Uniforms and Insignia Of the German High Command of WW2 Volume 2
INTRODUCTION The main focus of this book is to explore the military regalia ,uniforms and insignia of high ranking individuals within the Nazi Party and German armed forces between the years of 1933-1945. However, the Germans during WWII made an art out of bestowing rank and issuing uniforms for almost every pursuit in the country, including both the political and civil professions. That said, there are some very unique and high profile ranks, some of which also had very unique uniforms and insignia, which were of extremely high quality and they are certainly worth examining. Also in future volumes on this subject we will examine uniforms, headgear, insignia and combat badges of the officers and men of the German armed forces and the taking of war souvenirs by allied troops after the surrender of the German armed forces in 1945.
Joachim von Ribbentrop Ulrich Friedrich Wilhelm Joachim von Ribbentrop (30 April 1893 – 16 October 1946), more commonly known as Joachim von Ribbentrop, was Foreign Minister of Nazi Germany from 1938 until 1945. Ribbentrop first came to Adolf Hitler's notice as a well-travelled businessman with more knowledge of the outside world than most senior Nazis and as an authority on world affairs. He offered his house for the secret meetings in January 1933 that resulted in Hitler's appointment as Chancellor of Germany. He became a close confidant of Hitler, to the disgust of some party members, who thought him superficial and lacking in talent. He was appointed Ambassador to the Court of St James (for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) in 1936 and then Foreign Minister of Germany in February 1938. Before World War II, he played a key role in brokering the Pact of Steel (an alliance with fascist Italy) and the Nazi–Soviet nonaggression pact, known as the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. After 1941, Ribbentrop's influence declined. Arrested in June 1945, Ribbentrop was tried at the Nuremberg trials and convicted for his role in starting World War II in Europe and enabling the Holocaust. On 16 October 1946, he became the first of those sentenced to death by hanging to be executed.
Joachim von Ribbentrop The Uniform Tunic of OberGruppenfuhrer von Ribbentrop
Joachim von Ribbentrop
Joachim von Ribbentrop
Joachim von Ribbentrop
Joachim von Ribbentrop Perhaps one of the finest and most historic SS Uniforms to surface since 1945. This tunic and pants, along with a hoard of other personal effects of Germany's foreign minister, were discovered in a Hotel in Bavaria after the war by US troops. There are photographs of this tunic (and others) on display by the US Army. The tunic is tailored by the famous uniform shop of Holters, which provided uniforms to Hitler, Goering and other top Nazi leaders
Joachim von Ribbentrop These are photographs of this tunic (and others) on display by the US Army. The tunic is tailored by the famous uniform shop of Holters.
Joachim von Ribbentrop
Joachim von Ribbentrop
Joachim von Ribbentrop Ribbentrop's end, he kept his appointment with the hangman
Joachim von Ribbentrop The Execution of Nazi War Criminals Nuremberg Gaol, Germany 16 October 1946 International News Service Von Ribbentrop entered the execution chamber at 1:11 a.m. Nuremberg time. He was stopped immediately inside the door by two Army sergeants who closed in on each side of him and held his arms, while another sergeant who had followed him in removed manacles from his hands and replaced them with a leather strap. It was planned originally to permit the condemned men to walk from their cells to the execution chamber with their hands free, but all were manacled following Goering's suicide. Von Ribbentrop was able to maintain his apparent stoicism to the last. He walked steadily toward the scaffold between his two guards, but he did not answer at first when an officer standing at the foot of the gallows went through the formality of asking his name. When the query was repeated he almost shouted, 'Joachim von Ribbentrop!' and then mounted the steps without any sign of hesitation. When he was turned around on the platform to face the witnesses, he seemed to clench his teeth and raise his head with the old arrogance. When asked whether he had any final message he said, 'God protect Germany,' in German, and then added, 'May I say something else?' The interpreter nodded and the former diplomatic wizard of Nazidom spoke his last words in loud, firm tones: 'My last wish is that Germany realize its entity and that an understanding be reached between the East and the West. I wish peace to the world.' As the black hood was placed in position on his head, Von Ribbentrop looked straight ahead. Then the hangman adjusted the rope, pulled the lever, and Von Ribbentrop slipped away to his fate.
