The Ribbentrop Hoard - WWII's Finest GI Trophy
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 พ.ย. 2024
- On May 5, 1945, a US Army captain discovered one of WWIIs finest caches of trophy items in a small hotel in the Austrian mountains. The cache belonged to none other than Reich Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop.
Dr. Mark Felton FRHistS, FRSA, is a well-known British historian, the author of 22 non-fiction books, including bestsellers 'Zero Night' and 'Castle of the Eagles', both currently being developed into movies in Hollywood. In addition to writing, Mark also appears regularly in television documentaries around the world, including on The History Channel, Netflix, National Geographic, Quest, American Heroes Channel and RMC Decouverte. His books have formed the background to several TV and radio documentaries. More information about Mark can be found at: en.wikipedia.o...
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Primary source: 'The Orders and Medals of Joachim von Ribbentrop' by William C. Stump, 15 April 2012, Axishistory.com
Credits: US National Archives; Bundesarchiv; Library of Congress; Borodun; GrafVonEbbell; ESVic; Alexeinikoyevichromanov; Duke83; SokoWiki; Haeferl; Christoph Praxmarer; Anton-kurt.
Thumbnail colorisation by Klimbim.
Goering once insulted von Ribbentrop, saying "shut up you champagne salesman!" War, some people get rich and a lot of people get dead...Excellent posting Dr. Felton.
For Goering to insult anybody….now THATS rich 🎖️🏅🥉🥈🥇🥈🥉🥇🥈🥉🏅🎖️🥉🥈🥇🥇🥇🎖️🎖️🎖️🏅🎖️🏅🥉🥈
There's a line used in the American Civil War to describe how the wealthy could get out of serving. "More than x slaves" or "hire a substitute for $y". The grumble of the average private soldier was "rich man's war, poor man's fight."
Damn, I had completely forgotten that one. Hermann could give a proper dressing down when he wanted.
Thanks, mate!
@@jeremy28135mm needs more Medals. It's Göring after all...
Ribbentrop snapped back to Reichsmarshall Goering, " What did you say Fashionist ?! "
My mother and aunt worked at the laundry in Southfields that did the was used by the German Legation.
One day, they were preparing a dress shirt for the wash when they found a pair of gold swastika cuff links still on the sleeves.
The links were returned to the Legation and some time later, they received a box of chocolates and some flowers along with a note of thanks from Ribbentrop saying he was grateful to them as the links were a personal gift from Hitler.
I wonder whether they ended up in the box at the Austrian hotel…
Thank you for your footnote, Things like this really make history come alive and show we are all touched by it.
Fascinating
Really makes you wonder if the right side won
@@serwombles8816 lately I've been thinking that same thing
@@AutomatedPersonellUnit_3947 we wouldn't be having all these "Diversity" issues
Always makes me a little sad to see things such as this sold off to private collectors, broken up and hidden away. In the words of a great man "It belongs in a museum!"
At the end of WWII, Germany was flooded with US collectors, collecting everything of value without paying.
I'm not if it was up to me all of this Nazi trash would be ground up and dumped into a landfill. The suffering these men caused to millions of innocent people is all that should be discussed in history not their medals.
@@jasonweaver6524 They paid with the lives of their friends, sons, fathers, and brothers. I highly doubt the Americans taking guns and memorabilia even came close to paying off the debt the Germans owed to not just the Americans but the world as a whole.
Well, I can understand you point of view, but no, just plain no. Because modern museums, especially the german and austrian ones, have the tendencies to lock WW2 items in the cellar - because those are the items of "evil". Heck there's even a debate in Austria as if those items should not be destroyed! So in the hands of private collectors this will never happen to these valuable pieces of history.
Maybe some of those collectors own museums.
Right now my wife is salty that I’ve been suddenly distracted by the latest Mark Felton production
I hear you JT.
Just like Pavlov's dog... when I hear Mark's intro? I start drooling! 😅
You're sleeping in the dog house tonight bro lol
@@jerryjeromehawkins1712 the hype is REAL
Simp
Beta male 😂
Many of those medals were magnificent looking, ...what a collection it was.
