Award Doc Group to Uffz. Karl Finkenrath (Executed for War Crimes for Executing British Paratroopers on D-Day!)
€995,00A historically significant document group belonging to Unteroffizier Karl Finkenrath, a German Army combat engineer who served on the Eastern Front in 1941–42 and later with Pionier-Bataillon 716 in Normandy during the Allied invasion in June 1944.
The group consists of two original wartime award documents and accompanying papers related to the trial.
Documents included
1. Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse (Iron Cross 2nd Class)
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Awarded: September 1941
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Unit: 1. Kompanie / Pionier-Bataillon 253
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Theatre: Eastern Front
2. Winterschlacht im Osten 1941/42 (Eastern Front Medal)
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Awarded for service in winter campaign 1941–42
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Issued later in 1944
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Issuing unit: Pionier-Bataillon 716
This later issue document is particularly noteworthy as it was issued while Finkenrath was serving with Pionier-Bataillon 716, the engineer unit stationed in Normandy prior to the Allied invasion.
Historical Context
By June 1944, Finkenrath was serving as an Unteroffizier in Pionier-Bataillon 716, part of the German forces defending the Atlantic Wall in Normandy.
His unit was stationed at the Ferme du Lieu Haras in the village of Hérouvillette, east of the Orne River, in the operational area of the British airborne landings during D-Day.
War Crime Case
During the early hours of 6 June 1944, several British airborne soldiers from the 6th Airborne Division were captured near the farm where Finkenrath’s unit was based.
Witness testimony from both German soldiers and French civilians later established that:
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wounded and disarmed British paratroopers were brought to the farm
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at least two prisoners of war were deliberately shot after capture
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the shootings occurred away from combat
These killings were later investigated by British authorities as violations of the laws of war.
Trial and Conviction
After the war, the case was investigated by the British Army’s war-crimes investigation teams.
Finkenrath was arrested in 1947 and tried by a British Military Court in Hamburg in 1948.
He admitted shooting two captured prisoners but claimed he had acted under orders from his company commander. The court rejected this defense.
He was convicted of the murder of two Allied prisoners of war and sentenced to death.
Finkenrath was executed by hanging on 9 June 1948 at Hameln Prison, one of a number of executions carried out there for war crimes after the Second World War.
Collector Interest
This document group links two major theatres of the war:
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Eastern Front combat service (1941–42)
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Normandy during the Allied invasion (1944)
The Winterschlacht im Osten document issued by Pionier-Bataillon 716 directly connects the group to the unit present in Hérouvillette during the opening hours of D-Day.
The later war-crimes investigation and trial provide a well-documented historical context for the individual to whom the documents were issued.
Battle of Kovel 1944 – RARE Photo & Document Set (Signed by Gille as Kdr. “Festen Platzes Kowel”!)
€650,00A historically unified and RARE frontline-issued German combat award document set belonging to Gefreiter Martin Mohr, serving in a motorized Eastern Front artillery unit equipped with RSO tractor-towed Ie.F.H. howitzers (1. Batterie/ Heeres-Artillerie-Abteilung 426).
The centerpiece EK2 award certificate for the Iron Cross 2nd Class was issued in the field on 9 May 1944 (“Im Felde”), during the height of the Battle of the Kovel Pocket, and is personally signed in ink by Herbert Gille, in his role as Commander of “Fester Platz Kowel” — the fortified defensive sector responsible for the heroic containment and breakout of encircled German forces in April–May 1944.
Accompanying it is the matching Wound Badge in Black Besitzzeugnis, issued 2 July 1944, officially documenting Mohr’s first combat wounding sustained on 22 April 1944, a date that aligns precisely with the heaviest engagements of the Kovel defensive battles under Gille’s command.
Included original period photographs further reinforce the Eastern Front provenance, showing German troops, motorized artillery vehicles, and RSO unit field conditions, forming a cohesive historical grouping.
Award documents signed by Herbert Gille are exceptionally scarce — and examples explicitly issued under “Fester Platz Kowel” authority, dated during active combat, are among the rarest battle-attributed Iron Cross documents known to survive. This is a museum-grade artifact of unquestionable historical weight and extraordinary collector significance.
