Female award-holders

Matt Gibbs · Post by **Matt Gibbs** » 22 Nov 2006 23:09

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.

Regards
Matt Gibbs

StephanieSklar · Post by **StephanieSklar** » 06 Dec 2006 08:14

"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...

Matt Gibbs · Post by **Matt Gibbs** » 06 Dec 2006 17:57

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

Matt Gibbs · Post by **Matt Gibbs** » 08 Dec 2006 21:14

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

Siegfried Wilhelm · Post by **Siegfried Wilhelm** » 08 Dec 2006 22:19

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~

Matt Gibbs · Post by **Matt Gibbs** » 08 Dec 2006 23:56

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

Vikki · Post by **Vikki** » 09 Dec 2006 08:47

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

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

Best,
~Vikki

Vikki · Post by **Vikki** » 09 Dec 2006 09:26

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

Heimatschuss · Post by **Heimatschuss** » 31 Dec 2006 09:24

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

Vikki · Post by **Vikki** » 01 Jan 2007 03:04

Great digging for the photos, Torsten. As usual!

~Vikki

Heimatschuss · Post by **Heimatschuss** » 06 Jan 2007 20:54

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

Vikki · Post by **Vikki** » 12 Nov 2007 09:21

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

Best,
~Vikki

Heimatschuss · Post by **Heimatschuss** » 03 Feb 2008 14:28

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

Matt Gibbs · Post by **Matt Gibbs** » 04 Feb 2008 20:44

FV
I watched that auction on ebay!

Nice.
ttfn
Matt

Darrell English · Post by **Darrell English** » 03 Apr 2008 17:01

SISTER PIA WAS A BLOOD ORDER HOLDER AS WELL

Axis History Forum

Female award-holders

Another First

Re: Female award-holders