Joachim von Ribbentrop
SS Obergruppenfuhrer Julius Schaub Hitler’s Adjutant Julius Schaub (20 August 1898 – 27 December 1967) was the chief aide and adjutant to German dictator Adolf Hitler until the dictator's suicide on 30 April 1945. Born in 1898 in Munich, Bavaria, Schaub served as a field medic during World War I, during which he injured both of his feet. During the hard times which followed during the Great Depression, Schaub joined the Nazi Party. After losing his job because of his membership, Hitler hired him as his personal aide, a position he held for 25 years. Schaub took care of Hitler's personal belongings, papers and travel journeys, making him a notable figure in Hitler's inner circle. In 1924, he was imprisoned with Hitler for his involvement in the coup d'état attempt of November 1923 in Munich. In time he closely befriended Hitler. Later in July 1944, Schaub was present during the military briefing during which a bomb exploded, killing four people and injuring others; Hitler escaped with minor injuries. Schaub was ordered to leave the Führerbunker in late April 1945 and destroy all of Hitler's personal belongings and papers. He was arrested by the Americans shortly after the war. Schaub died on 27 December 1967 in Munich.
SS Obergruppenfuhrer Julius Schaub Hitler’s Adjutant SS OberGruppenfuhrer Julius Shaub's white summer open neck tunic
SS Obergruppenfuhrer Julius Schaub Hitler’s Adjutant Hitler's adjutant Julius Schaub’s tunic taken from the Bunker by Russian army soldiers. Source: Museum of Red Army in Moscow
SS Obergruppenfuhrer Julius Schaub Hitler’s Adjutant
Waffen SS Obergruppenfuhrer und General Karl Maria Demelhuber Karl Maria Demelhuber was a German SS functionary during the Nazi era. Reaching the rank of Obergruppenfuhrer in the Waffen-SS during World War II, he commanded the SSStandarte Germania, 6th SS Mountain Division Nord, XII SS Corps and the XVI SS Corps. Born: 26 May 1896, Freising, Germany Died: 18 March 1988, Seeshaupt Germany
Waffen SS Obergruppenfuhrer und General Karl Maria Demelhuber
Waffen SS Obergruppenfuhrer und General Karl Maria Demelhuber Waffen SS Obergruppenfuhrer und General Karl Maria Demelhuber’s Uniform Insignia
Waffen SS Gruppenfuhrer und Generalleutnant Max Simon Max Simon (6 January 1899 – 1 February 1961) was a German SS commander and war criminal during World War II. Simon was one of the first members of the SS in the early 1930s. He rose through the ranks of the SS, and became a corps commander during World War II. After the war, Simon was convicted for his role in the Marzabotto massacre.
Waffen SS Gruppenfuhrer und Generalleutnant Max Simon Max Simon being interrogated by US personnel upon his capture. After the war, Max Simon was sentenced to death by a British court for his part in the Marzabotto massacre. This sentence was later changed to life imprisonment. Simon was pardoned in 1954 and released from prison. Simon was subsequently tried three times in the Federal courts for the killings in Brettheim and other crimes, but, "to the horror of the West German public," was found not guilty. Simon died in 1961. Even in death, Simon caused some controversy, as HIAG, an organization of former WaffenSS members, attempted to place a glorifying obituary for him in the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine. To HIAG's indignation, the newspaper refused to run the obituary.[
Waffen SS Gruppenfuhrer und Generalleutnant Max Simon This tunic was given to Simon’s defence attorney as partial payment for his defence against war crimes. (private collection)
Waffen SS Gruppenfuhrer und Generalleutnant Max Simon
Waffen SS Gruppenfuhrer und Generalleutnant Max Simon Close up Photos of Generalleutnant Max Simon’s Shoulder board and Collar Tab Insignia.
Waffen SS Gruppenfuhrer und Generalleutnant Max Simon Above. Close up photo of Max Simon’s Demjansk Arm Shield award and his silver bullion Arm Eagle.
Waffen SS Gruppenfuhrer und Generalleutnant Max Simon Top. Max Simon’s Cufftitle and Below Simon’s uniform Taylors Tag.
Waffen SS Obergruppenfuhrer Georg Keppler tunic Georg Keppler joined the army in 1913 and took part in World War I. Between 1920 and 1934, Keppler was a police officer commanding city and state police units. In 1935, he joined the paramilitary force of the Nazi Party, SSVerfügungstruppe, leading a battalion size formation. In September 1939, his unit became a component of SSVerfügungs Division. Keppler served as its regimental commander throughout the invasion of France, Balkans Campaign and in Operation Barbarossa. In August 1940, Keppler was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. On 15 July 1941, he took over for injured Theodor Eicke as a commander of the SS Division Totenkopf. He went on to command the SS Division Nord and the SS Division Das Reich.From February 1943, Keppler held a number of administrative positions within the Waffen-SS. In August 1944, he was given a field assignment as commander of the I SS Panzer Corps, which he led until October 1944, during the later stages of the Battle of Normandy. He then returned to the Eastern Front, where he took over the III Panzer Corps. He remained with this unit until 2 April 1945 when he became the last commander of the XVIII SS Army Corps, surrendering the unit to the U.S. Army on 2 May 1945. After the war Keppler was interned; he was released in 1948. Keppler died in 1966.)
