This is an absolutely splendid, beautifully artistic, authentic Urkunde meiner Dienstzeit (or Certificate of My Time in Service) 1939 - 1945 from the estate of Karl Strebinger who served as an Obergefreiter in the Reichsgrenadier Division Hoch und Deutschmeister from 1942 until 1945 in Belgium and Italy.

The 16 x 20 inch certificate is printed in many colors including metallic gold, depicting men in difficult military situations with an Edelweiss in the upper left, oak leaves in the upper right, and a large, prominent Iron Cross at the center of the top. In the center is an artistic scroll with an eagle in the background and the following text beautifully hand-lettered (it actually looks like set type, but isn't).

Karl Strebinger, Obergefreiter of the Reichsgrenadier Division Hoch und Deutschmeister enlisted in Strebersdorf at 7 December 1942, came to Brück, went to Belgium in 1943 and was transferred to serve at Monte Cassino in Italy where he was wounded in March 1944. He went back to fight at Monte Cassino and then in March 1945 served at Siebenbürgen in Hungary where he was wounded again. When the war ended he was in his Home Land. He was awarded the Kriegsverdienstkreuz (War Service Cross with Swords) and the Nazi Wound Badge.

This is an extremely rare and authentic certificate. For those who don't know the "Hoch und Deutschmeister'' as a unit of the German Army is among its oldest and most legendary, tracing its earliest origins back to the Teutonic knights of the time of the Crusades. The first commander of a Regiment bearing the specific name Hoch und Deutschmeister was Franz Ludwig Pfalzgraf bei Rhein, Herzog von Bayern, at the end of the 17th century. The officers and Deutschmeisters wore a uniquely shaped cross of the Crusaders on their breasts, and adopted a distinctive blue uniform.

Because the Donau (Danube) river was an important defensive position against invading Islamic forces some centuries ago, the legendary German Prinz Eugen raised many of the troops of the Hoch u. Deutschmeister along that river in Germany and in what is now Austria and Hungary. The Hoch und Deutschmeister fought for years in all principal battles against Turkish, French and Italian troops wherever they were to be met. During World War I Hoch und Deutschmeister fought in France, Belgium, Italy, at Tannenberg and in Russia.

After Austria was reunified with Germany in Adolf Hitler's Grossdeutsches Reich in the spring of 1938, the Hoch und Deutschmeister Regiment (as an element of Infantry Regiment 134) was reorganized into the 44th Infantry Division. That autumn they were involved in the occupation of the Czech Sudetenland. In 1939 they took part in the Polish campaign and in 1940 in the invasion of Luxembourg, Belgium and France. In 1941, they moved into the Soviet Union where they rewrote the book on modern combat under the worst possible circumstances. Elements of the unit were decimated at Stalingrad. In a ceremony at Maria Ter Heide, Belgium on 1 June 1943 the 44 Infantry Division was given the name Reichsgrenadier Division Hoch und Deutschmeister and units were sent to Italy to occupy the area near the Monastery at Monte Cassino.

Rare and in nice used condition as shown in our excellent photos.    Will be mailed rolled up in a tube.

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