5:55... that Iron Half-Moon badge is absolutely amazing. An award I wasnt aware of.
Thank you as always Dr. Felton! 🎖
Dr Felcher got it wrong. The correct name is the Gallipoli star, although the Gemans did call it the Iron crescent. It was awarded to germans who served with the Ottomans during WW1
Those were the good times
@deradler7571 Thanks Deradler... very interesting! 👍🏽
Von Rundstedt also had it...
@@MI-mx3rhThey were the best of times, and the worst of times.....one thing for sure is Reichsmarshall Goering was always having a pretty good time
Things never change , we have modern day examples of this man and his actions.
@@thedude5449 That was a good comment Vlad.
@@thedude5449 How is Hunter Biden's c**k?
@@charlesrb3898 what if "Vlad" is the good guy and we are the "baddies"??
@@Sshooter444your question is whether or not the dictator that invaded a neighboring country and robbed his people of a place in the worlds society is the good guy? No, he is not
Molotov Ribbentrop pact nations ?
One thing for sure. Mark Felton always has materials people often don't know about! Excellent job 😊
I can never be educated enough as far as WW2 is concerned. Top notch stuff from my favourite TH-cam historian
Start by educating yourself as to what your real name is, before you strive for such lofty heights as history!
I’m sure he knows his real name though i can’t understand why it’s important to you. Are you feeling alright?
@@Jack-bs6zb I despise infantile cowards like you.
I was in the armed forces to protect you children.
It is because of your ilk that I now regret that choice.
@@Jack-bs6zbi doubt so, seems abit off
@@bsolutions525
Right?
Such a shame that they were all sold off. A collection like that, together, is an amazing look into history that is not very common.
While I can understand the desire to make a buck off the items, the sheer historical value of the collection, as a whole, should have prompted a donation to a significant museum. Another example of "lost to history".
He did go and display the artefacts eh? He could have sold it the same year he got home
@@EndritKaljevic-oh9wu that’s valid, but the war was much closer at that time. We need stuff like that today more than ever to remind people and keep history alive. Showing it off for a few years after the war is hardly any consolidation for the history lost
@@firefly44220Not everyone has history in mind, especially those who fought in it. Maybe he needed the money for his family, or simply didn't want them to go for nothing when he passed away? Maybe he just wanted to forget about the war, no doubt seeing what he'd seen?
We shouldn't judge people for not doing the correct thing, when we didn't experience what they did.
At least there are photos
Another awesome history lesson from the world’s best professor of WW2 ! We are fortunate to have him! Many thanks to you Sir!
In case anyone is wondering $20, 000 dollars in 1947 would be worth $273,000 dollars in purchasing power today. So he didn't get shortchanged and he was young enough to spend it then.
SMH...someone paid today's equivalent of about $200,000 in 1965 for the entire collection.
What a fool Harry Goldsmith was. He could have easily got $2,000,000, or more, way more.
That's a lot of dollardollars.
@KennethBolton951 Young enough to spend it, compared to ? Being old enough to spend it ? .......
Not a bad profit for selling stolen merchandise
@@certaindeed stolen from nazis
THANK YOU again for another stellar video Dr. Felton.
You’re a treasure in keeping WWII history alive!
Strange story after just watching a video of a German general prisoner of war in Russia, telling a story that his "Ritter Kreutz" been given back to him after soldiers stole it from him, and the Top Russian officer, told the thief that a Ritter Kreutz was only given to a hero, so he got it back.
So, the Soviets were honorable where we were.....thieves.
In his memoir "Panzer Commander", Hans von Luck recounts his capture by Soviet troops where his Ritterkreuz is stolen and then ordered to be returned to him. Unfortunately, the box where he later hid the medal was stolen upon his return to Germany.
This hoard is off the hook. Absolutely superb content. Thank you, Mark Felton!
Imagine what that collection would be worth today if it hadn't been sold off separately. Another great report!
Tens of millions dollars
Wow! I can't believe that von Ribbentrop was the only recipient of the Order of the German Eagle. That is a lot of work by a jeweler for just one medal to be struck. I always learn something from Dr. Felton's videos.
