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What is the origin of "The Ruptured Duck" insignia?

Bill Shea....51 Morgan Road....Hubbardston, Massachusetts 01452-1602....Telephone (978) 928-4495....Ordering-Only 24-Hour Hotline (978) 928-4158...FAX:  (978-928-5278

Last Updated: 03/13/13 01:01 PM

In order to make it easier to find exactly what you are looking for, we have separated the Documents section into categories:

Army Promotion and Award Documents             Army Soldbuchs/Wehrpasses             Letters, Etc. from Walter Hewel             
Luftwaffe Promotion and Award Documents
             Luftwaffe Soldbuchs/Wehrpasses             
Navy Promotion and Award Documents
             Navy Soldbuchs/Wehrpasses             Police Promotion and Award Documents             Political/Para-Military Identification Books, etc.             Political/Para-Military Promotion and Award Documents             SS Promotion and Award Documents             SS Soldbuchs/Wehrpasses             Special Offerings             Posters


Letters, Etc... from WALTER  HEWEL A Definite Member of the Inner Circle

Walter Hewel was a very good friend of Hitler and an extremely early member of the Stosstrupp Hitler, who participated in the Munich "putsch".  In the 1930’s he became a member of the Reich’s Foreign Ministry - ostensibly as an assistant to von Ribbentrop - and in the Foreign Ministry was given the official rank of “Vortragenden Legationsrat” – which was publicly announced by Hitler (Lecturing Legation Councilman of some sort – the word Legationsrat does not seen to be in use any longer…it’s not in a dictionary …though “Rat” means “Council” or “Advisor”). He was awarded the Blood Order (#90).  He was later promoted to “Ambassador” (“Gesandter”), though he never received an official assignment to any country. He was known on occasion to refer to himself as an “Ambassador to Nowhere”.  Hewel also held an honorary SS rank (like von Ribbentrop). As the war progressed, Hewel’s relationship with von Ribbentrop deteriorated. He eventually ended up on Hitler’s staff, where he later worked in the bunker in the capacity of Hitler’s Major Domo (this according to Traudl Junge’s recollection). He is, allegedly, the last person to have had any sort of conversation with the Führer before the latter’s suicide. The common opinion among jealous detractors was that Hewel owed his success only to the fact of his friendship with Hitler and his low NSDAP party number.
Hewel had indeed joined the movement as one of the first – he was still a teenager at the time – and thus became personally acquainted with Hitler in those close early quarters. A certain degree of friendship formed, and it was these two factors to which those later detractors referred. In the foreign ministry he never received any official “portfolio” as the official term goes - i.e. meaning that he was never given official credentials for any specific Ambassadorial assignment. Hewel was among those who, at the end of the war, broke out of the bunker in the group led by SS General Mohnke. However, during the attempted break out he decided to commit suicide - and did so. Some sources even indicate that Hitler had made him promise this - giving him the weapon to use, and a cyanide capsule to complete the task. And so ended Hewel’s life, amidst the rubble of the Reichshauptstadt - a fitting end it seems, for a man whose cause – the one he had followed for most of his young life – lay piled among the ruins around him.
The following documents come from Hewel’s personal files out of the Foreign Ministry office and, in most cases, consist of letters to him or from him to various high ranking individuals while he was still serving in the Foreign Ministry. Likely each of the writers was aware of Hewel’s close association with Hitler, so there was a certain degree of political maneuvering in this. The documents contain either thanks (for this or that), or congratulations on a promotion.
If you watch the movie "Downfall" you can see just how much he was involved at the very end. He was a part of several of the last meetings held in the BUNKER.  This is an excellent opportunity to acquire signed documents to a member of the “Inner Circle”.


 

D-002  Letter from the Leader of the NSFK, General der Flieger Christiansen

$300.00  PHOTOS

 


 


 

D-003  Letter from the Leader of the NSFK, General der Flieger Christiansen

$300.00  PHOTOS

 


 


 

D-005  Letter from The “Secretary of State, Foreign Ministry”, with a Pair of Business Cards Attached

$300.00  PHOTOS

 


 


 

D-007a  Telegram to Hewel with Congratulations on Promotions from “Heydrich SS-Gruppenfuehrer”

$400.00  PHOTO

 


 


 

D-009  Letter of Congratulations on Promotion from The Lord Mayor of the Reich’s Party City of Nürnberg, Willy Liebel

$200.00  PHOTOS

 


 


 

D-010  Letter from Reichsminister Dr. Arthur Seyss-Inquart, Thanking Hewel for Congratulations

$525.00  PHOTO

 


 


 

D-010a   Letter from Dr. Arthur Seyss-Inquart, Congratulating Hewel on His Promtion

$525.00  PHOTOS

 


 


 

D-011  Telegram to Hewel Received Through the Telegraph Office of the Reichs Foreign Ministry, from SS-Obergruppenführer Karl Wolff

$450.00  PHOTOS

 



SS Soldbuchs/Wehrpasses

none available at this time...

