Schutzstaffel: The SS

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Algemeine-

Page 13

Fabulous Replica of SS-Totenkopf Death's Head Ring

SS-Gruppenführer Josef Sepp Dietrich

Fascist Italy

Italian Waffen- Cap Set for Officers (Item SS 13-1; I-FAS 1-7)

DESCRIPTION: This is the cap set in pure silver manufactured in Germany and presented to the Italian

Divisions (the 24th Waffen-

Mountain troops and the 29th Waffen Grenadier Division der Italienische Nr. 1. The Italian

troops fought for their homeland in combat action and fought with great courage and effectiveness and they were contrary to the present-day propaganda. They were authentic representatives of the legitimate Italian Fascist government. Legally, therefore, these volunteers had every right to resist what to them was a hostile invasion of Italy by the allied forces. It is fair to say also that the Italian

men were highly motivated ideologically and held the allied plutocrat-capitalists in equal contempt with the barbarous communist partisans that terrorized the countryside with rape, pillage, and murder most foul. In the end all the idealistic motivation came to naught. The western powers turned loose their communist terrorist allies on the brave captured soldiers of the Italian

and the result was mass murder of these young, Christian idealists. There were not many survivors. The Italian

volunteers were good and decent soldiers and deserve to be remembered as such! The formation of these units came into reality after the capitulation of Italy on September 8, 1943 and the disarming of the Italian military forces in German-held territory. The need to construct a new and reliable force became apparent. Fully 800,000 Italian soldiers had been disarmed by the Germans with more than 250,000 of these interned. This was the logical place to start looking for recruits as there were still a good many fascist, pro-German men among the remnants of the defunct Italian army. Full scale recruiting got underway after

-Sturmbannführer Otto Skorzeny's spectacular rescue of Mussolini on September 12, 1943. The true Italian fascists now had Il Duce once more to rally around. In the course of September 1943 some 15,000 Italian officers and men volunteered for service in the Waffen-

and were sent to the German training grounds at Münsingen and here they were referred to as legionnaires of the armed militia. Later, in September 1945, Hitler and Mussolini worked out a plan for the formation of Italian militia units under the supervision of the Waffen-

. The rest is combat history as these crusaders set out to shove the Bolsheviks and other red rats out of their sacred land. In conclusion it can be said that the 20,000 or so volunteers of the Italian

Legion and the 29th Waffen Grenadier Division did their jobs well, whether fighting internal terrorists or greatly superior regular enemy forces. They proved themselves soldiers of exceptional motivation and quality. They were one of the few bright spots in the Italian contribution to the axis war effort. This shameful and barbaric end to which these brave soldiers came must forever be considered another black mark on the stained escutcheon of the allied victors. Cap sets such as these were made in Germany to be distributed to officers of the divisions, especially those who had distinguished themselves in the former battles while in the Italian Army. They were issued at Münsingen. The badges are in pure silver. The eagle holds the fasces symbol that has the German silver designation in the back of the ax blade. The skulls used were the standard planchet "RZM"-marked pieces used by German Waffen-

forces right to the end only with the "800" designation stamped under jaw. Several of the smaller companies made these insignia and many of them were gathered up at the end of the war in Berlin and other manufacturing concerns. They are to be considered rare and historically significant.

PRICE: SOLD

Fascist Italy
An assemblage of Italian-SS
uniform items

Bergen Unit Flag (Item SS 13-2; FLAG 1-3)

DESCRIPTION: Here is a real find. One of the house flags from the

Bergen Division. We believe they were the Allgemeine forerunners of the famous Waffen-

Hochland or

-Oberbayern groups. The is a double-sided flag and is in marvelous condition throughout. Note in the pictures accompanying this entry the one from Thomas M. Johnson's new book, German War Booty. On page 74 he shows a grouping of what he calls an abundance of war booty from the estate of a Texas veteran. You can see there another Bergen flag that was looted at the end of the war. Although we now know of two in collections, they would still be considered quite rare and desirable to the advanced collector of

material. This was a tough, crack, elite

groups and the flag will be considered very historically important. It measures 53 x 38 inches-striking and pure!