Mister Mark Felton, about a year ago I commented about naming myself MARK FELTON PRODUCTIONS while playing WW2 shooter called Post Scriptum. You replied jokingly calling me an Imposter!
I am back to say I now do the same in the game Hell Let Loose. Both games are massive with 80+ players who enjoy realistic WW2 games per match. Every match in both games, I run into AT LEAST one fan of yours on my team.
Thanks for your uploads. Your educational videos offer entertainment and knowledge with a reach that knows no borders.
My parents were trying to clear out their attic a few years ago, and being an amatuer historian, I noted a number of things - mostly pins, medals, buttons, and a bayonet or two. My paternal grandfather served in Europe, and my maternal grandfather and his brothers (being first generation Italian-Americans) served in the Pacific. Incredulously, I shouted, "THESE BELONG IN A MUSEUM!"
WHERE THEY CAN PUT THEM IN A BASEMENT NEVER TO BE SEEN AGAIN.
never put anything in a musueam keep it or sell
Just remember, if you loan it to a museum, make sure to draw up and sign a contract between you and the museum. Sometimes, they have a nasty habit of conveniently forgetting that you loaned it instead of donating it.
@@grayparatrooper Unless it's important enough to display!
@@Alan.livingston That's the problem with a lot of museums, especially the larger ones. Many have so much stuff they don't know what to do with it all.
It belongs in a museum!
The chances that someone named "Goldsmith" discovers a hoard with these contents 😄 Great video as always, interesting to get a small insight in the diplomatic relations of the Nazis at the time!
I thought your quote was antisemitic at first then I looked again and a goldsmith found the gold is pretty funny.
@@anthonyfuqua6988 "I thought your quote was antisemitic at first" -- Did you manage to call thought police?
@mountainhobo I never would have done that. People are free to say. For a minute I thought u were saying it was kind of like providence that a jew found the money. But goldsmith found the gold.
@@anthonyfuqua6988 It had not even occurred to me that it might have been a Jewish name, but I can see how that would have been a possible negative post. Indeed not intended to be hurtful to anyone, but I like puns or words with double meanings, and this one struck me as funny coincidence 🙂
@@anthonyfuqua6988 Well, I would call it ultimate irony if this was actually the case.
Wow! Just spellbinding! Excellent compilation, Dr. Felton!!! THANK YOU!
Wow, sad such historical items aren't in a museum somewhere. Often times private collections are neglected after the death of the owner, leading to loss or destruction of irreplaceable artifacts. 😑
All of this stuff should have been in a museum... It's historical value outweighs it's intrinsic value.
Wow! What a beautiful hoard. I'd be happy with one. Order of the White Rose spectacular!
How painful! This collection should have been bought by a museum!
$20,000 for a priceless collection. "It belongs in a museum!" -Indiana Jones
It was the opinion of some that Dr Jones also belonged in a museum.
If you can't own property,you are property.
It's worth mega millions by now
@@AutomatedPersonellUnit_3947 American troops were crazy about obtaining loot during WWII, and they hauled off a lot of it. During the the 1950s-1960s military and gun shows (swap meets) in the US were absolutely awash with the stuff. As a kid growing up in New Jersey in the 70s I remember playing 'army' with kids who had bits and pieces of authentic German and Japanese militaria Their father's had brought back after the war. I can't imagine how value some of that stuff would be today. Back then it was just some worthless old junk.
@@MrSloika Me too, I started putting ads in the newspapers in the 80's and 90's scored many German and Japanese items, I still deal in them, as well as ancient Roman coins and artifacts ✌️
He wasn’t called Goldsmith for nothing! He really struck gold!
He let it go for a song compaired to what it was worth even at the time!
@@jamesalexander5623 His trove would be worth mega millions by now
He was called "Goldsmith" because (gee, what a coincidence!) he was Jewish.
Kudos to Mark Felton for clueing us onto the "my boxes syndrome" which seems to plague evil autocrats both past and present.
Once again, thank you Dr. Felton for another great video!
Gotta give props to that innkeeper for having the testicular fortitude to try to say no to armed victorious soldiers
Based
Well he tried, but probably didn't give too much of an argument when Capt. Goldsmith said "Move!"