Waffen SS Obergruppenfuhrer Georg Keppler tunic Keppler was the first Commanding General of Der Fuhrer regiment, when he was awarded his Knights Cross. Over the remaining course of the war he held more senior commands in the Waffen SS than any other General.
Waffen SS Obergruppenfuhrer Georg Keppler tunic
Waffen SS Obergruppenfuhrer Georg Keppler tunic Top. Keppler’s Der Fuhrer Cufftitle. Bottom. Keppler’s Silver Bullion Arm Eagle.
Waffen SS Obergruppenfuhrer Georg Keppler tunic Top. Keppler’s Obergruppenfuhrer Shoulder board. Bottom. Keppler’s Uniform Tunic Taylors tag from Maison Jordi & co
SS- STURMBANNFUHRER PAUL WINZER WHITE SUMMER TUNIC Formerly the property of Gestapo SD officer SS-Sturmbannfuhrer and Kriminalrat Paul Winzer . His tunic surfaced in South America some years ago along with his evening tuxedo. The tunic is in fine condition with no damage or mothing, typical of the white material it has gone to a more cream colour over the years, and shows some light storage spotting, the tunic is beautifully tailored by Herpich, Berlin, complete with Winzers name tag sewn into the pocket, all insignia is hand applied and the SD green shoulder boards are slip on with screw posts, inside is beautifully fully lined with white silk, and has glove pockets in the tails. Winzer was certainly an extremely interesting individual, close to Himmler and Heydrich and involved with a plot involving the Duke of Windsor in an effort to make a peace plan, this career SD Gestapo officer was the architect of the Spanish KZ system, and responsible for shipping Deutsch Reds back to Germany, the Spanish KZ camps that Winzer had established were at the end of the civil war then used for forced labour of the reds to rebuild the country. This was a true Nazi Gestapo officer a ruthless intriguer, who feigned his own death and escaped to South America, subsequently on a list of wanted Nazi war criminals.
SS- STURMBANNFUHRER PAUL WINZER WHITE SUMMER TUNIC
SS- STURMBANNFUHRER PAUL WINZER WHITE SUMMER TUNIC
SS- STURMBANNFUHRER PAUL WINZER WHITE SUMMER TUNIC
SS- STURMBANNFUHRER PAUL WINZER WHITE SUMMER TUNIC
SS- STURMBANNFUHRER PAUL WINZER WHITE SUMMER TUNIC
Waffen-SS tunic of SS-Hauptsturmfu hrer Kammann
Waffen-SS tunic of SS-Hauptsturmfu hrer Kammann
Waffen-SS tunic of SS-Hauptsturmfu hrer Kammann
Waffen-SS tunic of SS-Hauptsturmfu hrer Kammann
SS-Gruppenfuhrer Hans Baur Hitler’s Pilot SS-Gruppenfuhrer Hans Baur (19 June 1897 – 17 February 1993) was Adolf Hitler's pilot during Hitler's political campaigns of the early 1930s. He later became Hitler's personal pilot and leader of the Reichsregierung squadron,Captured by the Soviet Union at the end of World War II in Europe, he spent ten years in captivity in the USSR before being extradited to France on 10 October 1955, where he was imprisoned until 1957. He died in Herrsching, Bavaria, in 1993.
SS-Gruppenfuhrer Hans Baur Hitler’s Pilot SS White Tunic Belonging to Hans Baur, Hitler's Pilot
SS-Gruppenfuhrer Hans Baur Hitler’s Pilot
SS-Gruppenfuhrer Hans Baur Hitler’s Pilot
SS-Gruppenfuhrer Hans Baur Hitler’s Pilot
Karl Friedrich Otto Wolff (13 May 1900 – 17 July 1984) was a high-ranking member of the Nazi SS, ultimately holding the rank of SS-Obergruppenführer and General of the Waffen SS. He became Chief of Personal Staff to the Reichsführer (Heinrich Himmler) and SS Liaison Officer to Hitler until his replacement in 1943. He ended World War II as the Supreme Commander of all SS forces in Italy. Karl Wolff was also central witness to the plot to kidnap Pope Pius XII Karl Friedrich Otto Wolff
Karl Friedrich Otto Wolff SS Obergruppenfuhrer Karl Wolff Summer tunic