THE CONRATH KNIGHT'S CROSS SCAM
This is the story of how even the top experts and collectors were gulled by a set of forged formal Ritterkreuz documents purporting to have come from the family of Paul Conrath, Commander of the Luftwaffe's elite Hermann Göring Division. Generalmajor Conrath died in 1979 and some time later, so the cover story fed to collector George Petersen went, the Conrath family had decided to sell these documents.
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| Paul Conrath's Knight's Cross Document |
Those who tried to expose the truth were gagged by the two main militaria forums at the time: Wehrmacht Awards Dot Com and German Daggers Dot Com, run respectively by Sebastián Bianchi and Craig Gottlieb. You will not find this story on either of these websites nor on any others today, although collectors occasionally ask about it.
The
fake documents were good enough to fool an experienced document
collector of the calibre of George Petersen and were said by many to
have been produced by the father of Kai Winkler. That the Oakleaves
document and its cassette found their way into one of the two or three
leading reference works on the Iron Cross 1939 is no reflection on the
author, Gordon Williamson, who in any case would just have received
publication quality scans. The cassettes, on the other hand, were both original pieces but had contained award documents to other men.
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| General der Fallschirmtruppe Paul Conrath's paybook |
George
Petersen said that he was approached at a military show in
Dortmund in the early 1990s by the Hamburg dealer Detlev Niemann, who
offered him the documents set "straight from the family". Niemann was
already gaining a reputation amongst American collectors as a dealer
who could source extraordinary items for their collections of Third
Reich memorabilia.
As Niemann's reputation was clean, compared to some other dealers, Mr Petersen
saw no reason for suspicion. Had he known, however, that the documents had come to Niemann from fellow Hamburg dealer Kai Winkler rather than directly from the Conrath family, he might have exercised more caution.
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Rumours about the Conrath documents scam began circulating in 2003. When Paddy Keating published an exposé on a new 'rebel' forum called Militaria Collecting Dot Com, it was clear that Keating, employed as a senior editor on various monthly magazines, had gone as far as interviewing the normally very reticent George Petersen,
Detlev Niemann's reputation was severely damaged by Petersen's revelations. Niemann's cult-like followers dropped him like a hot rock and he maintains a low profile to this day.
Keating was banned from the WAF and other leading militaria forums. Here is the text of Keating's exposé of the Conrath RK documents scam, preceded by the llawyer's letter sent by WAF frontman Bianchi to the owner of the website where the following article was published. The receipient refused to delete the article so Bianchi found other ways of retaliating against Keating on behalf of Niemann and his dealer associates.
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| Bianchi and Niemann: the $100 lawyer's letter |
THE CONRATH DOCUMENTS SCAM
One
of the bigger scandals to hit the militaria market was hushed up for a
while but details are beginning to emerge as the victim speaks
out. Legendary American collector and dealer George Petersen has a
particular interest in the Hermann Göring Division and related units.
Top German dealer Detlev Niemann reportedly approached Mr Petersen privately to see if he would be interested in the formal award documents for the Knight's Cross and the Oakleaves presented to the Hermann Göring divisional commander, Generalmajor Paul Conrath in 1941 and 1943. Mr Petersen purchased the Conrath documents from Mr Niemann for a substantial sum, said to be in the region of $80,000.00.
Top German dealer Detlev Niemann reportedly approached Mr Petersen privately to see if he would be interested in the formal award documents for the Knight's Cross and the Oakleaves presented to the Hermann Göring divisional commander, Generalmajor Paul Conrath in 1941 and 1943. Mr Petersen purchased the Conrath documents from Mr Niemann for a substantial sum, said to be in the region of $80,000.00.
The document was subsequently featured in
Gordon Williamson’s book The Iron Cross of 1939,
published in 2002, which is considered to be the definitive reference work to
date on the Iron Cross of WW2. At the MAX Show in October 2002, Mr Petersen was
in the process of selling the Conrath Oakleaves document to another leading
document collector. German dealer Helmut Weitze, intervened, recounting a
disturbing story to the prospective buyer.
Mr Weitze said that the Conrath Oakleaves document was a fake and alleged that Mr Petersen had been the victim of a carefully planned ‘sting’ conceived and executed by Mr Niemann and Kai Winkler, another top German dealer. Mr Petersen was understandably sceptical because the three German dealers in question are bitter rivals.
Furthermore, the Conrath document was perfect in every respect. Or so Mr
Petersen thought. But according to his informant, the faker had incorporated a
secret mark into his work in the form of a diamond-shaped full stop, known to a
handful of accomplices but invisible to the untutored eye.
Mr
Niemann was reportedly unable to refund Mr Petersen’s money in full
because his accomplice refused to return his share of the proceeds of
the scam, telling Mr Niemann that there was no proof that he was
involved.
According to sources close to Mr Petersen, he and Mr Niemann
came to a financial arrangement and Mr Niemann was thus spared public
exposure by Mr Petersen as a crook who had deliberately entered into an
ambitious criminal enterprise with a business rival to swindle one of
the world’s top collectors and foremost authorities on documents.
