Germany, Luftwaffe. A Rare Military Identification Card to Generalfeldmarschall Erhard Milch

(Luftwaffe Truppenausweis für einen Generalfeldmarschall). A rare Truppenausweis (Military Identification Card), constructed of blue oilcloth, featuring handwritten particulars to Generalfeldmarschall Erhard Milch, issued in Berlin on 24 April 1943, featuring time stamps for years 1943 and 1944, with pre-filled squares for years 1945-1948 remaining unstamped in accordance with Germany’s defeat and Milch’s captivity, certified by Milch’s handwritten signature, measuring 10.5 cm (w) x 14.5 cm (h), the space formerly accommodating Milch’s photograph has been cut out, accompanied by two period reproduction photographs of Milch in a Generalfeldmarschall’s uniform, a rare signed identification document to a key Luftwaffe figure, in very fine condition.

Footnote: Erhard Milch was one of the most influential figures in the development and administration of the Luftwaffe before and during the Second World War. A veteran artillery officer of the First World War, he later became a senior executive with Deutsche Luft Hansa, where his organizational ability brought him to the attention of Hermann Göring. Appointed State Secretary of the Reich Air Ministry in 1933, Milch played a central role in the clandestine expansion and later administration of the Luftwaffe, overseeing aircraft procurement and production. 

Promoted to Generalfeldmarschall in July 1940 following the campaign in France, he was subsequently tasked with increasing German aircraft output, though persistent shortages, Allied bombing, and internal rivalries limited his success. Following Germany's defeat, Milch was tried by an American military tribunal in the 1947 Milch Trial, convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in the exploitation of forced labour, and sentenced to life imprisonment, later reduced to 15 years. He was released in 1954 and spent the remainder of his life in Düsseldorf, where he died in 1972.

Notably, Milch’s biological father, Anton, a pharmacist and veteran of the Imperial German Navy, was Jewish, resulting in Milch himself being classified as a Jew under the Nuremberg Laws. The Gestapo began an investigation into Milch's ancestry in 1935, but the investigation was halted by Hermann Göring, a long-time friend and associate of Milch. Göring compelled Milch's mother, Clara, to sign an affidavit affirming that Milch's father was actually her uncle, Karl Brauer, but Milch was also issued with a German Blood Certificate, fully halting any further action against him. This saga prompted Göring’s famous quip that “I decide who is a Jew”.