Anti-Tank Battalion), was awarded a Gold Wound Badge, for having received five wounds on, "2. 2. 43". The document was issued, "Im Felde", (In the Field), on, "26. Februar 1943", and has the authorizing signature of an, "Oberarzt", (Medical Leutnant), with a field hospital inkstamp. The document is in overall very good condition with minor age yellowing and a moderate horizontal fold crease.

GRADE ****                             PRICE $205.00