PRICE: SOLD

Nazi Party

Very Early Style Totenkopfverbände Ring (Item SS 13-5)

DESCRIPTION: This ring had its origins in the 1920’s and was later considered a traditions ring. SS men evidently bought them in the 1940’s as souvenirs of the Kampzeit “struggle for power.” The ring has the old-style skull and crossbones as it was borrowed from the Freebooters of the Freikorps. The enamel background is rather crude looking when compared with other enameled rings that we offer, but this is evidently because the original 1920’s ring was an impromptu creation made up while the party members, especially the SA and the SS were out in the streets in a life-and-death struggle with the Reds to see who would inherit the Fatherland. We would emphasize “life and death.” Many of these Hitler paladins died in the 1920’s and early 1930’s conflicts. Thus, just about everything they wore was later produced by various companies as Kampf-zeit-erinnerung, “In memory of the struggle!” So, it is naturally fitting that this neat little ring as worn by these early warriors would be produced by the Lüdenscheid companies. This particular one was by Steinhauer and Lück. A similar Kampzeit item can be see at SS 8-5 in our SS pages. The ring is marked inside the shank with an “800”-series stamping although an original 1920’s example in our collection is not marked. By the time of manufacture of this example there was a law making it obligatory to mark such silver items. Although the enameling may look a little crude (probably done on purpose) the ring has a “chilling” beauty of its own when one considers its early history. This is an important addition to any NSDAP or SS collection.

PRICE: $950.00

Germania Ring (Extraordinary) (Item SS 13-6)

DESCRIPTION: This might be said to be the Rolls-Royce of

rings. Why do we name it “Germania?” If you will go to our

pages under SS Victory Ring and read the history of how we acquired the best collection of German rings and jewelry that has ever been seen, you will understand more about this “treasure trove.” Some of these rings were in boxes and small bins and many were marked according to what group, party, or armed force they were for. The bin that this one came out of was labeled

“Germania” and we assumed that this was the particular

unit that it was intended for. Without a doubt this is the most simple, yet, the very finest pure design of all the various examples found. The fine, thin shank supports the typical

-style of step sides while employing a deep, oval top with the smooth surface in jet-black enamel set with the two magnificent

runic symbols in large format. Inside the shank is found the “835” silver mark (obligatory) found in fine silver products sold to official Reich entities or even to the public. To the writer, this is definitely one of the sharpest-designed

rings ever produced in the Reich and well it should be considering whom it was obviously produced for-the elite Division of Germania. Why wouldn’t we be especially proud of this one when one considers the name of our web site? In any event, here is a ring that is both elegant and of immeasurable relevant historical distinction. This is a very good investment indeed!

PRICE: $1,250.00

1936 Chained Dagger (Item SS 13-7)

DESCRIPTION: On August 25, 1936, H. Himmler approved the new chain hanger design for the

service dagger. The hanger assembly and center ramp were adapted to the 1933 service dagger design. The new scabbard was worn by all

officers and those men who had served in the

for three or more years prior to January 30, 1936. The official designation was

service dagger. It clearly was one of the most beautiful daggers of the Third Reich. The example offered here is the Type I; i.e., with open upper cutout design with part of the letters DRGM showing through. This one has the high-relief-stamped links which feature alternating

Sigrunnen and skull with cross-bone motifs. You can note the very fine background pebbling to the links. Important: the larger connecters have straight edges where they secure the chain to the cloverleaf. The Type I chain always is equipped with a separate cutout cloverleaf device. The

proof stamp Kulturzeichen is present on the second upper link. In Type I chained models the chains were not artificially blackened or patinated. The scabbard is beautifully anodized (blued). The blade is unmarked with company logo as it was required on these models and it is in beautiful, excellent condition-possibly the best we have ever seen. The grip is close fitting. This is very important as most of them shrink and gaps can usually be seen here and there on the back of the lower portion of the grip. This is to be expected as it is the area where it rubs against the black uniform tunic of the wearer. All in all, this is a prime example of this much-sought-after prize trophy. It is doubtful that there could be a better one out there. The dagger fittings are completely bright having the 100-percent-nickel finish. Each and every link has perfect detail. The high-relief skulls and bones have total detail to all teeth and runics. A pristine textbook example of this, the most exciting of the NS daggers. As Wittman has expressed it, “No collection is worthwhile without the presence of a chained

dagger.” We agree! Remember, this is the best one around!

PRICE: SOLD

Page Thirteen

Fabulous Replica of SS-Totenkopf Death's Head Ring

Please refer to item designator in parentheses in all correspondence.

Please E-mail for any additional information you may need.

If you prefer, contact 'Germania' at PO Box 68, Lakemont, GA 30552
or call at 706.782.1668.

Please! do not call during the wee hours of the morning. The best time for calling us is between 10am and 12 noon and between 9 and 11 pm eastern time.