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An old group, with its full story: the Arzberger couple, living near the DDR/CSSR border, near Klingenthal.

THis man worked nearly all his life in a very funny factory: the VEB Musikinstrument Klingenthal, itself belonging to the bigger VEB (Kombinat) Musikinstrument.
He was the director of this factory spacialized in the production of harmonicas, accordions and... synthetizers. This firm still does exists, and now priduces professional audio systems.

His awards are not exceptionnals. This is the whole bunch of papers around which give all the context of a life really far of all military/stasi/border guards stuf.

His verdienter aktivist, of meritant aktivist, given by the general direction in Plauen.

His merit medal of the GDR, or verdienstmedaille der DDR, for an end of career.

HIs political career: the Marxist-Leninist curse in a Party school, compulsory for any economic cadre. Fully paid until the end. No docs about he PDS party which replaced the SED. I saw such groups with old members continuing with a post-communist structure.

The other part of his political life: every genuine citizen was a member of various organisations:

the DSF, or society of geram-soviet friendship association, the Kammer der Technik, indicating a real interest for technics, and the Patriotic front (or Nationalen front), the organisation in charge of organizing all the elections to every degree of the country.
And the GST, or society for sport and technics, in motor sports. The GST was the german DOSAAF.

His career, following:

very early he was awarded the then prestigious medals of aktivist. Nice heavy booklets detailling the conditions in which he bacme a meritant worker. In was not in the instrument factory in his early years.

As the time passed, the material became more common. A small booklet then DIN A4 diplomas (and A5, paper economy! in the late 80ies...). Those really common medals rewarded any loyal worker in the context of every 7-years then 5-years plans.

The small medal for exceptionnal performances in the 5-years plan had it s real booklet, with very often a portrait of the recipient. The small red booklet came with the A4 diploma. After the mid-sixities, the booklet was discarded.

Here on the right the 50ies A5 brown booklet: no A4 diploma, but a nice booklet with thick cardboard cover, many pages detailling the awarding. Like in the USSR, the workers of the stalinist years were prestigious and at the edge of the reconstruction.

THis man followed an engineer curse in economics, at Plauen, preparing for high responsabilities in the VEB Musikinstruments?

The "annexes" of his labor career: a whole serie of the trade unions booklets, with an evolution of the fragile post-wards docs up to the extremly common booklets of the end of GDR.
And various diplomas for long time spent in the Prty and german-soviet frienship society.

The cherry on the cake is missing. AN award I didn't know (GDR had a really tremendous quatity of awards, some extremly rare, in EVERY field of the society, economics, sports and science!!!!).


THe great international Leipzig fair had his award, the gold medal, rewarding any economic or technical achievement. I think we can compare it to the VDNKh medals.

Our man got the gold medal for 1978, for leading the teams which conceived and produced a new synthi instrument!

I got the photos, but the medal and its great diploam are out there...

I'm unsure about any other awards. Sometimes we can find traces in the various greetings letters left in the group. Much dealers who split the groups don't pay attention with every papers coming with the awards. The families can split the stuf. This delaer I know don't split the groups, I believe he grabs them in fleas markets.

The last part of the group: his spouse awards.

By the various trade union booklets I discover he certainly met his wife in his first firm. They lived all their life in a small town near the czech border. His wife had a simpler and traditonnal career of "secondary job" as a vendor in a state supermarket (the "Konsum" network).

The booklets in the bottom are the social security or state welfare booklets. They state this couple had no children, so I'm the last caretaker of a whole life, occupating a simple Ikea box!

Good work Komsomol , a simple story , but very nice , excellent material , congratulations again !
Karl Franz

I absolutely love huge groups of this sort! These really allow us to trace so many details of the life of a perfect stranger, often a perfect "standard" man. A great way to collect and study history!

I have a rather unusual question: do you store such groups in your archive (folded, boxed etc) or do you build some sort of display structure to have them permanently exhibited?

LIving in a flat as full as an egg, I store in dedicated and named boxes. One box contains one or several groups. DDR diplomas are space-consumers. Boring to pick up every box, by I'm sure about UV...

Solution: get another flat for your groups!

These people we were holding their certificates, are all perfectly preserved

It is interesting to see so many identity booklets with this grouping, very nice.

Thank you! I read the average number of awards granted to a faithfull DDR citizen was 10...

The booklets are typical of the 50ies, when the aktivist medals were prestigious titles (and when the huge bunch of other medals hasn't been created yet).

I agree with your points you made in your last post.

komsomol ha scritto:Thank you! I read the average number of awards granted to a faithfull DDR citizen was 10...

The booklets are typical of the 50ies, when the aktivist medals were prestigious titles (and when the huge bunch of other medals hasn't been created yet).

Gents, I forgot to present this medal. I bought it one month ago.

I know it is not his one, and it will be indicated in my collection list, but the set is scarce. Saddly his big diploma is lost, and that's no surprise because a complete Leipziger Messe medal and doc is quite expensive albeith not frankly exciting. Only a scarce awards amongst the thousands created by the regime...

So he was awarded for 1978 a gold medal of the Leipziger fair. I have the original photographs!

Interesting post. I for sure would like to see the photos if you would be willing to post them.