Karl Friedrich Otto Wolff Insignia grouping attributed to Oberst-gruppenfuhrer Karl Wolff. Included is documentation from Wolff noting that this set of Obergruppenfuhrer boards belonged to him. Notice how Wolff signs his rank as Oberstgruppenfuhrer. He was promoted to this rank by Hitler in the last days of the war, though it was never made official. (Costello collection)
Karl Friedrich Otto Wolff
SS-Ostubaf. Ritter v. Aichinger This is an historic SS tunic that belonged to a long time Heer officer, Hubert Ritter von Aichinger, who transferred after many tries to the Waffen -SS in 1944. The tunic is named to him, and a copy of his National Archives file (included) reveals his career in interesting detail. Aichinger was born in 1890, so was nearly Hitler's same age--quite old to be a front line soldier. The tunic itself has a lot of history and reads like Aichinger's file. It was a tailored piece, made for him in 1938 when he was a Heer officer. In '44, he literally took this jacket, hand applied a set of Ostubaf rank, and switched the Heer breast eagle to the left sleeve. The shadow of the breast eagle is still visible on the tunic. There is a letter of provenance from George Petersen, who, seeing what it was, did some research on the tunic and provided the full background history of it. The tunic itself is in good to very good condition, with no mothing or issues. There are two minor repairs to the area behind the left armpit. The nametag is crisp and legible. The SS runic and rank tabs show commensurate wear with the tunic, as does the sleeve eagle and the boards. The tabs are said to have been loosely hanging on and had to be stitched back in place by a conservator. The boards are nice quality Heer style panzer piped 'Russian braid', with gilt "P" cyphers for panzerjaeger. Overall this tunic is a remarkable, well-provenanced, living piece of history of an SS combat officer, who by the way was one of the many German nobility who were attracted to the SS during that period. The SS file copy is many more pages than just the two shown here.
SS-Ostubaf. Ritter v. Aichinger
SS-Ostubaf. Ritter v. Aichinger
SS-Ostubaf. Ritter v. Aichinger
SS-Ostubaf. Ritter v. Aichinger
SS-Ostubaf. Ritter v. Aichinger
SS-Obergruppenführer Max Amann Max Amann (November 24th, 1891 – March 30th, 1957) was a German Nazi official with the honorary rank of SS-Obergruppenführer, politician and journalist. Amann was born in Munich on November 24th 1891. During World war 1 he was Adolf Hitler's sergeant. He is credited as being one of very few actual friends of Adolf Hitler. He joined the NSDAP in October 1921, as the Party's business manager After 1922, he also led the Nazis' publishing house Eher Verlag which, among other things published the SS magazine Das Schwarze Korps. In 1924 he was elected as a NSDAP candidate to the Munich city council and in 1933 became a Nazi member of the Reichstag for the electoral district of Upper Bavaria/Swabia. Perhaps Amann's most notable contribution to history was persuading Hitler to retitle his first book from Four and a Half Years (of Struggle) Against Lies, Stupidity and Cowardice to Mein Kampf, which he also published, and became a major source of EherVerlag's income. He lost his left arm in an accident with a firearm while hunting with Franz Ritter von Epp on September 4th 1931 .
SS-Obergruppenführer Max Amann Soon after the creation of the Nazi state, Amann was named president of the Reich Media Chamber and Reich Press Leader. In this role, he established National Socialist control over the industry, closing down or seizing newspapers that did not fully support Hitler's regime. He pursued a dual-pronged strategy. In his official role as president of the Media Chamber, he had the power to seize any paper that ran counter to the government's wishes. Then, as head of the Eher Verlag, he bought them for mere pfennigs on the mark--in many cases, via "auctions" in which he was the sole bidder. Combined with the proceeds from Mein Kampf, this eventually made Amann the largest newspaper publisher in Germany and one of the largest in the world. He made a fortune off Nazism; his income jumped from 108,000 RM IN 1934 to 3.8 million RM in 1942.However, as a party official, Amann lacked talent, being a poor speaker and debater. In addition, his handwriting was illegible, thus his Chief of Staff and deputy, Rolf Reinhardt, performed these duties for him. Arrested by Allied troops after the war, Amann was deemed a Hauptschuldiger (Prominent Guilty Party) and sentenced to ten years in a labour camp on September 8th 1948 but was released in 1953. Stripped of his property, pension rights and practically all of his fortune, he died in poverty on March 30th, 1957 in Munich.
