The Collector’s Encyclopaedia is our reference library for collectors and researchers of twentieth-century history: the people whose signatures appear on documents, the decorations they created and received, and the papers that recorded their era. Each entry explains who issued or signed what, how to tell an original from a facsimile or reproduction, and links to related pieces in the collection and to our Collector’s Journal.




Document · Nazi GermanyAhnenpass1933–1945Ancestry passport used to prove "Aryan" descent under the Nuremberg Laws.Decoration · Nazi GermanyAir Raid Protection Decoration1938–1945Luftschutz-Ehrenzeichen, for service in civil air defence.Decoration · Nazi GermanyAnnexation Medals1938–1939Commemorative medals for the annexation of Austria, the Sudetenland and Memel.Document · Nazi GermanyAppointment Certificates1933–1945Certificates of appointment and promotion for officers and officials.Document · Nazi GermanyArbeitsbuch1935–1945The German labour book, recording training and employment.Document · Nazi GermanyArbeitskarte for Polish Workers1939–1945Work card for Polish labourers from the General Government working in the Reich.Decoration · Nazi GermanyAssault Badges1939–1945Army combat badges for infantry, general assault and armoured troops.Document · Nazi GermanyAward Documents1933–1945Certificates issued with German orders and decorations.Signatory · Soviet UnionLavrentiy Beria1899–1953Head of the NKVD and deputy premier; executed in 1953.Signatory · Nazi GermanyWerner von Blomberg1878–1946Reichswehr and War Minister and first Commander-in-Chief of the Wehrmacht.Signatory · Nazi GermanyMartin Bormann1900–1945Head of the Party Chancellery and Secretary to the Führer.Signatory · Nazi GermanyWalther von Brauchitsch1881–1948Commander-in-Chief of the Army from 1938 to December 1941.Signatory · Nazi GermanyEva Braun1912–1945Hitler's companion and, for one day, his wife.Signatory · Nazi GermanyWernher von Braun1912–1977Rocket engineer of the V-2 and later of NASA's Saturn V.Signatory · Soviet UnionSemyon Budyonny1883–1973Commander of the First Cavalry Army in the Civil War and Marshal of the Soviet Union.Signatory · Soviet UnionNikolai Bulganin1895–1975Marshal, Minister of Defence and Soviet Premier (1955–1958).Decoration · Nazi GermanyCampaign Shields1940–1945Sleeve shields commemorating particular battles, such as Narvik and the Crimea.Signatory · Nazi GermanyWilhelm Canaris1887–1945Admiral and head of the Abwehr, military intelligence; executed in 1945.Signatory · Soviet UnionVasily Chuikov1900–1982Commander of the defence of Stalingrad; accepted the surrender of Berlin.Signatory · Allied & other leadersWinston Churchill1874–1965British Prime Minister during the Second World War.Decoration · Nazi GermanyClose Combat Clasp1942–1945Clasp for days of hand-to-hand fighting, in bronze, silver and gold.Document · Nazi GermanyConcentration Camp Correspondence1933–1945Letters and cards written by prisoners on official camp stationery.Signatory · Nazi GermanyKurt Daluege1897–1946Chief of the Order Police and Heydrich's successor in Prague.Signatory · Nazi GermanyFritz Darges1913–2009SS officer, adjutant to Martin Bormann and member of Hitler's personal staff.Signatory · Nazi GermanySepp Dietrich1892–1966Commander of the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler and of the 6th Panzer Army.Signatory · Soviet UnionFelix Dzerzhinsky1877–1926Founder and head of the Cheka, the Soviet secret police.Signatory · Nazi GermanyKarl Dönitz1891–1980Commander of U-boats, Commander-in-Chief of the Navy and Hitler's successor in May 1945.Decoration · Nazi GermanyEastern Front Medal1942–1945Medal for the winter campaign in the Soviet Union, 1941–42.Signatory · Nazi GermanyAdolf Eichmann1906–1962Head of the RSHA Jewish Affairs office; organised the deportation of Europe's Jews.Signatory · Nazi GermanyTheodor