Garry

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I've been storming through loads of sites looking for flags/pennants over the last few days to add to our page on them and saw that this odd little pennant had reappeared in Hermann Historica auction 61. I remember seeing it years ago on Winkler's site and I wrote a couple of things down at the time because that was (and still is) an unidentified Bann.

Looking at it, it's an odd mix of early and late pennant. Possibly Jungvolk but more likely Jungmädel in my opinion. It has an honour name which would not normally be permitted on a Jungmädelgruppe pennant but if we go with what the pennant is saying it seems to be a non-standard pennant for Jungmädelgruppe 12 of Untergau 821:

"Melf Steenbock" and "NZ 12/821" I'm not sure what the "NZ" means.

However, Bann 821 didn't exist up to and including the official Reichsjugendführung list published on 1.1.1942. This list is in a book with information going into 1943 so if the pennant is authentic Bann 821 must have been created some time after summer of that year.

So who might "Melf Steenbock" be? Well, this may be a reference to Leutnant Melf Steenbock who fought with Panzerregiment 27. He is listed as having been killed on 21.08.1944 in Glawaczow in Poland (his gravesite is listed as being in Wsola, Poland). Being born in 1924 means that he will have been a Hitler Youth member so perhaps he is being honoured on this pennant because he belonged to the DJ/HJ in that town/area. If so that might mean that Gruppe 12 was raised in late 1944 which in turn might explain the non-regulation appearance of the pennant.

Where was Bann 821? Melf Steenbock's name and those of his parents are on the headstone of the family grave in Bad Essen. His father is noted on the headstone as having been the director of a Sparkasse bank and I found a telephone book entry for 1956 showing that he held this position whilst living in Neustadt in Holstein on the baltic coast. Melf Steenbock is listed on the war graves site as coming from Neustadt so this information would put Bann 821 inside Gebiet 6 Nordmark and Gruppe 12 in Neustadt.

However, this is all just (slightly) educated guessing so I would welcome your thoughts on this pennant.

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Edit 17.1.2022: I finally found the name of this Bann and it was indeed part of Gebiet 6 Nordmark. See here: Bann number lists - Changes after mid-1942
 

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An oddity for sure. Perhaps a locally made pennant for a small unit like a madelschaft. Perhaps someone from the Madelschaft had a connection in some way to Melf Steenbock? Perhaps an "unofficial" way of honoring his memory. All just speculation on my part.
 
It certainly looks that way Darin. It's just too odd to be a fake in my opinion and of course it might lead to the discovery of a new Bann.
 
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