Germany, Wehrmacht. A 1939 Ek I Class, By Carl Wild - Dietrich Maerz Collection Archive It was taken in Leer

It was taken in Leer (northwestern Germany)

marked “DRL” and “Ges

A note on the reverse states that is was taken Christmas 1941 in the Valdai Hills (northern Russia)

the SS insignia remaining relatively intact

Germany, Wehrmacht. A 1939 Ek I Class, By Carl Wild - Dietrich Maerz Collection Archive It was taken in Leer(Eisernes Kreuz 1939 I. Klasse mit Etui). Reinstituted 1 September 1939. (1939 1945 issue). Constructed of iron and silver, consisting of a Cross Patte with a blackened magnetic iron core within a ribbed silver border, the obverse with a central mobile swastika, the six oclock arm with a reinstitution date of 1939, the reverse with a barrel hinge and banjo style pinback meeting a flat wire catch, the pinback marked with code 107 for maker Carl Wild,