SS-Obergruppenführer Max Amann SS Obergruppenfuhrer Max Amann's Summer Tunic
SS-Obergruppenführer Max Amann
SS-Obergruppenführer Max Amann
SS-Obergruppenführer Max Amann
An Unnamed Tunic for a Obersturmfuhrer of the Waffen SS
SS General Officer Rank Insignia Pre – April 1942 And Post April 1942
SS General Officer Ranks Insignia Pre – April 1942 SS -Brigadefuhrer Pre April 1942 The base rank is signified by two oakleaves and a single pip, embroidered in silver on black velvet. SS -Gruppenfuhrer Pre APRIL 1942 The base rank is indicated by three oakleaves in silver, on black velvet.
SS General Officer Ranks Insignia Pre – April 1942 SS-Obergruppenfuhrer Pre April 1942 The base rank is indicated by three oakleaves, with the addition of one pip, embroidered in silver over black velvet. LEFT. Obergruppenfuhrer rank shown in ware on uniform.
Brigadefuhrer tab for the right collar (Post April 1942 ) SS Brigadefuhrer Collar Tabs Shown on the Tunic Left.
Waffen SS General’s Insignia Gruppenfuhrer und Generalleutnant der Waffen SS. Pair of matching tabs for the left and right collars. ( Post April 1942 ) Above. SS Gruppenfuhrer Collar tabs in wear on the Tunic
Waffen SS General’s Insignia Obergruppenfuhrer und General der Waffen SS. Pair of matching tabs for the left and right collars. (Post April 1942)
Waffen SS General’s Insignia Above. a pair of Oberst Gruppenfuhrer collar tabs. (Post April 1942) Left a photo of SS Oberst Gruppenfuhrer Paul Hausser with the collar tabs in ware
SS Insignia These are actual examples of Prototypes that were designed for SS use after the war -- to be worn on the black uniform. They were removed from a salesman's sample board. The buttons are permanently affixed on the obverse side -- no buttonhole goes through to the reverse. They were intended to be worn in pairs. Obtained directly from a veteran. Oberstgruppenfuhrer sleeve insignia for use on camouflage clothing. This is an extremely rare piece of insignia of which few are known to exist. (Holzauge Collection)
SS Insignia Insignia grouping attributed to Obergruppenfuhrer Karl Hermann Frank
SS Insignia In 1940 Waffen SS General officers were given a dual rank title (SS rank/Army equivalent rank) and allowed to wear army style General officer shoulderboards (a few W-SS Generals actually wore these before they were officially permitted). These boards were of the same style and construction as that of the other branches of service consisting of interwoven gold bullion and silver cords (or gold coloured celleon and aluminium cords). The underlay for all Waffen SS General officers was a mouse grey colour. Above. SS-Brigadefuhrer/Generalmajor der Waffen SS Gold bullion outer cords with inner silver braided cord over mouse grey underlay, with no rank pips. Above. SS- Gruppenfuhrer/Generalleutnant der Waffen SS Gold bullion outer cords with inner silver braided cord on a grey underlay, with a single, silver rank pip. This particular specimen is on the field uniform of General Fritz von Scholz from his days on the front lines of the battles at Narva as divisional commander of “Nordland”.
SS Insignia Above. SS-OberGruppenfuhrer/General der Waffen SS Gold celleon outer cords with inner silver aluminium braided cord on a grey underlay, with two silver washed rank pips. This example is attributed to Karl Wolff. (Costello collection) Above. SS-Oberst-Gruppenfuhrer/Generaloberst der Waffen SS Gold bullion outer cords with inner silver braided cord, with three pips arranged in a triangle. This particular example is from the leather overcoat of Sepp Dietrich. Only Paul Hausser and Sepp Dietrich held this rank in the Waffen SS. (private collection.)
