7007 - Conrad Patzig Signed Admiral Graf Spee Commendation Certificate (1939)

Conrad Patzig Signed Admiral Graf Spee Commendation Certificate (1939) German naval officer (1888-1975) who served through both world wars and headed the Abwehr, Germany’s military intelligence service, from 1932 to 1935. His resistance to SS interference contributed to his removal, though his expertise in naval personnel later made him valuable to U.S. intelligence. Partly-printed DS, in German, signed “Patzig,” one page, 13 x 9.75, dated 1936. Printed commendation certificate ("Anerkennung") for Corporal Christiansen of the crew of the Panzerschiff Admiral Graf Spee, featuring an etching of the ship, boldly signed in fountain pen by Captain Conrad Patzig, commander of the Graf Spee, and stamped with the ship's Kommando seal. In very good to fine condition, with staining to the lower left corner. Patzig commanded the Admiral Graf Spee from 1935 to 1937, during the early years of Germany’s naval rearmament under the Nazi regime. This 1936 commendation comes from that formative period, three years before the Graf Spee became internationally famous under Hans Langsdorff during the Battle of the River Plate and its subsequent scuttling off Montevideo.