 

Army Soldbuchs/Wehrpasses

none available at this time...

Luftwaffe Soldbuchs/Wehrpasses

none available at this time...

            

Political/Para-Military Identification Books, etc.


 

D-171  Work Document Grouping for a Female Worker, Aniela Jaruzel

$75.00  PHOTOS

 


Navy Soldbuchs/Wehrpasses


 

D-177  Kriegsmarine Soldbuch for U-Boot Crewman Ob. Fk. Mstr. Max Baesler

$950.00  PHOTOS

 


 


 

D-178  Kriegsmarine Soldbuch for U-Boot Obermaschinist  Georg Böttger; Listed as MIA but Later Researched as KIA

$975.00  PHOTOS

 


 


 

D-179  Very Rare Kriegsmarine Soldbuch for U-Boot Matrosen Gefreiter Johann Höring who was the Recipient of the U-Boat Close Combat Clasp

$1,100.00  PHOTOS

 


Special Offerings


 

D-185  Document Grouping, Including Letterhead from the Desk of Gauleiter Alfred Meyer and Envelopes from Heinrich Hoffmann (Hitler’s Photographer)

$450.00  PHOTOS

 


 


 

D-187  Telegram from Walther Fegelein to Ilse Fucke-Michels, Sister of Eva Braun

$1,000.00  PHOTOS

 


 


 

D-188  Handwritten Letter to Eva Braun from Walter Frantz

$1,000.00  PHOTOS

 


 


 

D-189  Incredible Document Grouping for Athlete Lilli Unbescheid

$1,300.00  PHOTOS

 


 


 

D-191  Nürnberg Trial Document Grouping for Fritz Sauckel

$2,995.00  PHOTOS

 


 


 

D-193  Nürnberg Trial Document Grouping for Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop

$2,995.00  PHOTOS

 


 


 

D-194  Photo/Calling Card Grouping Including von Ribbentrop, Frick, Hess, etc.

$1,200.00  PHOTOS

 


 


 

D-199  Interesting Letter of Thanks from Reichaspräsident von Hindenburg

$350.00  PHOTOS

 


Army Promotion and Award Documents


 

D-210  Group of 10 Documents for Oberleutnant Willy Leeske, Jager Regt. 188

$395.00  PHOTOS

 


Luftwaffe Promotion and Award Documents


 

D-235  Two Photographs and Award Document for the Combined Pilot / Observer Badge to Luftwaffe / Naval Officer Ernst Hechler

$695.00  PHOTOS

 


Navy Promotion and Award Documents

none available at this time...

SS Promotion and Award Documents

none available at this time...

Political/Para-Military Promotion and Award Documents


 

D-260  LAH Promotion Document for Richard Kastenbutt

$225.00  PHOTOS

 


 


 

D-263  25-Year Faithful Service Award Document to Locomotive Engineer Franz Reilander

$75.00  PHOTOS

 


Police Promotion and Award Documents


 

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D-287  KVK 2. Klasse mit Schwertern (War Merit Cross Second Class with Swords) Document for Wachtmeister Alfred Dordorwski

$125.00  PHOTOS

 


Posters

RUPTURED DUCK TIDBIT....here are some World War Two posters that I recently uncovered.  I have always loved these because they are
a)  colorful,
b)  graphic,
c)  filled with patriotic propaganda and symbolism,
d)  dated,
e)  in many cases signed by the artist,
f)  made of paper so how they survived still amazes me!
I consider them to be an inexpensive and desirable collectible which enhances any collection.  When I took the pictures, I had to do them on the floor and the lighting is not the best.  The colors are in most cases better than I show.  I hope my description, combined with the one image, will convey their importance.


 

D-302  WWI-era Poster of Italian General Armando Diaz

$30.00  PHOTOS

 


 


 

D-303  US Poster “Share Your Home With a Child”

$40.00  PHOTOS

 


 


 

D-309  “Calling all Cooks - Bakers “SPARS” Women’s Reserve – U.S. Coast Guard” — Patriotic Recruiting Type Poster

$50.00  PHOTOS

 


 


 

D-310  WWII U.S. War Bonds Poster

$75.00  PHOTOS

 


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Questions? E-mail us at billshea@tiac.net