SS Insignia Though not General officer shoulderboards, these Allgemeine officer shoulderboards exhibit the same high quality of construction that is seen on most original SS insignia and merits close visual study. Left to Right are 1. Cypher for "Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler" 2. Cypher for "Haupt-Reiter Schule" 3. Cypher for "Oberbayern" 4. Cypher for "Deutschland" 5. Cypher for the short lived skull type for Oberbayern.
SS Insignia SS Police Insignia The Polizei Division was in existence from 1939 until the end of the war, being absorbed into the SS in February of 1942. Police Generals wore armed forces style insignia and uniforms, including the trousers with Police green lampassen (broad General’s stripes). Once absorbed into the SS, the collar tab design for General officers mirrored that of the SS, though rendered on Police green underlay. Because the Police General’s held dual rank in the SS they more often wore SS style collar tabs on black, making the later style Police tabs on green very rare and hard to find for the collector. General der Polizei Above. SS Police General’s collar insignia pattern (for all General officer ranks) prior to the change to Waffen SS style Generals collar tabs in February 1942. (Holzauge Historical )
SS Insignia SS Brigadefuhrer und Generalmajor der Polizei 1942-1945 pattern rendered in gold wire over police green underlay, with gold bullion piping. These tabs are often seen in celleon Thread. (private collection) SS Gruppenfuhrer und Generalleutnant der Polizei 1942-1945 pattern rendered in gold wire over police green underlay, with gold bullion piping (often seen in celleon) and a single rank pip.
SS Insignia SS Obergruppenfuhrer und General der Polizei 1942-1945 pattern rendered in gold wire over police green underlay, with gold bullion piping (often seen in celleon) and a two rank pips. SS Oberst-Gruppenfuhrer und Generaloberst der Polizei 1942-1945 pattern rendered in gold wire over police green underlay, with gold bullion piping (often seen in celleon) and three rank pips.
SS Insignia The Rank of Oberfuhrer The SS had a unique rank called the Oberfuhrer, which had no equivalent in any of the other armed forces. It was in essence, a senior Colonel (Oberst), with the entitlements of a General officer. While the shoulder board was identical to that of an Oberst, the collar patches were unique and the only identifier of the rank, as far as insignia. In the SS, an Oberfuhrer was entitled to wear the same accoutrements of a General officer, ie; silver piping on their visors, light grey lapel facings on their greatcoats. Little is known about the use of the rank insignia for Oberfuhrer in the Police, except for the fact that the insignia was introduced for those Police officials who held Oberfuhrer rank in the SS. SS Oberfuhrer der Polizei 1942-1945 SS pattern rendered in aluminium wire over police green underlay
SS Insignia A pair of pre-1942 Police General’s tabs embroidered in gold wire and bullion, over a fine, green velveteen backing. (Padilla collection)
SS Insignia (Ordungspolizei General der Polizei Kragenspiegel). Constructed of bright green doeskin wool, each with gilt aluminium bullion embroidery in the shape of an oak leaf on the obverse; both tabs edged by a golden twisted string on all four sides; with a standard buckram backer. A Pair of SS-Police General Major’s Collar Tabs
Fedor von Bock (3 December 1880 – 4 May 1945) was a German field marshal who served in the German army during the Second World War. Bock served as the commander of Army Group North during the Invasion of Poland in 1939, commander of Army Group B during the Invasion of France in 1940, and later as the commander of Army Group Centre during the attack on the Soviet Union in 1941; his final command was that of Army Group South in 1942. Bock commanded Operation Typhoon, the ultimately failed attempt to capture Moscow during the autumn and winter of 1941. The Wehrmacht offensive was slowed by stiff Soviet resistance around Mozhaisk, and also by the rasputitsa, the season of rain and mud in Central Russia.[1] The Soviet counteroffensive soon drove the German army into retreat, and Bock was subsequently relieved of command by Adolf Hitler. A monarchist, Bock was not heavily involved in politics. However, he also did not sympathize with plots to overthrow Adolf Hitler, and never filed protests over the treatment of civilians by the SS and his own troops. Bock was also uncommonly outspoken, a privilege Hitler extended to him only because he had been successful in battle. Bock—along with his second wife and his stepdaughter—were killed by a strafing British fighter-bomber on 4 May 1945 as they travelled by car toward Hamburg. Heer Generalfeldmarschall Fedor von Bock
Heer Generalfeldmarschall Fedor von Bock This tunic and insignia grouping belonging to GFM von Bock is courtesy of the Holzauge Historical Research collection.
