Original German WWII Heer Army Kriegsweihnacht 1942 Aluminum Christmas Dish by Chems-Werk Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. The first German Christmas of WWII was celebrated in December of 1939 while the front was for the most part silent; the Western Allies and Germany were in the midst of the war between the period after the Invasion of Poland in September of 1939, and the Invasion in Norway later in April of 1940.

In bunkers, trenches, pillboxes, depots, private homes and unit bases, all along the German border, and in occupied Poland, the German soldiers who were unfortunate enough to not be with family and loved ones, spent time together amongst their comrades and exchanged simple gifts of food, drink, laughed, played, and sang traditional German Christmas songs such as “O Tannenbaum” – a timeless song of Christmas. As the war progressed, becoming harsher, so did the conditions in which the German soldiers were living in. Christmas 1940 was also a relatively quiet period, the Western Allies, minus England, were now occupied by German troops and the Eastern Front had not yet erupted – that would come in June of 1941 with the Invasion of the Soviet Union. The winter of 1941 was one of the harshest and unforgiving winter seasons in recorded history.

Christmas 1942 was progressively worse for Germany, with the entire 6th Armee was lost in the Stalingrad Pocket shortly after the holiday season. Interestingly enough, at midnight on Christmas eve, the sky over Stalingrad was lit up by thousands of colorful flares fired by nearly every unit trapped in the pocket. This amazing sight was in celebration of the Christmas season, and it lasted for many minutes. In the face of increasing despair, Christmas was sometimes celebrated with the sort of true peace, understanding, and acceptance that only those on the brink could feel. The following excerpt is from a soldier trapped in Stalingrad on that fateful Christmas of 1942.

“During the past weeks, all of us have begun to think about the end of everything. The insignificance of everyday life pales against this, and we have never been more grateful for the Christmas Gospel than in these hours of hardship. Deep in one’s heart, one lives with the idea of Christmas, the meaning of Christmas. It is a feast of love, salvation, and pity on mankind. We have nothing else here but the thought of Christmas. It must and will tide us over grievous hours…However hard it may be, we shall do our utmost to master fate and try everything in our power to defeat the sub-humanity that is wildly attacking us. Nothing can shake our belief in victory, for we must win if Germany wants to live…”

This plate is a lovely reminder of the Christmas of 1942. It measures approximately 8 inches across and features KRIEGS-WEIHNACHT 1942 with the German Heer eagle beneath it. It appears to have been made of aluminum and was finished in a silver plating. Unfortunately almost all of the original plating is long worn away, but the message and eagle are still very easily recognizable. The reverse of the plate features makers information for CHEMS-WERK CHARKOW. We have not been able to determine if this is the maker’s information or location in which this plate originated from.

This is a lovely dish that comes ready to display!