Overview
- Brief Narrative
- Found by a U.S. GI, the donor, while billeted in a house in Bad Godesberg, Germany. Sent to parents in Decorah, Iowa. The dagger and accoutrements may have belonged to an Offizieranwärter (officer candidate) in the German Army of Oberfeldwebel rank (battalion sergeant-major or senior Non-Commissioned Officer). A portepee is a sword knot and usually indicates a soldier's rank. This decorative feature was worn in peacetime Germany and in stable areas of the Greater German Reich. It was also a feature of the Parade and Walking-out uniform. The German Army Portepee was worn by all ranks from Fähnrich (Ensign) upwards. When worn on the officer's dagger it was all silver. Both the silver Portepee and the silver cap cords indicate that the wearer was an officer or perhaps an officer candidate.
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Otto Aders
Physical Details
- Classification
-
Military Insignia
- Category
-
Badges
- Object Type
-
Sword knots (aat)
- Dimensions
- overall: Height: 6.690 inches (16.993 cm) | Width: 0.390 inches (0.991 cm) | Depth: 1.500 inches (3.81 cm)
- Materials
- overall : silver
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- No restrictions on access
- Conditions on Use
- No restrictions on use
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The portepee was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1992 by Otto Aders.
- Record last modified:
- 2022-07-28 18:22:08
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn6917
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