Heer Generalfeldmarschall Fedor von Bock Close up of ’41 style collar tabs which are an elongated version of standard generals tabs showing three prongs signifying a Generalfeldmarschall. Close up of the ’41 pattern shoulder boards exhibiting the highly detailed silver batons and all braid in gold as per regulation.
Heer Generalfeldmarschall Fedor von Bock A grouping of GFM von Bock insignia reflecting a mix of 1941 regulation style shoulderboards in all gold cording with detailed batons and non-regulation standard General officer (not Generalfeldmarschall) collar tabs. This is not at all unusual. A careful study of period photographs shows many GFM wearing a mixture of regulation and non-regulation boards and tabs.
Heer Generalfeldmarschall Fedor von Bock An old style tunic belonging to GFM von Bock (private collection)
Hitler's Chief of Staff, OKW Generaloberst Alfred Jodl's Tunic Jodl's appointment as a major in the operations branch of the Army High Command in the last days of the Weimar Republic put him under command of General Ludwig Beck. In September 1939 Jodl first met Adolf Hitler. In the build-up to the Second World War, Jodl was nominally assigned as a commander of the 44th Division from October 1938 to August 1939 during the Anschluss. Jodl was chosen by Hitler to be Chief of Operation Staff of the newly formed OKW. Jodl acted as a Chief of Staff during the swift occupation of Denmark and Norway. Following the Fall of France Jodl was optimistic of Germany's success over Britain, on 30 June 1940 writing "The final German victory over England is now only a question of time.” Jodl signed the Commissar Order of 6 June 1941 (in which Soviet political commissars were to be shot) and the Commando Order of 28 October 1942 (in which Allied commandos, including properly uniformed soldiers as well as combatants wearing civilian clothes, such as Maquis and partisans, were to be executed immediately without trial if captured behind German lines). Jodl was among those slightly injured during the 20 July plot of 1944 against Hitler where he suffered a head concussion by the explosion. At the end of World War II in Europe, Jodl signed the instruments of unconditional surrender on 7 May 1945 in Reims as the representative of Karl Dönitz.
Jodl was arrested by British troops on 23 May 1945 and transferred to Flensburg POW camp and later put before the International Military Tribunal at the Nuremberg trials. Jodl was accused of conspiracy to commit crimes against peace; planning, initiating and waging wars of aggression; war crimes; and crimes against humanity. The principal charges against him related to his signature of the Commando Order and the Commissar Order, both of which ordered that certain classes of prisoners of war were to be summarily executed upon capture. When confronted with mass shootings of Soviet POWs in 1941, Jodl claimed the only prisoners shot were "not those that could not, but those that did not want to walk.” Additional charges at his trial included unlawful deportation and abetting execution. Presented as evidence was his signature on an order that transferred Danish citizens, including Jews, to concentration camps. Although he denied his role in this activity of the Third Reich's rule, the court sustained his complicity based on the evidence it had examined, with the French judge, Henri Donnedieu de Vabres, dissenting. His wife Luise attached herself to her husband's defence team. Subsequently, interviewed by Gitta Sereny, researching her biography of Albert Speer, Luise alleged that in many instances the Allied prosecution made charges against Jodl based on documents that they refused to share with the defence. Jodl nevertheless proved that some of the charges made against him were untrue, such as the charge that he had helped Hitler gain control of Germany in 1933. Jodl pleaded not guilty "before God, before history and my people". Found guilty on all four charges, he was hanged on 16 October 1946.Jodl's last words were reportedly "Ich grüße Dich, mein ewiges Deutschland"—"I greet you, my eternal Germany." Hitler's Chief of Staff, OKW Generaloberst Alfred Jodl's Tunic
Hitler's Chief of Staff, OKW Generaloberst Alfred Jodl's Tunic
Hitler's Chief of Staff, OKW Generaloberst Alfred Jodl's Tunic
Hitler's Chief of Staff, OKW Generaloberst Alfred Jodl's Tunic
Hitler's Chief of Staff, OKW Generaloberst Alfred Jodl's Tunic
Hitler's Chief of Staff, OKW Generaloberst Alfred Jodl Jodl is indicted on all four counts. From 1935 to 1938 he was chief of the National Defence Section in the High Command. After a year in command of troops in August, 1939, he returned to become Chief of the Operations Staff of the High Command of the Armed Forces. Although his immediate superior was defendant Keitel, he reported directly to Hitler on operational matters. In the strict military sense, Jodl was the actual planner of the war and responsible in large measure for the strategy and conduct of operations. Jodl defends himself on the ground he was a soldier sworn to obedience, and not a politician; and that his staff and planning work left him no time for other matters. He said that when he signed or initialled orders, memoranda and letters, he did so for Hitler and often in the absence of Keitel. Though he claims that as a soldier he had to obey Hitler, he says that he often tried to obstruct certain measures by delay, which occasionally proved successful as when he resisted Hitler's demand that a directive be issued to lynch allied " terror fliers."