He had to fulfil his contractual obligations with the hotel owners....
He was lucky they weren't Soviets.
@@kennethbolton951 So true!
I never knew ribbontrop was a decent good soldier during ww1,you are the history channel Mark
Thank you so much mr.Felton for these excellent episodes of WW2 History. I really enjoy your channel 😀
Keep 'em coming Mark!
Another super fascinating episode! Thanks for keeping me sane during this boring summer dr. Felton
If you find this time boring, then you aren’t following events. Present events.
MARK FELTON IS AN EXTRAORDINARY EXPERT HISTORIAN ON WORLD WAR 2 HISTORY. HE ALWAYS HAS GREAT STORIES TO TELL. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK MR. FELTON
Damn. Those should have gone to a museum. The Smithsonian or the West Point museum would have been the best of those open in the mid 60s.
That is quite a collection of awards, Von Ribbentrop was like a walking chandelier.
Mark Felton, one of the best channels on the Third Reich.
Just wanted to say I am finishing up my second book by you! Thoroughly enjoying your writings and will be getting a third book real soon! Thanks.
There needs to be a World History Medal for Dr. Mark Felton , in America we was never told Ribbentrop pressured Hitler to declare war on America. We was always told Hitler in a mental senseless rage declared war on America with no fore thought before doing so and now thanks to Dr. Mark Felton we know better now.
If Ribbentrop talked Hitler into declaring war on the US he was a first-class idiot and a worse foreign minister. The Tripartite Pact among Germany, Italy, and Japan was a mutual defense treaty, not a mutual agression treaty. Goering, Keitel, Jodl, and some other's of Germany's top brass advised Hitler NOT to declare war on the US as there was absolutely no need to do so.
But Hitler did so anyway.
If he WAS to declare war on the US he should have asked Japan for something in return for doing so, such as an attack on Siberia to tie down Russian forces stationed there and provide a major distraction, or no deal! But he didn't. And the Japanese had NO intention of doing so, Stalin's spies in Japan found out and passed the word to him making possible the re-enforcement of the Red Army fighting the Germans.
As far as allies go German, Japan, and Italy were pretty poor ones, most of the time one didn't know what the others were up to or planning.
You should do an episode on his son, a gladiator in his time, he was every where in his service.
Maybe on some whereaboo channel, not here.
Indeed, Von Ribbentrop's son only passed recently ... Colourfull character too ...
did he ever sue this american dude who stole his faters property to give it back?
20000$ seems nothing based on just material value let alone historical.
Thank you Mark!
You are correct. At the time the only value was as scrap gold/silver and value of the stones. I'll be a lot of it was melted down to make new jewelry.
Should have been kept together as a collection and placed in a museum
You should have bought them, and placed them kn a museum if that is the case, or better still fight your way through europe in the Army, collect them, then put them in a museum.
@@davidgenie-ci5zl Huh?
@@johnbrattan9341 Huh??????
@@dave8599For starters, who's "you?"
@@johnbrattan9341 You is the one that wants this stuff to be in a museum.
Loving the trophies coverage!
I bet the collection of all of Ribbentrop’s medals if sold off today would garner several millions of dollars?? What a haul!
Feltons choose of weird in occurrences in history is amazing.
Love how the general says "sure take them" as if it was his to give away.
It was. To the victors go the spoils.
@@MrSloika Really? I don't think that's how international law works. Granted it was through this kind of thinking that international law was born.
By far my favorite TH-cam channel.
It's just a shame that the collection got broken up and not given to a museum to display along with the uniforms etc.
Mark dropping absolute heat lately.
44th Infantry Division knocks on door and says we’re closed.
Wonder if the innkeeper really thought that would work out?😂
"Badges? We don't need no stinking badges!"
Germans were used to everyone following orders. It was worth a try.... lol.
Thanks again for another look into the pages of history.
Talk about being at the right place at the right time.
Always interesting, thank you.
Mark. Thanks for providing my Wednesday night entertainment!
Thanks for another interesting WW2 video
Mark, your video posts are excellent and so interesting and so professionally done. I always enjoy them !