Eicke1892–1943Commandant of Dachau, Inspector of the Concentration Camps and commander of the Totenkopf division.Signatory · Allied & other leadersDwight D. Eisenhower1890–1969Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force and later US President.Signatory · Allied & other leadersFrancisco Franco1892–1975Spanish head of state from the Civil War until 1975.Signatory · Nazi GermanyHans Frank1900–1946Hitler's lawyer and Governor-General of occupied Poland.Signatory · Nazi GermanyWilhelm Frick1877–1946Reich Minister of the Interior (1933–1943) and Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia.Signatory · Nazi GermanyWalther Funk1890–1960Minister of Economics (1938) and Reichsbank President (1939).Signatory · Nazi GermanyAdolf Galland1912–1996Fighter ace and commander of the Luftwaffe fighter arm.Signatory · Allied & other leadersCharles de Gaulle1890–1970Leader of the Free French and later President of France.Decoration · Nazi GermanyGerman Cross1941–1945Breast star ranking between the Iron Cross First Class and the Knight's Cross.Decoration · Nazi GermanyGerman Olympic Decoration1936Award for those who contributed to the 1936 Olympic Games in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Berlin.Signatory · Nazi GermanyOdilo Globocnik1904–1945SS and Police Leader in Lublin; directed Operation Reinhard.Signatory · Nazi GermanyJoseph Goebbels1897–1945Gauleiter of Berlin and Reich Minister for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda.Signatory · Nazi GermanyMagda Goebbels1901–1945Wife of Joseph Goebbels; first recipient of the Mother's Cross.Signatory · Nazi GermanyHeinz Guderian1888–1954Pioneer of the German armoured forces and Chief of the Army General Staff in 1944–45.Signatory · Nazi GermanyHermann Göring1893–1946Reichsmarschall, Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe and head of the Four-Year Plan.Signatory · Nazi GermanyAmon Göth1908–1946Commandant of the Płaszów camp in Kraków.Signatory · Nazi GermanyFranz Halder1884–1972Chief of the Army General Staff from 1938 to 1942.Signatory · Nazi GermanyErich Hartmann1922–1993Highest-scoring fighter pilot in history, with 352 claimed victories.Decoration · Soviet UnionHero of the Soviet Union1934–1991The highest Soviet distinction, marked by the Gold Star medal.Signatory · Nazi GermanyRudolf Hess1894–1987Deputy Führer from 1933 until his flight to Scotland in 1941.Signatory · Nazi GermanyReinhard Heydrich1904–1942Chief of the Security Police and SD, head of the RSHA and Deputy Reich Protector in Prague.Signatory · Nazi GermanyHeinrich Himmler1900–1945Reichsführer-SS and Chief of the German Police; chief organiser of the Holocaust.Signatory · Nazi GermanyPaul von Hindenburg1847–1934Field Marshal and Reich President who appointed Hitler Chancellor in 1933.Decoration · Nazi GermanyHindenburg Cross1934Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918, for veterans and their dependants.Signatory · Allied & other leadersHirohito1901–1989Emperor of Japan from 1926 to 1989.Signatory · Nazi GermanyAdolf Hitler1889–1945Führer and Reich Chancellor; the most forged signature of the Third Reich.Signatory · Nazi GermanyRudolf Höss1900–1947Commandant of Auschwitz.Signatory · Allied & other leadersDolores Ibárruri1895–1989Communist leader known as "La Pasionaria".Decoration · Nazi GermanyIron Cross 19391939–1945The renewed Iron Cross of the Second World War, in Second and First Class.Decoration · Nazi GermanyIron Cross from 1813 to 19451813–1945How a Prussian award of 1813 was renewed in 1870, 1914 and 1939.Decoration · Nazi GermanyItalo-German Africa Campaign Medal1942–1943Italian medal for the joint campaign in North Africa, also awarded to German soldiers.Signatory · Nazi GermanyAlfred Jodl1890–1946Chief of the Wehrmacht Operations Staff; signed the surrender at Reims.Signatory · Soviet UnionLazar Kaganovich1893–1991Politburo