Original Items: One-of-a-kind. Georg Jauer (25 June 1896 – 5 August 1971), was a German Panzertruppe General in the Heer Army during World War II, who commanded the 20th Panzergrenadier-Division on three different occasions, and later the Panzerkorps Großdeutschland during his WWII service. Originally an Oberstleutnant (Lt. Colonel) at the beginning of the war, he eventually rose to the rank of General der Panzertruppe (Lt. General) at the end of the war when commander of the Panzerkorps Großdeutschland. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (2nd Degree), as well as many other prestigious awards.

This wonderful German WWII Named Uniform Set came to us from the American Armoured Foundation, Inc. Tank and Ordnance Memorial Museum. The AAF Tank Museum was a living memorial dedicated to the Tank and Cavalry soldiers of the world. Before 1981 some of the artifacts that make up the AAF Tank Museum was a private collection belonging to Mr. William Gasser. Mr. Gasser felt that his collection would be beneficial in educating present and future generations to the sacrifices made and the technologies gained during war. Therefore, in 1981 the AAF Tank Museum was established as a non-profit charitable organization, and Mr. Gasser's donated his private collection to the Tank Museum. Mr. Gasser is still active as Volunteer Director and Curator of the Tank Museum and his knowledge of military history has been a great asset to the museum. Unfortunately after 20 years of operation it had to close its doors, which is when this set was acquired.

Born 25 June 1896, as with most able bodied Germans Georg Jauer joined the military during WWI, enlisting 6 August 1914 and serving in the 15th Artillery Regiment in World War I as a Leutnant, becoming an ordnance officer. He would be awarded several medals for his service, including the Iron Cross 1914 Second and First Class Awards, as well as a Black Wound Badge. He would later continue his military service as a member of the Reichswehr under the Weimar republic as an artillery officer and by 1935 he had reached the rank of Major. He was a career soldier, and continued his service after the NSDAP takeover of Germany. He was well-decorated, and the following is a partial list of awards we have been able to locate, along with the dates they were bestowed, if available:

● Iron Cross (1914)
- 2nd Class
- 1st Class
● Cross of Honor for Frontline Fighters with Swords
● Iron Cross (1939)
- 2nd Class (spange - 2 July 1941)
- 1st Class (spange - 20 July 1941)
● Panzer Battle Badge in Silver
● German Cross in Gold (19 December 1941)
● Eastern Front Medal (Ostmedaille)
● General Assault Badge 

Most notably, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 4 May 1944 as Generalleutnant and commander of 20. Panzergrenadier-Division (20th Panzer Grenadier Division). This was awarded for outstanding leadership north of Vinnitsa in early 1944 during the Eastern Front Campaign. He would subsequently be awarded the Oak Leaves (Eichenlaub) device on 10 February 1945 at the same rank and command, and was the 733rd person to receive the Oak Leaves. The following is a note describing why it was awarded:

Awarded for his outstanding defensive achievements in the Baranov-Bridgehead (December 1944 - January 1945) as well as further actions while fighting as part of Nehring’s ‘Wandering Pocket’ between Kielce and Glogau in the time period 12.-22.01.1945.

It should also be noted that due to his long service he would have qualified for the Wehrmacht Long Service awards, and other awards not listed. There is a medal bar on his uniform, which represents many of these awards, and looks to be original to the uniform. There are also additional thread loops on the pocket and underneath for additional awards. The second buttonhole from the top is fitted with a 1914 Iron Cross 2nd Class ribbon, which has a 1939 Clasp of the Iron Cross attached to it.

The lovely M36 uniform tunic in this set was is a lovely bespoke example, and still retains the tailor tag on the back of the collar, reading Kuhn & Nupnau / München. It was made for Jauer in December of 1940, when he was an Oberst following his promotion on 1 October 1940. It is a lovely bespoke example with a clear maker label inside of the left inside pocket, which reads (typed in parts italicized):

KUHN & NUPNAU
MÜNCHEN
-------------------
Herr Obst. G. Jauer
Nr. 366/A   Datum 1. 12. 40.

This would have been from when Jauer was assigned to the Army Personnel Office, which is where he was stationed at the beginning of the war. This indicates that when he was promoted to Generalmajor on 1 April 1943, he had the staff officer insignia removed, and replaced with the correct General grade collar tabs, eagle, and shoulder boards. This would have been done by a tailor, and it is nearly impossible to tell that they were replaced during the war.

