Female award-holders

Discussions on the role played by and situation of women in the Third Reich not covered in the other sections. Hosted by Vikki.
User avatar
Matt Gibbs
Member
Posts: 3005
Joined: 23 Mar 2002, 01:46
Location: United Kingdom
Contact:

Another First

#16

Post by Matt Gibbs » 23 Nov 2006, 00:09

Something I learned this week was the 1st woman to be awarded the KVK 1 with Swords.
This was awarded for service during the terror bombing of Hamburg in 1944, organising the services of the Frauenschaft to the assistance of the civil population, organising food supplies and soup kitchens, temporary accomodations and even utilising semi damaged and unusable railway rolling stock [something like 90 vans and wagons] as shelter and a kindergarten/homeless childrens accomodation in the railway district!

The photo depicts the holder. Gaufrauenschaftsleiterin Hamburg Maria Schmidt. Wearing her Gau level type 3 Frauenschafts membership badge, party membership pin and the KVK1 with Swords.

Personally speaking I was very pleased to discover this picture as it is only the 3rd Gau level department head who's photo I have in my files. :D

Regards
Matt Gibbs
Attachments
mariaschmidt.jpg
mariaschmidt.jpg (16.92 KiB) Viewed 5968 times

StephanieSklar
Member
Posts: 72
Joined: 15 Nov 2006, 16:51
Location: Montreal, Quebec

#17

Post by StephanieSklar » 06 Dec 2006, 09:14

"Sister" was a name given to nurses, right? Like "Sister Julia" instead of "Nurse Julia" for example?

I doubt that all nurses were Catholic nuns, even if earlier (in the late 1800's) a large % of nurses were nuns, at least in Catholic-areas...


User avatar
Matt Gibbs
Member
Posts: 3005
Joined: 23 Mar 2002, 01:46
Location: United Kingdom
Contact:

#18

Post by Matt Gibbs » 06 Dec 2006, 18:57

yep nurses, its a kind of rank I guess!
lol

User avatar
Matt Gibbs
Member
Posts: 3005
Joined: 23 Mar 2002, 01:46
Location: United Kingdom
Contact:

#19

Post by Matt Gibbs » 08 Dec 2006, 22:14

Incidentally anyone else got a photo of the above gau female group leader? I am interested in the buttonhole award knot she is wearing and wonder if a clearer pic can be found.
ttfn
Matt

User avatar
Siegfried Wilhelm
Member
Posts: 744
Joined: 17 Jun 2002, 16:19
Location: Kleinkleckersdorf, NC, Confederate States of America

#20

Post by Siegfried Wilhelm » 08 Dec 2006, 23:19

Matt,
That buttonhole knot looks to me like a KriegsVerdienst Kreuz second class with swords. If you look closely it has the wide dark stripe in the center (Black on the War Merit Cross ribbon) and on the knot in the centre you can see some device--which would be where the little metal swords would be on those knots.
Those little buttonhole knots for that Award are common...such an award was given to women, and see she has the first class award so naturally she would have the second class as well.
Can't think of another award knot it could be that would still look like that in the photo, plus you know she would be wearing that one.

SW~

User avatar
Matt Gibbs
Member
Posts: 3005
Joined: 23 Mar 2002, 01:46
Location: United Kingdom
Contact:

#21

Post by Matt Gibbs » 09 Dec 2006, 00:56

SW
Damn good call that one. I had my head filled with Mothers Cross, but of course that comes with a tiny mini, so I sort of knew it wasnt that.
Nice idea.
Thanks!
Matt

User avatar
Vikki
Forum Staff
Posts: 3300
Joined: 08 Jul 2003, 02:35
Location: Amerika

#22

Post by Vikki » 09 Dec 2006, 09:47

Very nice picture of the woman, and her awards, Matt!

And very nice piece of team detective work on her awards.

Best,
~Vikki

User avatar
Vikki
Forum Staff
Posts: 3300
Joined: 08 Jul 2003, 02:35
Location: Amerika

#23

Post by Vikki » 09 Dec 2006, 10:26

StephanieSklar wrote:"Sister" was a name given to nurses, right? Like "Sister Julia" instead of "Nurse Julia" for example?

I doubt that all nurses were Catholic nuns, even if earlier (in the late 1800's) a large % of nurses were nuns, at least in Catholic-areas...
StephanieSklar:

Try searching on "Schwester," "DRK Schwester," or "Freie-Schwesternschaft." If you really are interested, research the last two--there was a difference.


~Vikki

User avatar
Heimatschuss
Member
Posts: 2597
Joined: 22 May 2006, 23:50
Location: Deutschland

#24

Post by Heimatschuss » 31 Dec 2006, 10:24

Hello folks,

some new pictures (at least to me) of an Iron Cross nurse have appeared. I think it's Hanny Weber in both cases.
Sources:
Upper picture: http://home.arcor.de/el-conejo/eks.htm
Lower picture: http://home.arcor.de/el-conejo/schwafri.htm

The site with the wonderful German name "Das Krankenschwesternbroschenmuseum" ( http://home.arcor.de/el-conejo/) has a lot of interesting pictures of nurses's decorations but only little comment unfortunately.