member and close associate of Stalin.Signatory · Soviet UnionMikhail Kalinin1875–1946Nominal Soviet head of state who signed award decrees.Signatory · Nazi GermanyErnst Kaltenbrunner1903–1946Heydrich's successor as head of the RSHA.Signatory · Nazi GermanyWilhelm Keitel1882–1946Field Marshal and Chief of the Armed Forces High Command (OKW).Document · Nazi GermanyKennkarte1938–1945The German identity card, used to mark and control Jews from 1939.Signatory · Nazi GermanyAlbert Kesselring1885–1960Luftwaffe Field Marshal and Commander-in-Chief South.Signatory · Soviet UnionNikita Khrushchev1894–1971First Secretary of the Communist Party (1953–1964) who denounced Stalin.Decoration · Nazi GermanyKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross1939–1945The highest grade of the Iron Cross, with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds.Signatory · Soviet UnionIvan Konev1897–1973Marshal who shared in the capture of Berlin; later Warsaw Pact commander.Signatory · Soviet UnionIvan Kozhedub1920–1991Highest-scoring Allied fighter pilot of the war; three times Hero of the Soviet Union.Signatory · Nazi GermanyHans Heinrich Lammers1879–1962Head of the Reich Chancellery; countersigned laws and decrees.Signatory · Soviet UnionVladimir Lenin1870–1924Leader of the October Revolution and first head of the Soviet state.Signatory · Nazi GermanyRobert Ley1890–1945Reich Organisation Leader and head of the German Labour Front.Decoration · Nazi GermanyLong Service Awards1936–1945Awards for long service in the Wehrmacht and in the civil service.Signatory · Nazi GermanyViktor Lutze1890–1943Chief of Staff of the SA from 1934, after the murder of Röhm.Signatory · Nazi GermanyAlexander Löhr1885–1947Austrian-born Luftwaffe general; commanded the bombing of Belgrade and later Army Group E.Signatory · Nazi GermanyErich von Manstein1887–1973Field Marshal; author of the 1940 plan against France.Decoration · Soviet UnionMedal for Courage1938–1991The principal Soviet bravery medal.Decoration · Soviet UnionMedal for the Capture of Berlin1945Soviet campaign medal for the battle for Berlin.Decoration · Soviet UnionMedal for the Defence of Stalingrad1942Soviet medal for the defenders of Stalingrad.Decoration · Soviet UnionMedal for Victory over Germany1945The most widely awarded Soviet medal of the Second World War.Signatory · Nazi GermanyOtto Meissner1880–1953Head of the office of the Reich President under Ebert, Hindenburg and Hitler.Signatory · Nazi GermanyJosef Mengele1911–1979SS doctor at Auschwitz-Birkenau; notorious for selections and experiments on prisoners.Signatory · Nazi GermanyErhard Milch1892–1972Luftwaffe Field Marshal and State Secretary for Aviation.Signatory · Nazi GermanyWalter Model1891–1945Field Marshal known as Hitler's "fireman" on threatened fronts.Signatory · Soviet UnionVyacheslav Molotov1890–1986Soviet Foreign Minister who signed the 1939 pact with Nazi Germany.Signatory · Allied & other leadersBernard Montgomery1887–1976British field marshal, victor of El Alamein.Decoration · Nazi GermanyMother's Cross1938–1944Award for mothers of large families, in bronze, silver and gold.Signatory · Allied & other leadersBenito Mussolini1883–1945Fascist dictator of Italy from 1922 to 1943.Signatory · Nazi GermanyWerner Mölders1913–1941Fighter pilot; first to receive the Diamonds to the Knight's Cross.Signatory · Nazi GermanyHeinrich Müller1900–1945?Head of the Gestapo; his fate in 1945 has never been fully established.Signatory · Nazi GermanyArthur Nebe1894–1945Head of the Criminal Police and commander of Einsatzgruppe B; executed after the 20 July plot.Signatory · Nazi GermanyKonstantin von Neurath1873–1956Foreign Minister (1932–1938) and Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia.Document · Nazi GermanyNSDAP Membership Book1925–1945The red membership book of the Nazi Party, issued after the membership card.Decoration · Nazi GermanyNSDAP Party Badge and Golden Party Badge1925–1945Membership badge of the Nazi Party and its honorary gold version.Decoration · Soviet UnionOrder of Glory1943–1991Three-class order for soldiers and NCOs, awarded in sequence.Decoration · Soviet UnionOrder of Lenin1930–1991The highest order of the Soviet Union.Decoration · Soviet UnionOrder of the Patriotic War1942–1991Wartime Soviet order in two classes for heroic deeds in the Great Patriotic War.Decoration · Soviet UnionOrder of the Red Banner1918–1991The first Soviet military order, for bravery and military merit.Decoration · Soviet UnionOrder of the Red Star1930–1991Military order widely awarded to officers and soldiers.Document · Nazi GermanyOriginal Signature or Facsimile1933–1945How to tell an ink signature from a printed, stamped or copied one.Signatory · Nazi GermanyFranz von Papen1879–1969Reich Chancellor in 1932 and Vice-Chancellor in Hitler's first cabinet.Signatory · Allied & other leadersGeorge S. Patton1885–1945US general who commanded the Third Army in 1944–45.Signatory · Nazi GermanyFriedrich Paulus1890–1957Field Marshal and commander of the 6th Army at Stalingrad.Signatory · Nazi GermanyJoachim Peiper1915–1976Waffen-SS officer whose unit committed the Malmédy massacre.Signatory · Nazi GermanyOswald Pohl1892–1951Head of the SS Economic and Administrative Main Office, which ran the concentration camps.Signatory · Soviet UnionAlexander Pokryshkin1913–1985Soviet fighter ace, three times Hero of the Soviet Union.Signatory · Nazi GermanyGünther Prien1908–1941U-boat commander who sank HMS Royal Oak at Scapa Flow.Document · Nazi GermanyPropaganda Leaflets and Safe-Conduct Passes1939–1945Leaflets dropped or fired over enemy lines, often with a pass for surrender.Signatory · Allied & other leadersPhilippe Pétain1856–1951Head of the Vichy French State from 1940 to 1944.Signatory · Nazi GermanyErich Raeder1876–1960Grand Admiral and Commander-in-Chief of the Navy until 1943.Signatory · Nazi GermanyHanna Reitsch1912–1979Test pilot who flew into besieged Berlin in April 1945.Signatory · Nazi GermanyJoachim von Ribbentrop1893–1946Reich Foreign Minister from 1938; signatory of the Nazi–Soviet Pact.Signatory · Nazi GermanyLeni Riefenstahl1902–2003Film director of Triumph of the Will and Olympia.Signatory · Soviet UnionKonstantin Rokossovsky1896–1968Marshal who commanded at Stalingrad and Kursk; later Polish Minister of Defence.Signatory · Nazi GermanyErwin Rommel1891–1944Field Marshal; commander of the Afrikakorps and of Army Group B.Signatory · Allied & other leadersFranklin D. Roosevelt1882–1945President of the United States from 1933 to 1945.Signatory · Nazi GermanyAlfred Rosenberg1893–1946Nazi ideologist and Reich Minister for the Occupied Eastern Territories.Signatory · Nazi GermanyHans-Ulrich Rudel1916–1982Stuka pilot; only recipient of the Golden Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross.Signatory · Nazi GermanyGerd von Rundstedt1875–1953Field Marshal and Commander-in-Chief West.Signatory · Nazi GermanyErnst Röhm1887–1934Leader of the SA; murdered in the purge of 1934.Signatory · Nazi GermanyFritz Sauckel1894–1946Gauleiter of Thuringia and Plenipotentiary for Labour Deployment.Signatory · Nazi GermanyHjalmar Schacht1877–1970Reichsbank President and Minister of Economics; acquitted at Nuremberg.Signatory · Allied & other leadersOskar Schindler1908–1974German industrialist who saved about 1,100 Jews.Signatory · Nazi GermanyBaldur von Schirach1907–1974Reich Youth Leader and Gauleiter of Vienna.Signatory · Nazi GermanyArthur Seyss-Inquart1892–1946Austrian Chancellor at the Anschluss and Reich Commissioner of the occupied Netherlands.Signatory · Nazi GermanyOtto Skorzeny1908–1975SS commando officer who led the rescue of Mussolini in 1943.Document · Nazi GermanySoldbuch1939–1945The soldier's identity and pay book, carried in the