Third Reich Deutsche Reichsbahn Porcelain Milk Jug from Adol...

Hammer

£840

Third Reich Deutsche Reichsbahn Porcelain Milk Jug from Adolf Hitler's Personal Dining Wagon Sonderzug 10 202, the fine white porcelain milk jug was produced by the firm Nymphenburg, with gold leaf national eagle and swastika flanked by 'D' and 'R' and gilt leaf border to the spout area. Underside of the jug has the wagon number '202'. Remains in very good condition overall.
This item was removed from the carriage by Corporal D Herriott of the Royal Engineers, he served on the staff of Montgomery, and was placed in charge of Montgomery's personal train, which happened to be Adolf Hitler's personal train. Copies of original paperwork and photographs from his service accompany the lot.
History of the train is as follows: After delivery, the carriage was immediately made available to Hitler, who used it as his personal saloon car until the delivery of the 10 203 Bln. Subsequently, it served as Hitler's reserve car until the completion of the 10 204 Bln. Unfortunately, its subsequent use is unknown; however, it can be assumed that it was initially used individually and only traveled in formation with other saloon cars on special occasions. At least by February 1937, the carriage was assigned to Propaganda Minister Goebbels.
As with the 10 201 Bln, the sleeping arrangement in the first compartment of the 10 202 Bln proved unsatisfactory, so a first conversion took place as early as 1936, during which a transverse bed was installed in that very compartment against the wall to the saloon. At the latest on this occasion, the radio system was also overhauled (including the installation of a roof antenna), although there are some vague indications that this part of the conversion had already been completed at an earlier date.
In 1939, a further, this time very extensive, conversion took place, during which the carriage was largely adapted to the skirted carriages delivered later. The most significant change was the addition of new end sections with correspondingly extended wind skirts beyond the carriage body. At the same time, the carriage also received a (according to Joachim Deppmeyer, only "small") skirt below the longitudinal beam to reduce air resistance. In addition, some changes were made to the interior. Whether the existing Görlitz bogies were also fitted with a fourth suspension system at the same time is currently unclear. However, since the official sketch of the carriage (after the conversion) shows bogies with a fourth suspension system, it can be assumed that the conversion, unlike that of 10 201 Bln, was indeed carried out.
With the completion of the conversion, the carriage was presumably once again available for individual service with changing users before being assigned to the OKH/OKW special train "Africa" for the Commander-in-Chief of the Army in September 1939. However, carriage 10 202 Bln was not to remain there long either, as the OKH requested its exchange for carriage 10 203 Bln in December, which was ultimately carried out. From then on, carriage 10 202 Bln was presumably available again for individual service as well as serving as a reserve carriage for the other saloon cars of the Reich government. This is suggested by several deployments between 1942 and 1944, including those for Reich Minister of Economics Funk, Reich Labor Leader Hierl, Reich Organization Leader Dr. Ley, Reich Minister of Education Rust, Reich Minister of the Interior Frick, and Reich Leader Bormann. In early 1944, a swap involving carriages 10 396 Bln and 10 201 Bln was considered, which would have made carriage 10 202 Bln available to the head of the Reich Chancellery, Hans Heinrich Lammers. However, this plan was later abandoned, and carriage 10 202 Bln likely remained in single-unit service until 1945.
At the end of the war, carriage 10 202 Bln was requisitioned by the British Army and subsequently used in Field Marshal Montgomery's special train. It was finally returned to the German Federal Railway (Deutsche Bundesbahn) in the early 1950s .