A Kreigsmarine Enlisted Man's Belt Buckle; End of War Dated 1945 by Richard Simm & Sohne

In bronzed molded aluminum, eagle with swastika eliminated, replaced with the engraved date "8. Mai 1945" (the date of Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender of its Armed Forces), maker marked "RS&S" (Richard Simm & Sohne, Gablonz) on the reverse, measuring 48.3 mm x 63.5 mm, worn, fine.

Footnote: From the collection of approximately 900 German buckles accumulated by John R. Angolia, who start collecting buckles, belts and brocades from 1944 until around 1990; most of the buckles were obtained from the American and German veterans; most of these buckles present a core of Angolia’s book “Belt Buckles & Brocades of the Third Reich”, published in 2001.