Bes regards
Torsten
Attachments
pres. Hanny Weber 2.jpg
pres. Hanny Weber 2.jpg (28.62 KiB) Viewed 5594 times
pres. Hanny Weber 1.jpg
pres. Hanny Weber 1.jpg (34.07 KiB) Viewed 5598 times
Last edited by Heimatschuss on 03 Jan 2007, 22:22, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Vikki
Forum Staff
Posts: 3300
Joined: 08 Jul 2003, 02:35
Location: Amerika

#25

Post by Vikki » 01 Jan 2007, 04:04

Great digging for the photos, Torsten. As usual!

~Vikki

User avatar
Heimatschuss
Member
Posts: 2597
Joined: 22 May 2006, 23:50
Location: Deutschland

#26

Post by Heimatschuss » 06 Jan 2007, 21:54

Well folks,

this may be a bit off topic but as we're talking about decorated women here's a photo of Viktoria Savs visiting Germany (about 1935).

Viktoria Savs was the only female Austrian frontline soldier in WWI (at least in the German part of the army). She was born on June 27th, 1899 in Bad Reichenhall (Southern Bavaria). When Viktoria was aged 4 her mother died and she joined her father who was living near Lake Garda (southern border of South Tyrolia) by then. When war broke out in 1914 her father joined one of the elite 'Kaiserjäger' regiments and was badly wounded in the border battles with the Russians. After recuperation and with the Italian attack pending he became a member of the Tyrol militia. Viktoria, not wanting to leave her father alone again, buggered the authorities so long that Arch Duke Eugene of Habsburg finally agreed that she could join the militia under the name 'Viktor Savs'. She entered her father's militia battalion (Landesschützenbataillon Innsbruck) in June 1915, only a few officers knew her real identity. First working in the hinterland as a mule guide and courier she was later admitted to frontline operations too. On May 27th, 1917 she was caught in a rock fall caused by artillery fire. A boulder hit one of her feet almost completely severing it from the leg. When admitted to hospital and being prepared for leg amputation her real gender became known to a wider circle of people. After the amputation she worked for the Austrian Red Cross during WWI and excelled there too.

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktoria_Savs lists the following decorations for her:
- Bravery Medal in Bronce (Bronzene Tapferkeitsmedaille)
- Bravery Medal in Silver (Silberne Tapferkeitsmedaille)
- Emporer Karl Merit Cross (Kaiser-Karl-Verdienstkreuz)
- Merit Cross in Silver (Silbernes Verdienstkreuz)

After she'd lost a leg she must have received the Casualty Medal (Verwundetenmedaille) also.

Vikoria Savs died in Salzburg (Austria) on Dec 31st, 1979.

Does anyone of you have further information on her, especially her role in WWII? As the picture indicates she was not a total opponent of the Third Reich but I did not find anything on her life after WWI on the net.

Sources:
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktoria_Savs
http://www.corbis.com (picture)

Best regards
Torsten
Attachments
Victoria Savs Corbis Picture AU001179.jpg
Victoria Savs Corbis Picture AU001179.jpg (35.38 KiB) Viewed 5483 times

User avatar
Vikki
Forum Staff
Posts: 3300
Joined: 08 Jul 2003, 02:35
Location: Amerika

#27

Post by Vikki » 12 Nov 2007, 10:21

Not a valor award per se, but an Army Helferin wearing the Ostfront ribbon. From a Bahnhof in Russia:

Best,
~Vikki
Attachments
Helfs (Ostfront) 003.jpg
Helfs (Ostfront) 003.jpg (101.8 KiB) Viewed 4563 times

User avatar
Heimatschuss
Member
Posts: 2597
Joined: 22 May 2006, 23:50
Location: Deutschland

#28

Post by Heimatschuss » 03 Feb 2008, 15:28

Here's my latest contribution to this thread. Photo of a Luftnachrichten-Oberhelferin which received the wound badge.

Source: http://reibert.info/forum/attachment.ph ... 1183995311

Best regards
Torsten
Attachments
Wound badge.jpg
Wound badge.jpg (49.95 KiB) Viewed 4109 times

User avatar
Matt Gibbs
Member
Posts: 3005
Joined: 23 Mar 2002, 01:46
Location: United Kingdom
Contact:

#29

Post by Matt Gibbs » 04 Feb 2008, 21:44

FV
I watched that auction on ebay! ;)
Nice.
ttfn
Matt

Darrell English
Member
Posts: 45
Joined: 24 Mar 2008, 22:51

Re: Female award-holders

#30

Post by Darrell English » 03 Apr 2008, 18:01

SISTER PIA WAS A BLOOD ORDER HOLDER AS WELL

Post Reply

Return to “Women in the Reich”