Schutzstaffel: The SS

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Schutzstaffel

Page 31

Kampfzeit Mug from the Early 1920s or 1930s (Item SS 31-1)

DESCRIPTION: This is a very nice beer stein or mug with cut-glass motif including floral design with leaves and vines. It's crafted in the heavy and thick glass, but it's the pewter top or lid that is the most important part. The design is again floral with wheat sheaths and in the center are the neatly engraved double runes of the SS. Below this is a mobile swastika in a keystone-style setting. This is typical of the personal beer-hall tankards used by SA and SS man while soaking up the suds and the local beer hall. The Munich Bierstube were to a great extent the birthplace of the NSDAP and the perfect meeting place for the tough street fighters that were so necessary to the security and safety of the party personnel and leaders. These men were by nature German-beer drinkers and by no means teetotalers. The liquid of Gambrius flowed at most all get-togethers of the Praetorian guards of Adolf Hitler's court (beer halls). It was the beer hall putsch that was the original starting point to the successful NS movement. This little mug probably saw a lot of action in its day. It's a great historical item and is 100-percent original.

PRICE: SOLD

Cufflinks of the Himmler Presentation Variety (Item SS 31-2)

DESCRIPTION: This set of cufflinks is the same as the set that was owned by

-Obergrupenführer Gottlob Burger that are shown at SS 12-1 . Please read that section to know more about the issue of these presentation cufflinks. All of these cufflinks that were found bear a date engraved on the bottom of the round and flat portion of the link. Berger’s set shows that it was presented in 1942; July 16 to be exact. It's, of course, always speculative whether the date engraved matches the date of birth of an SS officer; then the assumption is that this particular pair would be his former property. Quite a few of these cufflinks were accumulated by a German collector, who belonged to the “Hilfsgemeinshat auf Gegenseitigkeit des Angehörigen der Ehemalingen Waffen-

(HIAG), that translates to “Mutual Help Association of Former Waffen-

Members.” This was a charitable organization that was officially founded in 1951 by former members of the Waffen-

. The purpose of the organization was to offer help to veterans and to provide legal assistance because Germany's then-current government refused to pay pensions to these elite soldiers ostensibly because the (enemy) had declared that the Waffen-

was a criminal organization. In the 1960s, about 75,000 former Waffen-

members were enrolled. The man who accumulated most of the cufflinks was a key leader in the HIAG and did much to enable these combat veterans to receive aid and assistance. He was however, an incurable collector and was able through his offices to buy many of the cufflinks that belonged to some of the more notable officers and famous men of the SS. In some cases cufflinks and honor rings having belonged to men who were not HIAG members were procured by other members who were closely associated with them. The cufflinks were fairly easy to buy from the men, but very few honor rings were bought because of the oath taken by the recipients dealing with the duties of the ring bearer. It must be remembered that the

was the most loyal of all the German armed forces to their oaths and agenda. “Wenn alle untreue werden so bleiben wir doch treue!,” “When all were unfaithful, we remained faithful.” These were their watchwords, and they generally stood their ground. So our collector had to forego his attempts to buy any honor rings. He didn't even dare buy any since if the word got out that he was buying them this could possibly preclude his being able to gather any of the other items that the elderly members were willing to part with. They seemed to be willing for the greater part to sell and sometimes simply give him the cufflinks, uniforms, cuff titles, etc., but this man, a former Hitler Youth member and leader, was also elderly and a few years back he decided that he would sell his entire collection and this is exactly how so many of these important articles were made available. The cufflinks were sold as a group and today most of them are in a prestigious collection maintained by a serious and a well-known reputable collector by the name of Andy Legere. The collection has been ridiculously assailed by the usual idiots who never give details that would give any credence to their asinine statements. They simply say that such cufflinks never existed in the Third Reich. They have no absolute facts, figures, or credible information as to this blatant, moronic statement, but Mr. Legere does have information from original Third Reich sources to the contrary. The cufflinks most definitely existed and the Berger set that we offer and the ones in Mr. Legere's collection are 100-percent genuine with historical provenance, as well. Remember always the definition of some of the self-styled experts out there—x-spurt. ‘X’ is the unknown factor, of course, and ‘spurt’ is the noise that a drip makes when put under pressure. The quality of these magnificent pieces of Third Reich jewelry practically speaks for itself, but there is historic backup as well. The detractors as usual can only offer dubious misinformation, and anyone being influenced by their opinions and slanderous statements should ask these mentally challenged experts whence came the actual knowledge and research that they rely on to formulate these opinions. Now on to better things. This set of cufflinks has the date 31/12/43. We cannot find a match up to be able to connect the

