Original German WWII KIA Gefr. Wilhelm Marx Grouping with Death Notice, Wehrpaß, Photo, EKII & Award Document - French Campaign and Eastern Front Service

Original Items: One of a Kind Set. Here we have a fantastic document, award, and photo set named to Schütze and later Gefreiter Wilhelm Marx, who saw service on BOTH fronts in Europe during WWII as a member of the 7. Kompanie / Infanterie Regiment 290. Trained as a machine gunner, he took part in the French Campaign, and was awarded the Iron Cross 1939 2nd Class for his bravery in combat. After the fall of France, the unit was transferred to the Eastern Front, where Marx would ultimately be Killed In Action on 30. August 1941, in Domanbowa on the River Dnieper, north of Kyiv. The items are full of research and display potential, and would be sure to make a great part of virtually any collection!

The set consists of the following items:

- Marx's Wehrpaß Identification book.
- The original death notice sent to Marx's wife the day after his death, which gives the details regarding how and where he fell, as well as where he was buried.
- A period" 5 3/8 x 3 1/2" photo postcard of Marx showing him in his uniform after being promoted to Gefreiter
- A German WWII Iron Cross 2nd Class 1939 Award with Ribbon and the original award document.

The Wehrpaß is correctly Heer marked on the cover, and was issued to Wilhelm Marx on 6. August 1939 in Tübingen, South West Germany. He was born 28. Mai 1915, as indicated on Page 3, and the following pages give his personal information, as well as information about his service in the RAD Labor corps. Pages 11-12 give Marx's service record, beginning active duty in 1938, after which he went through training from the end of January to early march 1938. in September 1939 he was made part of the 7. / J.R. 290, where he saw all of his wartime service. Page 20 indicates he was trained for using the Gewehr 98 and the I.M.G. 13, and we can see on page 22 when he was promoted to Gefreiten on 1. VIII 40.. Page 23 we see when he was awarded the E. K. II Klasse on 2. 7. 1940, and the following pages give more information on his service.

Page 32 gives highly detailed information on the specific dates and locations that Marx saw service, and we can see him going to the Westfront in 9. 5. 40., a day before the Battle of France started. On 6. 6. 40 he saw battle in Aisne, France and the surrounding areas, and this would have been the time that he received the EKII. There are some other entries, indicating the move to the Eastern Front, and on 30. 8. 41., the following was added on page 34: Gefallen bai Domantowa (Fallen at Domantowa), indicating that he was Killed in Action.

This does not give much information regarding his death, except that it was as part of the 7th Company, 290th Infantry Regiment. However, included death notice gives the following details:

Im Gefecht bei Domanbowa am Dnjepr (nördlich Kiew, Russland) fiel am 30.8.41 Ihr Mann Wilhelm Marx in soldatischer Pflichterfüllung getreu seinem Fahneneid für das Vaterland. Sein Grab liegt 1 km nördlich Domanbowa am Dnjeprufer. Er fiel durch Brustschuss.

This translates to: 

In the battle near Domanbowa on the Dnieper (north of Kyiv, Russia), your husband, Wilhelm Marx, fell on August 30, 1941, fulfilling his soldierly duty, true to his oath to the flag and for the fatherland. His grave is located 1 km north of Domanbowa on the banks of the Dnieper. He died from a chest wound.

We have tried to locate Domanbowa / Domantowa, however there does not seem to be much information, and it may be a name that only the Germans used. However, North of Kyiv is also the 110km long Kyiv Reservoir, made by a dam on the River Dnieper for the Kyiv Hydroelectric plant. Most likely this location, and Marx's grave, are now underwater.

The photo in this set measures 5 3/8" x 3 1/2", and is printed on a period postcard, as were many photos we get from the WWII Period in Germany. It shows an enlisted Heer Army soldier in his uniform with a visor cap and gloves, and we can see a short medal ribbon bar over his left chest pocket, and a single chevron on his left sleeve. This came with the other items, so we believe this to be Marx, most likely after he was recalled from the Western Front, where he had been awarded the EKII and promoted to Grefreiter. He would then be shipped out later to the Eastern Front.

The included German WWII Iron Cross 2nd Class 1939 (Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse 1939) is not maker marked, and comes with its original rayon red, black, and white ribbon, as well as the original besittzzeugnis "possession/award" certificate! This indicates that the EKII was awarded to Oberschützen Wilhelm M a r x of 7. / J.R. 290 on 2. Juli 1940, and that it was awarded Im Felde (In the Field). The Dienſtſiegel (official seal) stamp in the lower corner is present, and is just a Field Post Number, and there is a signature from the Division Commander, but we are not able to read it. The document measures about 7 3/4" x 5 1/2", (about 20cm x 14cm), printed on heavy-weight paper with black print and typed in particulars. It is in good condition, showing light staining, and was folded in half at one point.

The Iron Cross itself has a lovely aged patina, showing bubbling and oxidation on the painted iron core, and the ribbon has a lovely worn look. The edge seam on the award is present, and we checked the hanger ring, which does not have any maker marking stamped onto it. Definitely an example that was worn in the field for a good amount of time. The death notice letter indicates that Marx's personal effects would be returned to his wife, so this was almost certainly among those items.

A fantastic named grouping, full of display and research potential!

There is no more iconic German military award than the Iron Cross. The long history of this order began during the Napoleonic Wars. King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia instituted the “Eisernes Kreuz” (Iron Cross) in March of 1813. The award criteria changed somewhat with time, but generally speaking, Iron Crosses could be awarded for individual acts of bravery, or for leadership achievements on the battlefield. The design was created by a Karl Friedrich Schinkel, his choice of the black cross with silver outline was derived from the heraldic emblem of the Teutonic Knights. This central Tatzenkreuz (cross pattée) struck from iron and mounted in a silver frame which has a raised crenulated decorative border.

There were a number of different type and grades of Iron Cross awards throughout its long history, but the basic details of the most widely awarded grades: The Iron Cross 1st Class and Iron Cross 2nd Class- remained the same. The first class award was a breast badge, with fittings on the reverse to allow it to be worn on the uniform. These fittings varied widely over time and from maker to maker, and could be a simple in and catch, a screw post and retaining disc, or more elaborate setups. The second class award was suspended from a ribbon, originally in the Prussian colors of black and white, later in the Reich colors of black, red and white.

On the original versions of these crosses, in 1813, the front of the iron core of each grade was bare, and only the second class award had ornamentation: a crown over the initials “FW” representing the King, a sprig of oak leaves, and the date 1813. The core was redesigned in 1870, when the cross was re-instituted during the Franco-Prussian War. The reverse ornamentation on the Iron Cross 2nd Class remained the same, but the front of the core on both grades now bore another crown, a “W” representing Kaiser Wilhelm, and the date 1870. This pattern repeated again when the cross was reinstituted for WWI- everything stayed the same, only the date 1870 was replaced with 1914.

The final reinstitution of the cross came in 1939. For this version, the front of the core for both grades bore a swas and the date 1939. The oak leaves, crown and royal initials were removed from the reverse, with only the date 1813 remaining as a reminder of the legacy of this award. In WWII, hundreds of thousands of Iron Cross First Class awards were bestowed, and four and a half million Iron Cross Second Class awards. Iron Crosses were made by a large number of authorized manufacturers. Some variants of these awards were mass produced in huge numbers. Others were made in very limited quantities.