Since I’ve commented a lot on other people’s Freikorps items, I thought I would start a thread around the central theme of Freikorps and Weimar era and show some of my collection from time to time.

I’ll start off with a bang and show probably one of the rarest Freikorps awards, interestly instituted rather late during the Third Reich.

For years, it was generally thought that the last Freikorps award was the "Commemorative Badge of the City of Würzburg" (Erinnerungsplakette der Stadt Würzburg) given to members of Freikorps Würzburg in 1934 on the 15th anniversary of its formation. Freikorps Würzburg was formed from the Bavarian Reserve Jäger Regiment 15, which returned to Germany from Georgia in April 1919 after a long sea trip by British merchant ship from the Black Sea to northern Germany and a train journey south to Bavaria. Bavarian Reserve Jäger Regiment 15 literally arrived at the Würzburg train station after their very circuitous and arduous return home and immediately volunteered to form Freikorps Würzburg, got back on the train and headed to Munich to join other Freikorps already taking up positions outside the city. It took part in the heavy fighting in Munich against the Munich Soviet Republic on May 2-3, 1919. Here is that badge.

Subsequently, Freikorps awards were prohibited for wear by active members of the German Armed Forces from 1935 onwards (with the exception of the Silesian Eagle, Baltic Cross, Kärntner Cross and Schlageter Shield) and it was generally thought that the Würzburg badge therefore was the last official Freikorps award.

However, another Freikorps award, instituted in 1937, two years after the prohibition date has come to light, and therefore replaces the Freikorps Würzburg badge as the likely candidate for the last Freikorps award.

"Honor and Commemorative Badge for the Liberators of Munich 1919" (Ehren- und Erinnerungszeichen der Befreier Münchens 1919) has been known about for some time, but wrongly identified in references, until recently.

There are two minor variations of the badge shown here. The one on the right is from my collection and the one on the left recently sold in auction at Herman Historica along with documentation for €2,700. I’ve also attached the award document that was part of the Herman Historica lot.

Despite this apparently being a general award given in 1937 by the local Munich authorities and therefore likely open to any of the 30,000+ Freikorps (including Freikorps Würzburg) who participated in the battle in May 1919, it is an extremely rare badge.

A memorial to the veterans of the May 1919 liberation of Munich was dedicated in 1942 and destroyed by the US Army in 1945. Here is an image of it from the Bavarian State Archives.

Click to enlarge the picture