officer to this birth date. This set was procured from a veteran who upon entering our site contacted us to tell us of the set that he had picked up in France in 1945. We managed to buy them, but have been entirely unsuccessful in researching them. So they are offered at a price much less than the Berger set. Their condition is perfect. They bear the “Gahr” marks and the moon, crown and ‘800’ silver designation. The size of the round face is slightly smaller than an American dime. The detail is so sharp as to be perfect—German artistic precision beams from them. We are very proud to offer them to the real collector. All this that has been said about the silly detractors hopefully will not put any doubt in your mind. There are fools everywhere in the nooks and crannies of every following, and we have many insidious clowns in this militaria field. They are for the most part lowlife clowns and their pronouncements are generally ludicrous and completely without merit. I do hope you, the legitimate collector, will forgive my letting off a bit of steam, but you just have to now and then! Germania International’s reputation with the real collectors is immaculate and pristine and these cufflinks and all the other items we handle are 100 percent authentic, unless otherwise noted. It is the moronic slanderers that are phony through and through! So enough of that and upward and onward.

PRICE: $2,500.00; for the set

SS Elegant Spoon Set (Item SS 31-3; WAF 8-14)

DESCRIPTION: We explained the reason for these spoon and fork sets to be made, and you can see the explanation at Item WAF 6-11 and Item WAF 8-4. As time went on with this Verwundete program the pieces got better and better and often they were exquisite on genuine silver spoons that displayed the SS runic symbols. Additional parts were supplied depending on the generosity of the companies supplying the tools and blank planchets to the wounded soldiers. Regarding the set offered here the six spoons in their case are much finer than the ones offered at the links we have given, and they are in genuine ‘800’ silver, and so marked. They also have the moon and crown as often required. The SS runes actually look to be produced in the original manufacture of the spoons, but like the ones mentioned, the SS in a circle was applied later, as explained. The company that supplied the pieces in this case was the firm of Hermann Severin, who was a specialist in clocks and gold jewelry and located on Königshofstrasse of Magdeburg. The box that they are contained in is of mock lizard skin or crocodile hide. The spoons measure about 5 1/2 inches long. The case is 7 x 4 inches and is 1 1/2 inches deep. This is a really beautiful grouping, and historically important.

PRICE: $1,250.00

SS Spoon Set in Genuine Silver (Item SS 31-4)

DESCRIPTION: If you have read about the other spoon sets that we have offered at at Item WAF 6-11 and Item WAF 8-4, then you know the story behind the issuing and the therapy thing for wounded veterans. Here we offer a set produced with the SS runes at the actual factory and offered by the prestigious B. Carstens Company, a firm that handled fine jewelry and clocks. This is not one of the hospital therapy sets. This is an actual set fully as produced exclusively for Carstens. The SS runes are not applied; they are cast in the original die and were no doubt, very costly in their day. They certainly are lovely to behold and they are pure ‘800’ silver with the ‘800’ half moon and crown. There is also a figure of a man that is the company's logo. They measure about 5 1/4 inches long. The original box is there and in good condition. The spoons repose in a special slotted display form. These would just have to be for an SS personality or high-ranking officer. They are just beautiful!

PRICE: $1,450.00; great!

1936 Model Chained Officer’s Dagger (Item SS 31-5)

DESCRIPTION: Service daggers we have ever seen. It’s a Type II with the “closed” style cloverleaf. This means that the upper “leaf” or circular area in front of the snap closure is not open as you see on Type I daggers. Also, another improvement that came with the Type II chain is that the chain assemblies are connected to the cloverleaf design (or Wotan knot) with metal links or tabs which have been barrel trimmed to provide more flexibility to the chain’s movement while being carried. The Type II tabs are cut from sheet nickel and soldered at the rear. The skulls and

