edelweiss riddle

[NIka]

Greetings!

I was wondering if anyone knows who would this edelweiss belong to? It looks a little unusual (doesn't have a stem)

and what do you think of the edelweiss in the b/w photo?

Thanks!

[ghp95134]

Hello Nika,

That looks like a garden-variety tourist pin, not a military pin. Though, I have seen early images of a bergfuehrer (ca. 1940 color postcard) with this type of civilian pin on his hat. These pins are still sold in Germany (they were in 1978 when I was in Garmisch). The German Alpine Association and Austrian Alpine Association both still sell a similar badge, but with "DAV" and "OeAV" initials over the stamen.

DAV: http://www.dav-shop.de/popup.aspx?Suppl ... 1002_2.jpg

OeAV:


Regards,
--Guy

[ghp95134]

Nika,

First of all, perhaps I wasn't clear: I do not know if your pin is WW2-era or not, it could be; they did exist without stem. But, yours looks almost brand new.

Here is the postcard I referenced in my above post. I found it on the internet and it is not a clear copy:


I have an original postcard on which you can see the edelweiß more clearly -- it is a civilian pin. Perhaps the photo was taken before the stemmed military version was authorized.

Regards,
--Guy

[NIka]

Thank you so much, Guy!

The color picture of the edelweiss is from the ebay, which I found to be very similar to the one pinned in the photo of my grandmother. So, I was hoping the edelweiss they are selling and claiming to be the "Wehrmacht Gebirgsjäger Mützen Edelweis mit Nadelsystem" would help me figure out the origin of the pin in the old photo. I believe my grandfather gave this edelweiss to my grandmother, and just was not sure if it was indeed militaristic, and of a Gebirgsjäger origin. Do you think it could be still?

-NIka

[ghp95134]

Nika,

Is it possible to post the edelweiss attached to the photo of your grandmother? There was also a smaller, stemless, edelweiss worn on the front of the schirmmuetze (peaked cap) of Gebirgsjaeger officers and enlisted men. It was worn between the eagle and the cockade.


SOURCE for below two images:



Another schirmmuetze here: http://www.german-militaria.de/details/d39187.html

However, I don't think these had the safety-pin feature. I think they were the split tabs or nail-like features.

source

Regards,
--Guy

[NIka]

Dear Guy,

Thank you so much for your help! Unfortunately I don't have the actual edelweiss, in fact I accidentally noticed it in the photograph and was amazed at how daring and courageous my grandmother was since the photograph was taken in Crimea in the 1950's! Just imagine what the local authorities would have done with her and her family if anyone took a closer look...
My grandfather was indeed a high ranking officer, so could this be a specially designated edelweiss?

-Nika

[ghp95134]

Nika,

It is hard to tell, but perhaps that is carved from ivory ... or maybe a real edelweiss. The edelweiss has for many years been the symbol of the Alps and mountaineering -- and nothing at all to do with Naziism (unless it has a swastika on it). Perhaps the edelweiss means just that to your grandmother ... and the local authorities. Was she from the Crimean Mountains? They have a plant called the "Crimean Edelweiss" (Cerastium Biebersteinii) ... but it's not a real edelweiss:


Regards,
--Guy

[ghp95134]

Nika,

The more I look at the image of your grandmother, the more I think the edelweiß is a real flower. I've many edelweiß that have been dried and they will last for years -- you can wear them on your hat, or -- as perhaps in your grandmother's case -- as an embellishment to a pretty dress.

I bought a box of the dried edelweiß "heads" from this Canadian company:




Kind regards,
--Guy

[Annelie]

I have found dried edelweiss in photo albums from WWII.
It must have been significant to someone to put a dried flower head in the album?

[ghp95134]

I have found dried edelweiss in photo albums from WWII.
It must have been significant to someone to put a dried flower head in the album?

Yes Annelie: the significance is that the Edelweiß also is a symbol of love -- showing what difficulties and dangers the suitor will endure and overcome ... to show his love to his beloved. He'd risk his life reaching for the elusive Edelweiß.

This says it better than I:

The Edelweiss flower has since time immemorial been valued as medicine against the ailments of men and their beasts, as powerful Talisman to ward off evil and of course as the "Ultimate Love Charms" of the mountains.

Love struck young men would try to endear themselves by collecting Edelweiss from those hard to access crags and ledges in the High Alpine of Europe.
During these quests many died from falls, or succumbed to exposure, insufficiently prepared for sudden weather changes.

Dozens perished in just one season! The danger wrought exercise of collecting such a bouquet proved in those days that the suitor was brave, able-bodied and serious in his intentions. A mixing of flowers and machismo rarely seen in western culture.

That is one of the reasons why men still decorate themselves with this bloom and wear it like a Medal of Honor
Source

Regards,
--Guy

[NIka]

Dear Guy,
It does not seem to be a real flower since the petals in the pin are set together much denser than those of the gothic-sharp petals of the live edelweiss. So, I guess it could have been a piece of jewelry, a dedication and a charm my grandfather carried with him from Austria. I was hoping that it could have brought some light onto the type of military formation he was involved in while fighting in Crimea assuming it was from his schirmmuetze, but I guess I was wrong.... In answer to your question, my grandmother’s family lived near Yevpatoria during the war, where they were forced to move from their home in Askania Nova after the revolution. The “new authorities” had ripped them off so thoroughly that I am left grateful to the chance they were not murdered during the red chaos. So, I am a little more than skeptical when I think of the environment in which my grandmother wore that pin after the war when the anti-German sentiment was at it’s peak.

-NIka

[Annelie]

Thanks Guy,

That answers my question. Lets hope no more will lose their lives proving his love and intentions.
Very touching all the same.

[ghp95134]

Hello NIka,

It does not seem to be a real flower since the petals in the pin are set together much denser than those of the gothic-sharp petals of the live edelweiss.

Here's an example of a bone or ivory pin:

... gothic-sharp petals of the live edelweiss.

Perhaps, but I have seen live Edelweiß with short stubby petals set together densely -- not all are the pristine, sharp, star-shaped "ideals." Here are some crowded & stubby examples I found on line:



Regards!
--Guy

[NIka]

Hello Guy!
Sorry I've been out of touch- visiting my almost-native SF bay area has kept me away from any decent internet signal.
Thank you so much for all the input and time you've spent on the subject!
Those are incredibly beautiful flowers, and am touched at the thought of what they symbolize!
I still feel like I am at a loss...The pin in the photo looks a little more hand-made and slightly "perfected", than the naturally spontaneous shapes of the real flowers. I am probably over thinking it at this point, but am trying to get to the point where there is no more potential information to be derived for my grandfather's research, and that may take awhile...)

with friendly regards!
NIka

[ghp95134]

NIka,

Always a pleasure to help. You were in my neck of the woods -- I'm at Moffett Field (Mountain View), which is 35 miles south of SF.

Regards,
--Guy