Thanks Dr. Felton!
Those items and uniforms should have been donated/sold to a museum.
Typical Felton, groundbreaking new WWII findings ! Noone beats Mark !
WWII will never run out of great stories! 😀
And i'm more than ok with that 🙂
I am amazed and informed every week by Dr. Felton. Apparently the trove of little known historical facts continues...
You did manage to forget Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia in addition to bits of Poland that were "donated" to Russia as part of the accord between Germany and Russia.
Great work Dr. Mark
I believed Ribbentrop's mother in law said " who would have thought the stupidest of my sons in law would have gone the highest"
Ribbentrop is considered stupid, yes, and apparently he was only the 10th in terms of IQ of the Nazi leaders, with an IQ of only 129.
His appointment was due to his friendship with Hitler rather than his qualifications. Ribbentrop's diplomatic efforts were borish and were characterized by loyalty to Hitler and his aggresive policies. He fit in well with the nazi apparatus which was based on manipulation and scheming rather then merit.
Thank you Dr. Felton for posting yet another interesting story of the WWII era. I have a strong interest in WWII history and I enjoy watching all of your well thought out and presented productions! Thanks again for all your hard work in putting these historical documentaries together. These will be valuable short lessons for people to watch well into the future!
From the Dept of Dr M Felton-- accept no imitations.
VON Ribbentrop was the only one on top in germany who actually gave germany a shot at domination via soviet alliance..yet no one listened and everyone scorned him. He delivered the news of war to the soviets and even insisted on letting them know tearfully he had no desire for this war . For all this, he has my sympathy. I suspect the brits were the ones to push his hanging and few of the germans high command had love lost in him. .
Amazing as always 🎉
I love your channel mark, you’re amazing
A Mark Felton Video on a Wednesday. Great!
Apparently, Goldsmith never watched Antiques Roadshow.
Thanks once again, Dr. Felton, forward another fascinating video. I remember in my adolescence reading an article about the souvenir horde, including a picture of the dagger, in TRUE magazine. 👍😎
Great episode.
I just have one minor correction, Ribbentrop was not the only German to receive Großkreuz des Deutschen Adlerordens in Gold (Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the German Eagle in Gold), Konstantin Hermann Karl Freiherr von Neurath also Reichsminister des Äußeren "Foreign Minister of Germany" (1932-1938) Rippentrop's predecessor and Reichsminister des Innern "Minister of the Interior" (1933-1943) Wilhelm Frick, both received this distinction. You can find pictures of both of them wearing the Grand Cross.
In relating to the Order of the Dannebrog, and just a note to the story of this one. He received the Order of the Dannebrog Grand Grand cross with a diamond in 1941. Upon receiving the Grand Cross, you receive a coat of arms. This coat of arms will be hung in the castle church at Frederiksborg Castle, but he never got his a coat of arms, and by royal resolution on 10 October 1946 he was deprived of the Order of the Danneborg. Hermann Göring was also stripped of this order as part of the royal resolution.
he wasn't "deprived" of the order - he never deserved it. Neither did Göring. They didn't fulfil the requirements and should never have received them in the first place
@@thesteelrodent1796
If you are convicted as a criminal, you will be stripped of your order to a large extent. The last person I am aware of who has had the order revoked was a Danish minister in 2021, when she received a sentence.
I don't want to judge whether it was right or wrong to give them the order, this decision rested with the government that was at the time and must be the ones held accountable for their decision. But you have to remember that the Danish government and royal house, which were still in Denmark during the occupation, were under great pressure, and tried to find a limit to the cooperation, where the occupying power provided as little control as possible, and this was probably a means of maintaining this self-control. Was it right to give it to them, possibly not, but did the Danish government deemed it necessary, possibly.
The Danish collaborationist government during the Second World War is still debated whether it was a good or bad thing for Denmark, but one can conclude that Denmark, unlike many other countries occupied during the war, came through very safely in comparison.
@@mads3236 It's not unlike the awards given by Western countries to Nikolae Ceausescu: the UK was not under Romanian occupation, but its leaders admired the plucky little guy who stood up to Mikhail Gorbachev, so Queen Elizabeth made him a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath. It was revoked the day before he faced a firing squad. The Danish Crown admitted him to the Order of the Elephant, from which their Queen expelled him before he bit the dust.