Sigrunes are of slightly smaller dimension than the ones on a Type I variety, but remain highly detailed. The upper reverse sigrune link is

proofed, but generally the stamping is not quite as deep as seen on the Type I variety. In many cases the strain caused by normal twisting and movement of the chain during wear will cause the seams on the tabs to separate and open often necessitating resoldering. This can be seen on at least two of the links of this dagger we offer, however, this in no way detracts from the great looks of this exceptional dagger. The chain links were die stamped and patinated. This dagger has the fine, crispy, defined border edges. After 1938, Type II chain assemblies were produced using nickel-plated steel base metal. Some of them had painted scabbards while others were produced with blued scabbard shells (anodized). The center mount is retained with two screws (on the better ones!). After 1937 the 1936 model underwent standardization under the ‘RZM’ as did other political daggers. The result was that the chained model will be seen with nickel-plated Type II assemblies. Some wartime-produced examples will have a copper runes button and eagle. This one has neither. It has the nice silvered eagle and button with exquisite detail. The ebony-colored wood used on many of the later-produced daggers was more brittle and prone to chipping and about 90 percent of all the examples we have seen or offered have had some chipping or splitting; it is the nature of the beast! Only the finest of them retained tight fit and absence of this peculiar malady. This one is in that qualification of perfect fit and has no cracks or splits. All of this depended on the company which produced the dagger and its particular quality standards. This obviously was an early Type II dagger employing the better things of the Type I such as the anodized scabbard, fine button and eagle, and finer detail to the runic and Totenkopf links, but it also has some of the improvements attending the Type II variety. Yes, this is a superior example all the way and it demands inclusion in the finest collection it can find. They don’t come much better; the blade is in average condition. Here also the blade retains the flat surface that allows the motto to be read easily, unlike the later Type II’s that had a “high” ridge running down the center that rather distorted the image of the motto. This is yet another fine feature of this particular offering. Gentlemen, if you don’t have a fine 1936 chained dagger you really don’t have an SS collection! Nothing equals the sheer beauty and dramatic effect of this the finest of all NS ceremonial weapons. The value of these now very elusive weapons rise yearly in Europe, and it will be extremely hard to even locate one in the near future, here or there. Buy this one today and it will be worth much more rather quickly, especially in this condition and quality. In this day and age of the failing and falling dollar this is a wise investment indeed. The price of daggers like this and in lesser condition in Germany and Europe have “skyrocketed.” They are already exceeding the price we ask. Remember, this is the “ultimate”

dagger and perhaps the ultimate relic of the Third Reich!

PRICE: NO LONGER AVAILABLE

Painting of Germanic Elves (Item SS 31-7; PERS 3-6)

DESCRIPTION: OK. You ask why this painting is situated in the Allgemeine-SS and Personalities categories. Well, it’s because of who painted it and why. In 1945 a certain Dr. Kajetan Mühlmann was captured by the U.S. Army in Seewalchen on the Attersee in the Austrian Alps on June 13, 1945. On 20 July he was transferred to the American POW camp at Payerbach in upper Austria where he was interrogated by the CIC, that so called ostensively (“worked-on culture”), also known as “culture intelligence.” They induced him to discuss the so-called deeds of Hermann Göring, Seyss-Inquart, Hans Frank, and Kaltenbrunner. He himself was charged with being responsible for (again so-called) art plundering in Poland and the Netherlands. He held the title during the Third Reich special commissioner for the safeguarding of art in the occupied territories. He actually was responsible for purchase or in some cases confiscation of Germanic art in the hands of those persons identified as (enemies of the Reich). Much has been written about these accusations from negative and positive viewpoints. In any case, our narrative is about the art historian Mühlmann. He was an

-Oberführer. He actually worked as an undercover agent for Reinhard Heydrich. He had family and social connections to Arthur Seyss-Inquart, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Göring, Heydrich, and even had a close relationship directly to Hitler in matters artistic. Besides being one of the most prolific of the art accumulators for the Reich and its highly placed individuals he was an artist himself of sorts. In his early days before joining the party and SS he had done charming illustrations for children’s pictorial books. Because of the interrogation sessions with the Americans this was found out and immediately the camp administrators were all over him requesting him to produce little artworks so that they could send them home to family and friends. Kajetan otherwise referred to as Kai, obliged and received rather special treatment with extra rations, cigarettes, etc. Then there came a time that the camp commandant decided that he would dearly like to have a large mural of elves that cold be hung in his children’s nursery. Mühlmann received many favors from the Americans because of his special talent. When the American commandant insisted that the rendering of his painting be on canvas, there arose the problem where would it be at al possible to procure such a large piece of canvas. They were stumped; both the officer and the artist. Then out of the blue the orderly officer came up with a brilliant idea. He pointed to a map in the briefing room and what was it printed on, but “canvas.” Immediately the commandant stripped it off the wall and put into the hands of the German artist who in turn started on the painting of the elves’ antics called “Spiele der Elfe,” “Games of the elves.” The painting is 79 inches by 25 inches in the frame. It’s divided into three sections. The one to the left depicts an elderly elf whose cart came separated from the horse and as it started to run away the elf grabs the carriage rods and he is propelled down the steep road by the weight of the cart while the horse tries to catch up. The second sequence has some mischievous elves who hide in the trees while a chicken placed by a window while an irate gray-bearded occupant tries to shoo him away. In the scene to the right some more mischievous elves are foiled when the victim of some prank pours hot chocolate or coffee down the derriere of the would-be prankster. All these legends are surely from Grimm’s Brothers’ fairy tales, no doubt. The painting was bought from one of the children of the commandant now grown to manhood. Why he ever parted with it we cannot say. We also cannot say the name of this family because of the father’s very special favors done for this alleged Nazi war criminal back then. This is quite a canvas even though it was once a map. It’s well executed and artistically charming and produced by a major SS officer with a reputation. It’s cute, but also historically important.