However, the story has been in circulation since the beginning of 2003. In January 2003, I put the story to Sebastian Bianchi, webmaster of the Wehrmacht-Awards Dot Com website, which promotes Detlev Niemann to its large membership as a trustworthy and reliable dealer.
However, the story has been in circulation since the beginning of 2003. In January 2003, I put the story to Sebastian Bianchi, webmaster of the Wehrmacht-Awards Dot Com website, which promotes Detlev Niemann to its large membership as a trustworthy and reliable dealer.
As Mr
Bianchi wrote on on April 29th 2002: "Detlev Niemann has been a
friend of this site and this forum since its inception. He not only
sponsors the site in an official capacity but also provides support in
ways that are above and beyond this commitment.
"You know from your
purchase success rate that he hardly needs the advertisement, yet he
supports the site and the hobby in ways that other dealers and auction
houses would never dream of. If I sound like a cheerleading band it is
because I personally hold deep respect for the man.".
Mr
Niemann is widely believed to be a joint-owner of the Wehrmacht Awards
concern, described dubiously as a non-profit organisation. Mr Bianchi
and his forum moderators are well known for a tendency to discourage and
to delete negative comments related to Detlev Niemann from the
discussion forums hosted by Wehrmacht Awards Dot Com.
Mr
Bianchi had called me to discuss some negative comments I had made
about his “friend” and “sponsor” Mr Niemann in relation to several fakes
that Mr Niemann had sold, including Army Parachutists Badges and a
Legion Condor Tank Badge. I had previously been banned from Mr Bianchi’s
website after a member there had linked to a Luftwaffe badge, purchased
from Mr Niemann, displayed in the collectors’ gallery section of a
website I co-own. The badge was discussed on Mr Bianchi’s forums and
declared a fake.
It was indeed a fake but when I produced the
Certificate of Authenticity accompanying the badge when it was sold to a
French collector, and published it on Mr Bianchi’s website, in the
thread where my website was being criticised for showing fakes, the
thread was closed, my post was deleted and my account was suspended.
This is just one example from a catalogue of similar incidents involving
several people who have all been banned by Mr Bianchi for “attacking”
Mr Niemann.
Upon
hearing the story of the Conrath document from me on the telephone, Mr
Bianchi sounded very uncomfortable indeed. His aggressive tone
evaporated. He was silent for a moment and then asked if there was “any
proof”. I suggested that he call George Petersen. He was again silent
for a moment before saying “Well, let’s wait and see what happens.”, referring
to the ultimatum given to Mr Niemann by Mr Petersen. Mr Bianchi then
changed the subject.
Since then, Mr Bianchi has become protective of Mr
Niemann to the point of hysteria as this quote when he closed down a
thread shows: "This thread has run its course, Detlev’s integrity
needs no further endorsement and I will not open this up for posts by
those who do not have the sense to recognize that sometimes issues needs
to be discussed via private e-mail."
In
another example from the record, Mr Niemann sends out a clear signal to
Mr Bianchi that he is in difficulties, on this occasion over a flawed
die Steinhauer & Lück Knight’s Cross for sale on his website. A
number of forum participants had asked awkward questions about this
cross. Mr Niemann had responded with customary aggression but found
himself ‘on the ropes’. So Mr Bianchi duly obliged by stepping in to
warn everyone off.
His reference to the “ring” is interesting. He was
confusing two issues. I had earlier made a reference publicly to the
Conrath document episode and Mr Bianchi was furious as he had threatened
me with immediate expulsion if I ever raised the matter publicly, not
just on his forum but anywhere. I had not used the term “ring” – as in a
ring of conmen or car thieves – so his slip is a telling one.
Sebastian Bianchi
Administrator
Joined: Jan 2000
Location: Matawan, NJ, USA
Quote:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally Posted by Detlev Niemann
But
as this fruitless and personal debat should not continue I will ask the
Moderators either to order us to stay logic and cool, or simple to
delete the whole circus.
d.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indeed
this thread should be about the cross in question, and only about the
cross in question. The serious accusations put forth regarding this
"ring" should be either backed up with names, dates, and places or
deleted. I will be monitoring this thread carefully and will not
hesitate to act, do not force my hand.
__________________
Sebastián J. Bianchi
Wehrmacht-Awards.com
Wehrmacht-Association.com
Report Post | IP: Logged
The
reason, according to several inside sources, is that Niemann is not
just a "sponsor" of the Wehrmacht Awards operation. He is a sleeping
partner in an operation whose management - and certain members – devote a
remarkable amount of energy to promoting Mr Niemann and his dealership.
The Conrath Document Affair exposes certain truths that many militaria
collectors are reluctant to face. If collectors as experienced as George
Petersen can be taken for a ride in this way, what else is possible? As
one collector said:
"The
reason many of them are worried is that their knowledge of what they
collect is actually insufficient in itself and instead of investing the
time and effort in educating themselves, they place sheeplike faith in
the dealer annointed as their guru. This is why they tend to shoot the
messenger."