Fascinating as always. Thanks Mark
Hello Mr. Felton, just a small correction. It is King Zvonimir, not Zvinomir. Thank you for the great content!
Mark's almost at 2 million subscribers! ⭐ It really should be 10 million
Thank you very much for this video! Very informative!
I often wondered what happened to all his awards and personal effects...now I know.
👍👍
Sorry I missed this one yesterday but as always anyting by Mark Felton it's always a great watch video❤
Ribbentrop's daughter is still alive today, aged more than 100
GIs shoved the guy aside. I love it.
Fascinating work Professor! Thanks!
Stalin looks so happy in those pictures
Yep sticking it to the allies
Great job Mr.Felton
Ribbentrop in the sublime series "Winds of War" (1983) is played by Anton Diffring.
Yes, and he also played Heydrich in one movie, and best I would remember him from 'Where Eagles Dare'.
He made a career playing playing Nazi bigshots
Such fantastic content - thank you for sharing and creating these videos, Mark!!
It's amazing that a Lt.Col. would be allowed to keep something of that importance. Even more so, that it was sold off; piecemeal. Really should have stayed together.
Finders keepers
the US considered anything that wasn't of strategic value to be just tat. And they probably cared more about keeping morale up by letting the soldiers get what they wanted, than going through the hassle of returning things to the rightful owners
Not really
Officers have privileges
That he brazenly looted Ribbentrop's personal property. These items were not things that the former Foreign Minister had looted. They should have been given back to his widow. Another example of Allied hypocrisy, especially where Jews were involved.
@@selfdoShould I respect the property rights of a Nazi and a convicted war criminal?
Well done sir!! Very much appreciated 😊😊😊😊
It's a shame those were not put in a museum.
Perfect timing! Sweetie and I just sat down with our ice cream floats and found a Felton!
That doesn't seem like much money for such a unique collection. A pity it didn't go to a museum, it would be an interesting collection to view.
It was probably in late 1940’s Dollars and would be more than 10 times that in today’s FIAT money! And no that doesn’t mean the car company!
@@davidlogansr8007The US uses fiat money since the 1770's as the Continental Dollar. That got replaced with Specie coins by 1787 as part of the new Constitution's financial reforms but there are still holdouts in the West where gold coins are hard to come by...
I remember being in an antiques shop in the vicinity of Wattisham airfield, Suffolk about 10 years ago. They had one of Ribbentrop's tunics in a glass display case.
Not a thought given to returning these stolen items to the family. How charming.
No thought at all, the family of that nazi deserved nothing, not even life. they are lucky to have lived.
I have been waiting for someone to say that. There are those in the comments saying these things belong in a museum, they belong to his family, plain and simple.
Why would he care about returning Nazi memorabilia to Ribbentrops relatives? I'm going to venture a guess that Ribbentrops relatives don't necessarily want to remember the fact they're related to an infamous Nazi.
@@amandaJ7449 bullshit, they are war trophies.
Yet again you've taught me something I didn't know Mark! Well done!
My first supervisor and mentor in 1985 was a d day paratropper and fought in battle of the bulge.
My college chemistry professor worked on the first A bomb.
Excellent as ever . Well researched and great narration
What a shame that this collection has been separated and sold off to various buyers. Individually, the pieces are very nice, as a unit they are fascinating.
At the time it wasn't worth much more than its value in scrap gold and stones.
@@MrSloika
I'm sure you're right but being that the original "owner" brought the collection around in shows and stuff, you'd think he would have realized the value as a complete set, not so much in the monetary sense, but in a collectors sense.
But hey, we know how
$$ money $$ can get people to sell just about anything.
@@notsosilentmajority1you would think the set would make it way more valuable
@@davemartino5997
Agreed. You're right.
Another great story , you never faill us
All that gold bullion ended up in the movie Kelly's Heroes.
Really
@@bobross8786 I don't think so just my attempted at being funny.
@@grapeshot oh 🤣
The only channel I’ve watched the last week