Joachim Müncheberg – Jagdgeschwader 26 “Schlageter” & Jagdgeschwader 51 “Mölders” (Schwertern) (Wartime Signed!)
€350,00Original wartime signature on a postcard of Joachim Müncheberg. Major Joachim Müncheberg (31 December 1918 – 23 March 1943) was a German Luftwaffe fighter pilot of the Second World War and one of the highest-scoring aces of the conflict, credited with 135 confirmed aerial victories. The majority of his successes were achieved over the Western Front, including 102 victories against Western Allied aircraft, of which 46 were against Supermarine Spitfire fighters. He also claimed 33 victories on the Eastern Front.
Joachim Müncheberg was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 14 September 1940 as Oberleutnant und Staffelkapitän of 7./Jagdgeschwader 26 “Schlageter”. He subsequently received the Eichenlaub (12. Verleihung) on 7 May 1941, again as Oberleutnant und Staffelkapitän, JG 26 “Schlageter”. His final and highest decoration, the Schwerter (19. Verleihung), was awarded on 9 September 1942 as Hauptmann und stellvertretender Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 51 “Mölders”.
Condition as seen. Postcardsize.
This is sold on commission!
Outstanding DKiG Soldbuch & Wehrpass Grouping to Oberst Wentscher, 13. Panzer-Division
€2.100,00An exceptional and historically significant Soldbuch and Wehrpass grouping to Oberst Gerhard Wentscher, an early recipient of the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold, awarded on 1 December 1941 for his service as commander of (Panzer-)Artillerie-Regiment 13, 13. Panzer-Division.
Wentscher was a career officer with an extensive and well-documented military career spanning both World Wars. Promoted to Leutnant in 1915, he earned four awards during the First World War, including the Iron Cross 1st Class. He joined the Wehrmacht as a Hauptmann in 1934, became Kompaniechef in Artillerie-Regiment 13 in 1936, and following promotion to Major, served as Adjutant of the 13. Infanterie-Division from 1938.
In this role he participated in the Polish Campaign, earning the Spange zum EK II, and in the Western Campaign, where he was awarded the Spange zum EK I. After the conversion of the 13. Infanterie-Division into the 13. Panzer-Division, Wentscher served on the Eastern Front as Oberstleutnant and commander of Artillerie-Regiment 13. He was severely wounded in the leg on 13 October 1941, leading to his early award of the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 1 December 1941. Declared unfit for further front-line service, he completed the war as an Oberst in the Oberkommando des Heeres.
Over approximately 18 years of service, Wentscher was entitled to an impressive twelve awards, including:
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Iron Cross II Class
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Iron Cross I Class
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Wound Badge in Black
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Honour Cross for Front Fighters
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Long Service Award IV Class
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Spange zum EK II
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Sudetenland Medal
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Spange zum EK I
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Officer’s Cross of the Romanian Crown
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Wound Badge in Silver
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General Assault Badge
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Deutsches Kreuz in Gold
The Soldbuch is a standout centerpiece, featuring an extraordinary large portrait photograph—quite possibly one of the finest Soldbuch photos extant. Wentscher is depicted holding a telephone, an action entirely against regulations for Soldbuch photographs, and is wearing his Deutsches Kreuz in Gold along with other decorations. The Soldbuch was opened in August 1939 and signed by Generalleutnant Moritz von Faber du Faur, divisional commander. It is complete and in very good condition.
The Wehrpass, opened in January 1941, also contains a military portrait photo showing Wentscher wearing his WWI EK I. It is complete, clean, and in excellent condition, meticulously listing his awards, units, campaigns, and promotions.
Additionally included in this outstanding grouping:
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Inländer-Jahresjagdschein (1940) with military portrait photograph
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Driving license, issued in Gross-Born, 1938
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A small private photograph
This is a unique, museum-quality grouping to a documented Panzer Oberst and early DKiG recipient. An unparalleled opportunity to acquire a true centerpiece for any advanced collection. The Soldbuch in particular offers exceptional visual and historical impact when displayed.
SOLD ON COMMISSION