PRICE: $2,500.00

8-Year Service Medal; SS-Dienstauzeichnungen (Item SS 31-8; WAF 9-4)

DESCRIPTION: Here is a pristine example of the

8-Year Long-Service Medal. As condition goes it’s just about as nice a piece that you will ever see. This award was founded on January 30,1938, for members of the

-Verfügunstruppen,

-Totenkopfverbande, and the

-Junkershulen who were on active service and had served honorably. All other SS members were only eligible to receive the NSDAP long-service awards. Four classes of the award were designed by

-Oberführer Professor Karl Diebitsch of Munich, who was the chief advisor for all things artistic within the SS organization. We had the great pleasure of meeting and interviewing him in Tegernsee in 1973. This is the third-class medal and has the

wreath superimposed over a large swastika. On the reverse side is a large figure ‘8’ and across this the words: “Für Treue Dienste in der ,” “For loyal service in the SS.” The medal is in excellent condition in bronze with highlighted figures, numerals, and runes. This is one of the most beautiful medals of the Third Reich.

PRICE: $450.00; this one is actually pristine!

Honor Ring (certified by Boyle) (Item SS 31-9)

DESCRIPTION: Here is an excellent example of the

-Totenkopf Ehrenring, one of the finest examples we have ever seen. Not only is the ring in practically mint condition, but the wearer was one of the more interesting personalities that has ever shown up. The ring skull is perfect with every characteristic that is noted among the best of them; e.g., clear, finely defined teeth (the eye within the eye) as noted by the experts, cross bones clearly defined, inside the joined seam is clear, engraving is clear and perfect. Gentlemen, they just don’t come any better! Now the former owner’s name is Axel Holder who in September 1944 was assigned to the 1st Cossack Division where he, like a few other German officers, served in this capacity as advisors to the brave and patriotic Cossack forces that fought bravely alongside of their Germanic comrades against the evil and vicious Stalinist hordes. Officers who numbered among their ranks were General Helmuth von Pannwitz, Captain K. Langfeld, and Major Harry von Johnston. Von Pannwitz and von Johnston when confronted by a Soviet general in 1945 at the end of hostilities chose to stay with their Cossack brothers rather than be repatriated to Germany. Pannwitz was murdered by hanging; von Johnston served 10 years at hard labor and died of yellow jaundice on the day he was released in 1955. Axel Holder was one of these brave officers, but of the

attachments to the Cossack brigades. We can only hope he escaped the clutches of these murdering reds. Holder received the Ehrenring in 1941 when he was an

-Sturmbannführer with the

number 241 797 and NS Party number 2 588 380. He was born August 13, 1903, in the city of Stolp in Pomerania. In his personal papers he is listed as Nordic, with a smallish, lean figure. He is listed as ‘discipline correct,’ good in sports, politically correct. He was a jurist in premilitary enlistment; studied law at the University of Heidelberg; held several offices in the German legal system and chamber of courts in Berlin. He must have served a short time in the Army in 1935-36. He entered the SS/SD in Jan 1936 as leader of the head office (RFSS) courts and legal administration. At the same time he was awarded the post of government assessor in the office of the Gestapo from August 1936 to April 1937. He was employed by

-Gruppenführer von Ribbentrop. He also managed in June and July 1936 the SD Oberabschnitt “Greater Berlin.” On August 1, 1937, he was transferred to the Reich Forest Section and was promoted to the head position of the Forest Department. Then, by agreement between Reichsführer-

