Otto Reuleaux Signed WWII Letter – Luftwaffe War Merit Cross Paris 1941

Description

Original German Second World War industrial and military correspondence dated 5 February 1941, issued on the personal company letterhead of Dr. Ing. Otto Reuleaux, Vereinigte Leichtmetall-Werke G.m.b.H., Hannover-Linden.

The letter is addressed to:

Obermeister J. Vaassen
Leichtmetall-Büro Paris
Feldpost-Nr. L. 12 979
Luftgaupostamt Paris

This combination of German industrial correspondence, Luftwaffe Feldpost and occupied Paris gives the document particularly strong historical context.

The typed letter informs Vaassen that, following an earlier telegram, Reuleaux is sending him the Kriegsverdienstkreuz, or War Merit Cross, which he describes as well deserved.

Reuleaux explains that the decoration had been formally presented to him earlier that day during a ceremonial meeting before the company’s Vertrauensrat by a representative of the Luftwaffe, Major von Unger.

The document further records that several additional employees — Herr Witsch, Herr Brommann and Schmiedemeister Kenning — had received the same distinction.

Reuleaux then personally congratulates Vaassen, describing him as one of the company’s most proven or trusted employees.

The letter concludes with the period salutation “Heil Hitler!” followed by “Ihr” and a large handwritten ink signature reading Reuleaux.

The Remarkable Postscript

At the bottom of the document is perhaps its most historically interesting passage.

A typed note first specifies:

“1 Kriegsverdienstkreuz.”

The postscript then states that the corresponding award certificate had been signed by the “Führer” and that Reuleaux had sent that certificate separately to Vaassen’s wife in order to prevent it from becoming lost in the postal system.

This is important to describe accurately: the present document is not signed by Adolf Hitler and the Hitler-signed award certificate mentioned in the text is not the document being offered here.

Rather, this surviving letter provides contemporary documentary evidence referring directly to such a certificate and explaining how it was dispatched.

Otto Reuleaux and Vereinigte Leichtmetall-Werke

Historical research identifies Dr. Ing. O. Reuleaux as Otto Hermann Karl Henning Reuleaux (1896–1979), a German engineer and industrial manager. He took over management of the Vereinigte Leichtmetall-Werke in 1929 and played a leading role in the establishment and development of its Hannover and Laatzen aluminium plants. He was subsequently appointed a Wehrwirtschaftsführer, and the facilities under his management participated in German wartime armaments production.

The Hannover-Linden works developed into an important aluminium-processing operation producing sheets, profiles, forgings and other light-metal products, including material for aircraft production and components associated with Luftwaffe requirements.

This makes the letter especially relevant to collectors interested not only in German military history but also in the industrial infrastructure behind wartime aviation production.

Condition

The document is preserved as a single typed sheet with original company letterhead and handwritten signature.

Visible characteristics include:

• dated Hannover-Linden, 5 February 1941
• original Vereinigte Leichtmetall-Werke letterhead
• typed recipient details
• Paris Feldpost address
• reference to the Luftwaffe
• reference to Major von Unger
• Kriegsverdienstkreuz award content
• handwritten Reuleaux signature
• period political salutation
• postscript mentioning a certificate signed by the Führer
• original horizontal and vertical fold lines
• light handling wear
• minor edge and surface wear consistent with age

The photographs show the exact document offered and form an integral part of the description.

An excellent archival item combining WWII German industrial history, Luftwaffe correspondence, Feldpost Paris, the War Merit Cross and the autograph of Otto Reuleaux.

Offered exclusively as a historical collectible for documentation, research and preservation. Historical terminology is used solely for accurate identification and does not imply endorsement of the ideology represented.