Original Item: One-of-a-kind. The Eastern Front of World War II was a theater of conflict between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Southeast Europe (Balkans) from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945. It has been known as the Great Patriotic War (Russian: Великая Отечественная война, Velikaya Otechestvennaya Voyna) in the former Soviet Union and modern Russia, while in Germany it was called the Eastern Front (German: die Ostfront), or the German-Soviet War by outside parties.
The battles on the Eastern Front of the Second World War constituted the largest military confrontation in history. They were characterized by unprecedented ferocity, wholesale destruction, mass deportations, and immense loss of life due to combat, starvation, exposure, disease, and massacres. The Eastern Front, as the site of nearly all extermination camps, death marches, ghettos, and the majority of pogroms, was central to the Shoah. Of the estimated 70–85 million deaths attributed to World War II around 30 million occurred on the Eastern Front. The Eastern Front was decisive in determining the outcome in the European theater of operations in World War II, eventually serving as the main reason for the defeat of NSDAP Germany and the Axis nations.
The two principal belligerent powers were Germany and the Soviet Union, along with their respective allies. Though never engaged in military action in the Eastern Front, the United States and the United Kingdom both provided substantial material aid in the form of the Lend-Lease to the Soviet Union. The joint German–Finnish operations across the northernmost Finnish–Soviet border and in the Murmansk region are considered part of the Eastern Front. In addition, the Soviet–Finnish Continuation War may also be considered the northern flank of the Eastern Front.
This is an authentic hand carved souvenir walking stick or Wolchow Stock, made by a German Army soldier serving on the Eastern Front. The stick measures 38 1/2 inches tall with a circumference of 3 3/4 inches at its widest point. It features a German Heer Reichsadler Eagle on top of a partial Swas (Swas) along with Iron Crosses, and other designs. The rest of the stick has lots of designs and other ornamentation.
There are two city names carved into the stick: Tschudowo and Worchowo, which are the German names for eastern front areas. This would be the Russian area of Chudovo (Чýдово) and the Polish area of Orchowo. There is also what looks to be a horse with the date 1942 carved into it.
This is a fantastic personalized piece of historical remembrance from one of the most brutal theaters of war in world history.