Himmler and the Reich Forest inspector, Holder was transferred to Prague to manage the state forest direction there. Holder served in the Wehrmacht (Heers) in 1936 from January to July in the reserve battalion Spandau (9th Inf. Rgt.) and in March 1937 in the 50th Inf. Rgt. in Landsberg. On November 1, 1939, he was called up for service in the Wehrmacht and entered an infantry battalion that was employed in Poland and Holland. In April 1940 he was promoted to sergeant and cadet. He was discharged from the Wehrmacht on June 30, 1940, and then resumed his duty with the army supply offices. He advanced in these positions to war supply inspector and was transferred to Belgium joined the Waffen-

. He was a member of the NSDAP, SS, NSV, and NSRB. He was also an honorable member of the DAF at the disciplinary court in Berlin with membership in the

since 1933. He was an officer on the staff of

-Obergruppenführer Sepp Dietrich

-Oberschnitt Ost. He was in the SS/SD headquarters at the time of his “Lebenslauf,” his background statement written on July 27, 1941. He was an

-Obersturmführer in the SD and at that time was representing the court of Berlin Charlottenburg. He had limited knowledge of English, French, Spanish, Italian, and Swedish. In 1938 he was married to NS Party member Gertrud Annuszat. From that date in July 1941 above we lose track of his career to some extent, but there are numerous references through the 40-odd pages that have been photocopied from official archives in Berlin. There is much material here about this fascinating officer. At one point he was reported deceased, but was happy and healthy, elsewhere. The record shows that he was a recipient of the ring and a Julleuchter (candle holder). He was also a member of SS Lebensborn as well. He was awarded the Kriegs Verdienst Cross in 1943. His various promotion certificates are all there. His transfers from office to office are evident as well. On November 22, 1943, he was bombed out of his home in Charlottenburg and lost his

Julleuchter and was requesting a new one. There are various good-conduct reports throughout the files. The translation of the assembled material was done by our official translator, Willi, who was in the Hitler Youth and later a paratrooper in the French Foreign Legion. The footnotes and accurate translations are his. He is an incredible fellow and is a walking encyclopedia of the Second World War and especially the Third Reich. The certification of authenticity is by Mr. Donald Boyle, the foremost expert on these items and the author of the greatest hornbook on honor rings in the world entitled SS-Totenkopf H. Himmler Honor Rings 1933-1945. Don has certified and described this ring as an original pre-April 1945 German historical artifact. He did say that the ring has a nontypical date in the 1940s ring, but he says here and in his book that this variance has been known to exist. The date in Holder’s ring is ‘9/4/41.’ Usually the rings have dates of famous events such as April 20, Hitler’s birthday. This accounted for most of them. But others were awarded on June 21, the midsummer

festival. November 9, the day of the Munich putsch, December 21, the

Winter Festival, but certain dates important to the individual and recognized by the

leadership as being important were also granted in the awarding. We don’t know what date 9/14/41 has as significance. We do know that one month before he was promoted from Obersturmführer to Sturmbannführer with personally signed promotion certificate by

-Gruppenführer and Lt. Gen. der Waffen-

Oswald Pohle. Could it be the date he actually took office? All in all, Holder was a good soldier, administrator, and leader. His ring is now the only testimony to his loyalty and devotion to the

and his Führer. This is in the finest condition and prodigiously important ring currently available anywhere on the internet. We are very proud to offer this great ring to the collecting public. We have researched and sold quite a few of the finest honor rings that have ever been offered, but in our opinion this is the best—history-wise and condition-wise! You wanted a Totenkopf honor ring didn’t you? Well why not the best?

PRICE: NO LONGER AVAILABLE

SS Perpetual Calendar (Item SS 31-10)

DESCRIPTION: This is a very rare example of the SS calendar in the past 30 years or so. We have seen only one other of these and part of the date cards was missing. This one has them all: months, days, and calendar dates. They are hand changed every day. The eagle at the top is of the

style. Every organizational eagle in the Third Reich had a distinctive shape and this is very definitely the eagle of the Allgemeine or Waffen-SS. In this instance this one was issued within the Waffen-SS and it has the letters on the back on a big square stamp. Plus, there is a smaller stamp from the Schultz Staffeln HQ Berlin SW/68. The finish on the front looks like hand-set parquet, but is actually a print process with overlay. It measures 9 1/2 x 13 1/2 inches and we repeat, all the cards are there! For these date cards to remain intact for 65-70 years is incredible! This is the type SS item that is dreamt about and the price is commensurate with the rarity. This is a first-class SS relic indeed!

PRICE: $1,880.00; ultra-rare; ultra-important

Page Thirty-one

Please refer to item designator in parentheses in all correspondence.

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