Germany, Heer. The Cuff Titles, Soldbuch, And Documents Of Fritz Böke, Panzergrenadier Division Großdeutschland

(Armbänder, Soldbuch, und Papier). A fascinating lot of insignia and paperwork belonging to Fritz Böke, a Heer soldier who saw service in Afrika and in Europe, partially with Panzergrenadier Division Großdeutschland, consisting of:

1. An Afrika cuff title, constructed of a khaki-tan cotton/linen blend, the obverse trimmed along both the top and bottom edges with machine-embroidered silver-grey tresses, bearing a central inscription of “AFRIKA” flanked by palm trees of identical construction, unmarked, measuring 34 mm (w) x 300 mm (l), in uniform-removed and shortened condition, with the back retaining the remnants of an adhesive from previous display, in very fine condition.

2. A Panzergrenadier Division Großdeutschland cuff title, constructed of black wool, the obverse trimmed along both the top and bottom edges with machine-embroidered silver-grey tresses, bearing a central machine-embroidered inscription of “GROßDEUTSCHLAND” in Sütterlin script of identical construction, unmarked, measuring 40 mm (w) x 258 mm (l), in uniform-removed and shortened condition, with the back retaining the remnants of an adhesive from previous display, in very fine condition.

3. A Soldbuch, constructed of a brown paper stock binding with 26 paginated interior pages which have detached from the binding, retaining a replacement black-and-white photo of Böke, with handwritten entries indicating that the Soldbuch was a replacement piece issued on 15 September 1943, featuring all details of Böke’s unit service and indicating that he was the recipient of a variety of awards, including the Sudetenland Medal (1 Ocober 1938), War Merit Cross II Class with Swords (3 May 1942), Italian Cross for War Merit (20 August 1942), Iron Cross II Class (14 July 1943), General Assault Badge (22 December 1943), Black Grade Wound Badge (23 March 1945), and Iron Cross I Class (15 March 1945), with minor moisture issues and material fatigue evident in addition to the detachment of the binding, the cover eagle has additionally been cut out and each page bears a red ink stamp, both indicating that the Soldbuch was used as a postwar identification document, measuring 105 mm (w) x 144 mm (h), a desirable example featuring both African and Großdeutschland service in very fine condition.

4. A group of five wartime and postwar paperwork, including one itemizing Böke’s awards, one detailing a distinguished performance in combat, one detailing his driver qualifications, and two postwar documents, one of which is a detailed typewritten account compiled by Böke himself of his wartime experiences, in overall near extremely fine condition.