field.Document · Soviet UnionSoviet Order Book1930s–1991Booklet recording the Soviet orders awarded to a person, with their serial numbers.Decoration · Nazi GermanySpanish Cross1939German award for service in the Spanish Civil War, above all with the Condor Legion.Signatory · Nazi GermanyAlbert Speer1905–1981Hitler's architect and Minister of Armaments and War Production.Signatory · Soviet UnionJoseph Stalin1878–1953General Secretary of the Communist Party and Soviet leader.Signatory · Nazi GermanyClaus von Stauffenberg1907–1944Officer who carried out the attempt on Hitler's life on 20 July 1944.Signatory · Nazi GermanyGregor Strasser1892–1934Nazi Party organiser; murdered in the 1934 purge.Signatory · Nazi GermanyJulius Streicher1885–1946Gauleiter of Franconia and publisher of Der Stürmer.Signatory · Nazi GermanyKurt Student1890–1978Founder and commander of the German airborne forces.Signatory · Allied & other leadersJosip Broz Tito1892–1980Leader of the Yugoslav Partisans and President of Yugoslavia.Signatory · Nazi GermanyFritz Todt1891–1942Engineer, builder of the Autobahn and Minister of Armaments until 1942.Signatory · Allied & other leadersHideki Tojo1884–1948Prime Minister of Japan from 1941 to 1944; executed in 1948.Signatory · Soviet UnionLeon Trotsky1879–1940Revolutionary leader, Commissar of War and founder of the Red Army; murdered in Mexico.Signatory · Allied & other leadersHarry S. Truman1884–1972President of the United States from April 1945 to 1953.Decoration · Nazi GermanyU-boat War Badge1939–1945Badge for U-boat crews after two operational patrols or engagements.Signatory · Nazi GermanyErnst Udet1896–1941First World War ace and Luftwaffe Generalluftzeugmeister.Signatory · Soviet UnionAndrei Vlasov1900–1946Soviet general who after capture led the German-sponsored Russian Liberation Army.Signatory · Soviet UnionKliment Voroshilov1881–1969Marshal and People's Commissar for Defence; later Soviet head of state.Signatory · Nazi GermanyAdolf Wagner1890–1944Gauleiter of Munich–Upper Bavaria and Bavarian Minister of the Interior.Decoration · Nazi GermanyWar Merit Cross1939–1945Award for war service, with swords for service under fire and without swords for the home front.Decoration · Nazi GermanyWar Merit Medal1940–1945The lowest grade of the War Merit series, mostly for civilian workers.Document · Nazi GermanyWehrpass1935–1945The German service record book, from registration to discharge.Signatory · Nazi GermanyHorst Wessel1907–1930SA man turned into a Nazi "martyr" by propaganda.Decoration · Nazi GermanyWest Wall Medal1939–1945Medal for those who built and manned the western border fortifications.Signatory · Allied & other leadersSimon Wiesenthal1908–2005Holocaust survivor who documented and pursued Nazi perpetrators.Signatory · Nazi GermanyMichael Wittmann1914–1944Waffen-SS tank commander; subject of an enduring propaganda myth.Signatory · Nazi GermanyKarl Wolff1900–1984Himmler's chief of staff and later Supreme SS and Police Leader in Italy.Decoration · Nazi GermanyWound Badge 19391939–1945Badge for wounds received in action, in black, silver and gold.Signatory · Soviet UnionNikolai Yezhov1895–1940Head of the NKVD during the Great Terror; executed in 1940.Signatory · Soviet UnionVasily Zaitsev1915–1991Stalingrad sniper and Hero of the Soviet Union.Signatory · Soviet UnionAndrei Zhdanov1896–1948Party leader of Leningrad during the siege and architect of post-war cultural repression.Signatory · Soviet UnionGeorgy Zhukov1896–1974Marshal of the Soviet Union who led the defence of Moscow and the capture of Berlin.

Historical Responsibility Notice: this encyclopaedia documents historical figures and artefacts, including those of the National Socialist and Soviet periods, for collecting, preservation, education and research. It does not endorse or glorify any ideology, and it is written in memory of the victims.