Hitler's Chief of Staff, OKW Generaloberst Alfred Jodl Ninth in the procession of death was Alfred Jodl. With the black coat collar of his Wehrmacht uniform half turned up at the back as though hurriedly put on, Jodl entered the dismal death house with obvious signs of nervousness. He wet his lips constantly and his features were drawn and haggard as he walked, not nearly so steady as Keitel, up the gallows steps. Yet his voice was calm when he uttered his last six words on earth: 'My greetings to you, my Germany.' At 2:34 a.m. Jodl plunged into the black hole on the scaffold. He hung there and was pronounced dead six minutes later and removed. The Execution of Nazi War Criminals Nuremberg Gaol, Germany 16 October 1946 International News Service
Hitler's Chief of Staff, OKW Generaloberst Alfred Jodl
German Army General Dr. Hans-Joachim Barnewitz Hans-Joachim Barnewitz graduated from high school in Berlin-Wilmersdorf in 1910 . He studied in Jena, Kiel, and Berlin. He served in the first world war 1914-1918. On March 1, 1938, he was reinstated in the army and promoted to senior medical officer . At that time he was deployed to the military hospital in Königsberg . During the general mobilization Barnewitz was appointed on August 26, 1939 divisional surgeon of the 228th Infantry Division appointed, with whom he on invasion of Poland took part. On February 5, 1940 he transferred to the 6th Infantry Division in the same function . With this he denied the western campaign . He then stayed with the unit as an occupation force in France . On June 19, 1941 Barnewitz became chief medical officer at the liaison officer to the Royal Italian High Command in Africa . There he was promoted to corps doctor of the German Africa Corps on October 13, 1941 . He took part in the siege, and later also the conquest, of Tobruk and was involved in the fighting in the course of Operation Battle-axe and Operation Crusader , as well as in the reconquest of Benghazi and the first battle of El-Alamein . On September 5, 1942, after reporting sick, he was evacuated from Africa to Germany and transferred to the command reserve of the High Command of the Army . After he had recovered his health, he was appointed commander of the medical department in Thorn on May 10, 1943 . On June 2, 1944 Barnewitz was awarded the German Cross in Silver. [3] After the evacuation of the hospital in Thorn due to Soviet advance, he was transferred back to the driver's reserve on November 1, 1944 and served during this time in Wehrkreiskommando XX. Because of his outstanding achievements, he was also corps doctor of the deputy XII. Army Corps , where he was responsible for doing business. On January 1, 1945 he finally became its corps doctor and was also a doctor of the military district XII . He was promoted to general practitioner on March 1, 1945. On May 8, 1945, he fell into Allied captivity , from which he was released in 1946. After the war he settled in Schleswig-Holstein as a doctor
German Army General Dr. Hans-Joachim Barnewitz This is the uniform of General Dr Hans-Joachim Barnewitz who was the Korps medical chief of the Afrika Korps on Generalfeldmarschall Rommel’s Korps Staff.
German Army General Dr. Hans-Joachim Barnewitz General Barnewitz’s Gold wire and Celleon thread Breast Eagle A Close up view of the Generals Collar Tab Insignia