Meanwhile,
Mr Bianchi’s operation continues to grow in size, forming alliances
with other websites like Militariaweb, derided by many top European
collectors as nothing more than an outlet for dealers unloading
questionable items which they either cannot risk selling under their own
names or which have already been returned by dissatisfied customers.
These items are consequently are sold off through such auction websites by dealers’
frontmen or the dealers themselves, operating behind the anonymity
afforded by the internet. As for Detlev Niemann, some idea of the man
behind the myth can be gleaned from his own statements.
Who
ever insults,attacks or bad mouthes me OR MY STAFF will be added to our
privat “Black list” we have in our office.I will never ever sell or
help this person again.Either being a dealer or a collector,this strain
is dead.And this list is already very long.Few might know that I’m not
on speaking terms with most of my collegues.
It
would be surprising indeed if Mr Niemann were on speaking terms with
his colleagues in Germany. One of them grassed him and his accomplice up
over the Conrath document scam and the other, his partner in this
criminal enterprise, left him holding the baby when the furious buyer
came a-knocking. Presumably George Petersen is now on Detlev Niemann’s
blacklist.
The observer is left with a choice of conclusions. One view is that Mr Niemann was merely a young dealer back in 1991 who allowed himself to get carried away by the excitement of handling the sale of two historically important documents to a collector seen as legendary in militaria circles. In short, an unwitting patsy. Another view is that the prospect of earning a commission prevented him from questioning the situation too closely. A third view is that he was in on it.
A number of WAF worthies and Niemann fans have offered spirited defences on behalf of the famously charmless Hamburger. Nevertheless, a troubling aspect of this story is Mr Petersen’s statement that Mr Niemann told him that the documents came from the family directly although Mr Petersen no longer recalls whether or not Mr Niemann stated that a picker was involved. This was at best economy with the truth on the part of Mr Niemann.
As for the fake Paul Conrath documents, they found their way back to Kai Winkler in the end and were purchased, as fakes, by Roger Honts, webmaster of the Militaria Collecting Forum (MCF), but without the folders, which were originals. Two highly skilfull fake documents, each bearing a small forger’s mark, had been produced and inserted into original folders, which would have been harder to fake, by crooks who clearly set out to set up George Petersen.
Mr Petersen makes it clear that he has a low opinion of Kai Winkler and that he holds Mr Winkler ultimately responsible for the scam. Roger Honts has stated that Mr Winkler told him that his father produced the forgeries, having worked as an apprentice for Frieda Thiersch. Whoever produced them, the documents are such convincing forgeries that they fooled one of the world’s foremost authorities on Third Reich documentation.
Another troubling question is how the man who blew the whistle on the documents at the 2002 MAX Show, Helmut Weitze, knew how to identify the fakes. The full truth will probably never be known. As far as George Petersen is concerned, he was deliberately targeted as a buyer for the two fake Conrath documents.
Detlev Niemann who sold him the documents and then claimed innocence, shifting the responsibility for the fake documents onto Kai Winkler for whom he was acting as a frontman. That Kai Winkler was in possession of the fake documents until recently, when he sold them as curiosity pieces Roger Honts, confirms Mr Niemann’s admission to Mr Petersen that he received the documents from Mr Winkler.
Copyright © 2004 Paddy Keating
As this screenshot sent to Keating of an announcement posted by Bianchi in the closed WAF moderators' forum shows, Bianchi moved quickly to show that he was punishing Keating by persuading other militaria forum owners and administrators to ban him. In this case, Craig Gottlieb agreed to sack Keating as a moderator in return for free advertising for his new dealership on the WAF website.
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| Bianchi and Gottlieb: a dirty little deal |
A decade and a half afterwards, Keating's contributions remain visible on the WAF with the 'Expelled' tag by his name. But it was too late to save WAF shareholder Detlev Niemann, who was almost bankrupted by George Petersen's demands for compensation.
George Petersen may have given Detlev Niemann "the benefit of the doubt"
concerning any intention on the latter's part to swindle Mr Petersen. However, sources close to Mr Petersen said that the Virginia dealer still
held Mr Niemann responsible as far as remuneration and compensation were
concerned and referred to "working with" Mr Niemann to settle the
whole thing in order to avoid the exposure of "much dirty laundry", as
the following page from his long fax on the subject shows.
Quite what Mr Petersen meant by "much dirty laundry" can only be guessed
at. Mr Petersen was said not
just to have demanded the refund of the original purchase price, which
the above fax indicates was high, but a sum equivalent to the value of
the documents in 2002, had they been genuine. The fact that Detlev
Niemann's business went into a long, painful decline in terms of quality
and value of stock and subsequently closed down seems to confirm the
sources' information.
Today, no mention of the Conrath documents story can be
found on any of the
militaria forums on the Internet. However, the Conrath Knight's Cross document was
reportedly auctioned by Craig Gottlieb early in 2012, as a copy,
reportedly fetching over $3,000.
Wilbur Stump 2020
