Our WWI German Miscellaneous section of our museum is filled with some of the most interesting and unique items in our collection. We will be rotating items it this section, so please check back often.
WWI German Army armored breastplate (Sappenpanzer) and Brow Plate. Initially issued to front line troops in 1916, the equipment weighed between 20lbs and 24lbs. Approximately 500,000 sets were issued to men on the Western Front. Capable of stopping low velocity fragments and shrapnel, the Sappenpanzer (trench armor) was, due to its weight, only practical for troops on sentry duty and machine gunners operating in static positions and was designed to be used together with the armored brow plate that hooked on to the steel helmet.
This German Military Bugle is of all brass construction with nickel silver fittings. It is complete with its original mouth piece and leather strap. The oval shield denotes service in a Sachsen (Saxony) regiment.
WWI German personal flag.
WWI German Paperweight. Made as a souvenir for a U.S. serviceman out of the center of a German belt buckle. Encased in glass half sphere.
WWI German Engraved Hunting Dagger. The Hunting and Forestry organizations under the German monarchy were often controlled by aristocrats and well-off businessman. The organizations were generally formed for the conservation of game and forestry. The cutlasses of these Imperial organizations were often extremely ornate. These Daggers/Cutlasses were used strictly for dressing up the beauty of a hunting/forestry uniform.
WWI German Hate Belt.
German soldiers’ leather belts, and other belts from participating armies, that had buttons and other items from soldiers uniforms are called Hate Belts or Souvenir Belts. These make for excellent collector’s pieces. The idea of a “Hate Belt” is that if a German soldier had killed or captured an Allied soldier, then he would have the button or item from the newly deceased or captured soldier attached to his belt as a kind of notch of conquest on his belt. This, no doubt, is the most intriguing explanation for those decorative belts. Some people also refer to these as “Souvenir Belts”. The souvenir belt would differ slightly from a Hate Belt as they would involve a German infantryman’s belt being decorated with buttons and tabs from troops Allied and Central Powers and kept as a remembrance of The War.
