Original Postwar Signature on a Postwar Photo of Hellmut von Leipzig. Leutnant Hellmut von Leipzig (18.07.1921 in Keetmannshop, Namibia † 24.10.2026 in Windhoek, Namibia) earned the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on April 28, 1945 as Leutnant und Zugführer in the Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung "Brandenburg" of the Panzergrenadier-Division "Brandenburg". Postcardsize. Condition as seen.
Leipzig was born in South West Africa, son of a naval officer. In 1941, he volunteered for the Afrika Korps. He became driver to Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel, whom Leipzig describes as "the craziest passenger ever", because he always said "Faster!" and when encountering an enemy's minefield, would insist on going and personally guiding Leipzig around the mines. Leipzig fought in the "Battle of Berlin", became a POW in 1945 and spent 10 years in Soviet captivity.
Original Postwar Signature on a Postwar Photo of Günter Halm. Leutnant Günter Halm (27.08.1922 † 26.09.2017) earned the Ritterkreuz on July 29, 1942 as Grenadier undRichtschütze in the Pakzug of the Regimentsstabskompanie/ Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 104 of the 15. Panzer-Division.
Knight’s Cross: “Awarded for his actions at El Alamein on the 21.07.1942. On this day his Pak was attacked by a large Allied tank force (probably the 23rd British tank brigade). The battle opened with his gun shield being badly damaged and the no. 2 loader being wounded. Another hit smashed the gun’s sights. However the gunner, Halm, did not lose his nerve as the hostile tanks got closer. With deadly precision he destroyed 7 Allied tanks in a short time, including a command tank. More tanks were destroyed by the other German defenders, with 96 allied tanks being destroyed in the battle on this day altogether.”
Provenance: This signature comes from one of the largest postwar signature collection I’ve ever commissioned. This collection was started by a Waffen-SS Veteran, Werner H., in the 1950’s until he passed away.
Original Wartime Signature on a Postcard of Alfred Gause. Generalleutnant Alfred Gause (14.02.1896 † 30.09.1967) earned the Ritterkreuz on December 13, 1941 as Generalmajor und Stabschef of the Generalstab d. Panzergruppe “Afrika”. Served as Rommel’s Chief of Staff. Good condition. Postcardsize.
During the Second World War he was a highly valued staff officer. Gause was initially sent to Africa with a large staff by Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH), the German Army High Command, to act as a liaison officer with the Italian high command, Comando Supremo. Gause had specific instructions not to place himself under the command of Erwin Rommel, but did so when Rommel told him categorically that the command of all troops in Africa were vested in him. This was not correct, but Gause acceded to Rommel's authority, and served as his chief of staff. He proved invaluable to the famous desert commander, who was well known to direct his forces from the front and who frequently would lose touch with his command staff during operations. Gause spent two and a half years serving Rommel in the Afrika Korps. Though initially sent by OKH to keep an eye on the independent commander, they soon developed an excellent working relationship. In December, 1941 Gause was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. (Read more on Alfred Gause (Wikipedia))
Provenance: This signature comes from one of the largest postwar signature collection I've ever commissioned. This collection was started by a Waffen-SS Veteran, Werner H., in the 1950's until he passed away.
Original Wartime Signature on a Photograph of Alfred Gause. Generalleutnant Alfred Gause (14.02.1896 † 30.09.1967) earned the Ritterkreuz on December 13, 1941 as Generalmajor und Stabschef of the Generalstab d. Panzergruppe "Afrika". Served as Rommel's Chief of Staff. Good condition.
"During the Second World War he was a highly valued staff officer. Gause was initially sent to Africa with a large staff by Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH), the German Army High Command, to act as a liaison officer with the Italian high command, Comando Supremo. Gause had specific instructions not to place himself under the command of Erwin Rommel, but did so when Rommel told him categorically that the command of all troops in Africa were vested in him. This was not correct, but Gause acceded to Rommel's authority, and served as his chief of staff. He proved invaluable to the famous desert commander, who was well known to direct his forces from the front and who frequently would lose touch with his command staff during operations. Gause spent two and a half years serving Rommel in the Afrika Korps. Though initially sent by OKH to keep an eye on the independent commander, they soon developed an excellent working relationship. In December, 1941 Gause was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. In early May 1943 he was rotated into the officer reserve force, and thus was off the continent when the Axis forces in Africa surrendered. Gause rejoined Rommel in his postings in Italy and Northern France. In September 1944 he became Chief of Staff of the 6th Panzer Army, which he held through the end of November. In April he was assigned to Generalkommando II Armeekorps in Kurland (General staff of Army Corps, Kurland). Alfred Gause was captured by Soviet troops in the Courland Pocket in 1945 and was a prisoner of the Soviets until his release in 1955." (Source: Wikipedia)
Postwar Signature of Hans Speidel. Hans Speidel (28 October 1897 – 28 November 1984) was a German general and diplomat, who was one of the major military leaders of West Germany during the early Cold War. The first full General in West Germany, he was a principal founder of the Bundeswehr and a major figure in German rearmament, integration into NATO and international negotiations on European and Western defence cooperation in the 1950s. He served as Commander-in-Chief of the NATO ground forces in Central Europe from 1957 to 1963 and then as President of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs from 1964.
Speidel joined the German Army in 1914, fought in the First World War, and stayed with the Army as a career soldier after the war. He served as chief of staff to Field Marshal Erwin Rommel during the Second World War and was promoted to lieutenant general in 1944. Speidel participated in the 20 July Plot to assassinate Hitler, and he was tasked with recruiting Rommel for the resistance. After the plot failed he was arrested by the Gestapo. At the end of the war, he escaped from Nazi prison and went into hiding. He was the only major member of the 20 July Plot to survive the war.
During the early Cold War, Speidel emerged as one of the major military leaders of West Germany, and played a key role in German rearmament, Western international negotiations on defence cooperation and West German integration into NATO. He is thus regarded as one of the founders of the Bundeswehr.
Scarce Postwar Signature of Siegfried Westphal. Siegfried Carl Theodor Westphal (18 March 1902 – 2 July 1982) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He served as operations officer under Rommel and chief of staff under Kesselring and Rundstedt. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.
Westphal surrendered to the American troops in May 1945 and acted as a witness at the Nuremberg Trials. He was released in 1947. He wrote a book The German Army in the West which was published in 1952. He appears in a number of interview segments of The World at War.
