WW2 German POW Jacket

[Lasivian]

My friend recently got a jacket willed to her by her grandfather who was a WW2 POW. She's wondering if she should sell it or donate it to a museum, etc. (Not something I have any experience with and I don't see much on Google)

Says it looks exactly like the one to the middle left with the thinner stripes:

(She'll get me pictures of it when she gets home)

Thanks

 

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[gollum]

Judging from the following link, she could probably do better donating it to a museum and taking a larger tax write off. Just my opinion though.


http://www.epier.com/BiddingForm.asp?1599518


Best-Mike

 

[Seeker Of Truth]

Or she could keep it and pass it through the family. I m not sure why you would concider getting rid of somethin like that If i found out my family sold my military stuff that i felt important enough to will to someone, i would haunt them But i dont know your friends situation, and if she must get rid of it, i would give it to a museum for future generations to enjoy and appreciate

 

[gollum]

Or she could keep it and pass it through the family. I m not sure why you would concider getting rid of somethin like that If i found out my family sold my military stuff that i felt important enough to will to someone, i would haunt them But i dont know your friends situation, and if she must get rid of it, i would give it to a museum for future generations to enjoy and appreciate

That's how things wind up getting thrown away or in Thrift Stores. A few generations after the person obtained the item, tags get torn off or faded. Family members down the line looking through old trunks think its just some dirty old shirt and throw it away or donate it. It happens EVERY day.

Best-Mike

 

[gollum]

Here's a great example for you:

http://shopgoodwill.com/auctions/Antique---Hand-Tinted-Photo-of-Pretty-Lady-5879998.html

This is listed as a "Pretty Lady" for $25. The next listing is for "A Handsome Gent" $25. These were somebody's mother and father, grandmother and grandfather. Somewhere, someone died and grandma and grandpa found their way to a thrift store. How sad is that?


Best-Mike

 

[Seeker Of Truth]

Exactly my point, i dont want the stuff i worked so hard to get or the stuff i held dear to end up as a 25$ special in a thrift store. People wearing Military uniforms is a pet peve of mine, i saw a person wearing an airforce dress jacket walkin down the street one day , he clearly wasnt in the service but maybe he had served at one point or another in his life, so myself being a service member, i asked him hey Sgt, (seeing the rank on the jacket) how ya doin? just being friendly... and he went on to say "Oh this aint mine, i thought it looked cool so i bought it." The jacket still had the ribbons on it and the name plate of the guy who wore it last. He must have bought it at a surplus store or somethin... you think the store would atleast have the common sense to take off the name plate and ribbons.... but they would have sold them anyway...

 

[bulldozer1]

I think the picture you have is of Concentration Camp uniforms and not POW uniforms. Your post says German POW jacket but if it were a German POW especially in the US they would wear a US uniform with PW painted on it. You can find pictures on the internet from camps like Aliceville, Camp Shelby. As for a museum I work for on in Fort Oglethorpe GA at was a military post during WW I and WW II as well as a POW camp for German POWs during both wars. If she does not want the uniform she can donate it there and get a tax letter for the value. Just a thought.

 

[2bits]

Agree w/ Bulldozer, that is definitely a concentration camp jacket! You have a very collectable item there. I'm sure any holocaust museum would appreciate having it.
HH Doc

 

[DCMatt]

Or she could keep it and pass it through the family. I m not sure why you would concider getting rid of somethin like that If i found out my family sold my military stuff that i felt important enough to will to someone, i would haunt them But i dont know your friends situation, and if she must get rid of it, i would give it to a museum for future generations to enjoy and appreciate

That's how things wind up getting thrown away or in Thrift Stores. A few generations after the person obtained the item, tags get torn off or faded. Family members down the line looking through old trunks think its just some dirty old shirt and throw it away or donate it. It happens EVERY day.

Best-Mike

I'm with gollum. I have a 1920 Singer sewing machine that belonged to my wife's grandmother. I have documentation and family stories about it being saved by neighbors in Gardena California in 1942, and later shipped to the Japanese American internment camp in Jerome Arkansas. I even have work orders for items made while at the camp as well as other camp artifacts. My kids think it is neat but I doubt they would ever do anything with it other than store it in the garage - so I plan to donate it to either the Japanese American National Museum (if they will take it) or one of the local museums in the LA area.

At the museum it's story can reach a wider audience. And the kids can see it any time they want...

DCMatt

 

[Tommygunn]

I know this is late in the day, and things may have moved on, but you should get some advice from the professionals. Go to the following websites and speak to professional collectors and they will steer you in the right direction depending on your circumstances.
http://forum.axishistory.com/index.php
http://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/index.php

Tom.