The tunic is really a great example of a private purchased Wehrmacht Heer Dienstbluse (Service Tunic), originally made for a Stabsoffiziere (Staff Officer) but upgraded to be for a Generäle (General Officer). It is constructed from a fine quality field-gray "whipcord" wool woven exterior, with an olive green cotton-rayon blended faux silk interior lining. There is a left interior slash pocket, and also the usual hanger clip for an officer's dagger, which lines up with the large "eyelet" that is part of the left waist pocket. The sleeves are lined with white rayon with blue striped sections towards the cuffs, which is typical.

The collar is constructed of flaschengrün (dark bottle-green) wool, and is adorned by a set of General grade collar tabs, known as alt-Larisch or Arabesque style, which were used for all General ranks below Feldmarschall. These have the correct red backgrounds with gold bullion embroidery. There is also a white collar insert attached with the three original pins, used to prevent wear to the delicate wool. The tunic conforms well to the M36 pattern having 4 pleated pockets on the front with scalloped flaps. All of the pebbled buttons are the correct gold color for a General officer, and all look to be maker marked on the back.

Each shoulder is decorated with the sew-on style General der Panzertruppen rank shoulder boards. They are both constructed out of a row of interwoven silver and gold bullion strands in the typical Russian braid style in an interlocking weave pattern ending at a pebbled gilt metal (magnetic) button. There are two rank pips installed, correct for a General der Panzertruppen and other specialized General ranks equivalent to a U.S. Army Lt. General. Each also has a gold interlocking GD metal cypher installed, for the Panzerkorps Großdeutschland.

On the right breast is a fine quality gold bullion eagle, constructed of rolled, twisted, and flat hand embroidered gilt stitching with green retaining threads, placed onto a dark bottle green wool backing. It is neatly stitched to the outer layer of fabric, which is still bright and shiny. There are also the previously mentioned Iron Cross ribbon on the second buttonhole, as well as thread loops around the left breast pocket.

The right sleeve bears a fantastic 4th Pattern Großdeutschland cuff title, which looks to be made with bullion thread on a dark bottle green background. It is stitched securely to the sleeve, and looks to be totally original to the tunic. There were many different versions of this cuff title, and we cannot tell if it is oxidized silver, or whether it was originally made gold colored. We have examined this uniform from top to bottom, and everything we can see on it is correct. Really a lovely looking tunic, showing just a bit of wear.

We were able to find a few photographs of Jauer on the internet, which may show him in this very tunic! Unfortunately these may also have been mislabeled, as we see the same photographs used for some other generals. These are shown for illustrative purposes only and is not included.

We very seldom get uniform tunics with such great provenance and potential for further research. This could become the centerpiece of your WWII collection. Ready to research and display!

More on Georg Jauer's Service:

Promotions:
● Oberstleutnant - Lt. Colonel - 1 January 1939
● Oberst - Colonel - 1 October 1940
● Geneneralmajor - Brigadier General - 1 April 1943
● Generalleutnant - Major General - 1 October 1943
● General der Panzertruppe - General of the Panzer Korps - 15 March 1945

More on German Uniform Tunics
Terms such as M40 and M43 were never designated by the Wehrmacht, but are names given to the different versions of the Model 1936 field tunic by modern collectors, to discern between variations, as the M36 was steadily simplified and tweaked due to production time problems and combat experience.

Field Tunic (Feldbluse) Model 1936
When the NSDAP came to power in early 1933 the Reichswehr, the armed forces of the Weimar Republic, were near the end of a two-year project to redesign the Army Feldbluse (field-blouse). Beginning in that year the new tunic was issued to the Reichsheer and then the rapidly growing Wehrmacht Heer, although minor design changes continued to be made until the appearance of the standardized Heeres Dienstanzug Modell 1936. The M36 tunic still retained the traditional Imperial and Reichswehr uniform color of grey-green "field gray" (feldgrau) wool, but incorporated four front patch pockets with scalloped flaps and pleats (on Reichswehr tunics the lower pockets were internal and angled). The front was closed with five buttons rather than the previous eight, and the collar and shoulder straps were of a dark bottle-green instead of the Reichswehr grey. Compared to the Weimar-era uniforms the skirt of the feldbluse was shorter and the tailoring was more form-fitting due to Germany's adoption of mechanized warfare: soldiers now spent much time in the confined space of a vehicle and a shorter jacket was less likely to pick up dirt from the seats. It also included an internal suspension system, whereby a soldier could hang an equipment belt on a series of hooks outside of the tunic. These hooks were connected to two straps inside the lining, which spread the weight of equipment without having to use external equipment suspenders. The M36 was produced and issued until the very end of the war, though successive patterns became predominant.