The Himmler's SS (46 page)

Each Waffen-SS formation regularly submitted requisition forms to the SS Führungshauptamt ordering specific uniform needs. If approved, the SS-FHA would instruct the SS Wirtschafts- und Verwaltungshauptamt to make the necessary issue. The SS-WVHA in its turn then arranged despatch of the material to the unit, either direct from the factory or via one of its twelve main supply depots, the Hauptwirtschaftslager. Alternatively, the uniform items could be made available to the unit at the nearest convenient SS-WVHA sub-depot, or Truppenwirtschaftslager, of which there were twenty spread out across the Reich. On the eastern front, SS supply commands or Nachschubskommandantur were established at Bobruisk, Dnepropetrowsk, Oulu and Riga as links between the SS-WVHA and the local sub-depots. Each supply command was empowered to place contracts with, or make purchases from, private firms in its area. Moreover, where field formations of the Waffen-SS were likely to be operating in a particular zone for a prolonged period, for example ‘Prinz Eugen' in the Balkans, special ad hoc supply bases or Stützpunkte were set up at convenient points.

All Waffen-SS officers were expected to purchase their own uniform items, and newly commissioned officers received a special grant of between 350 and 800 Reichsmarks to that end. Once in possession of his clothing grant the officer was supposed to buy his uniform from one of the SS clothing counters, or Kleiderkasse, at Berlin, Kiev, Lublin, Munich, Oslo, Paris, Prague, Riga and Warsaw. These establishments carried extensive stocks of top quality tailor-made items, including tunics by Mohr & Speyer and Holters, boots by Breitspecher and caps by Robert Lubstein, whose trade mark ‘EREL' was famous world-wide. However, both the means and opportunity for frontline officers to kit themselves out with expensive uniforms were somewhat limited during the second half of the war, and most relied on their unit stores to provide them with items of field uniform against payment. Standard issue tunics were generally worn unaltered by most officers, although some had them modified to suit individual taste. The most common alterations were to pocket flaps and collars, replacing them with smarter ones. From August 1943, second-hand tailor-made articles began to be collected and resold to officers at three times the listed price of their standard issue equivalents. In that way, those who still retained a desire to look ‘a cut above the rest' could do so.

When a Waffen-SS soldier was killed or invalided out of the service, all issued items of uniform clothing and equipment had to be returned to his unit. Those pieces still suitable for use were retained intact, and slightly worn items were re-issued to replacement and training units. Any old or damaged clothing was sent to the concentration camps to be pulped down for reworking. Broken metal articles such as belt hooks and buckles were dismantled and sent to the armaments industry for smelting. In that way, the SS maintained a complete cycle of manufacture – issue – wear – pulping – re-manufacture – re-issue in respect of uniform clothing.

The development of the main components of Waffen-SS uniform, namely headgear, tunics, equipment and insignia, gave the SS soldier his own unique appearance, and this development is now covered in detail.

The standard headgear of the armed SS formations continually evolved from 1933 until the end of the Second World War, with every year seeing either a new pattern being introduced, an existing style being modified or an outdated item being withdrawn. In March 1933, members of the SS Stabswache Berlin were issued with heavyweight 1916 and 1918 model ex-army steel helmets, hand-painted or sprayed black, for wear when on guard duty. These plain Stahlhelme, which did not bear any SS insignia at that time, were the first distinguishing items of headgear to be sported by the armed units, and set the latter apart from the Allgemeine-SS. During the summer of the same year, field caps of the peakless ‘pork pie' type, known as ‘Krätzchen', were purchased from army surplus storage, dyed black, and distributed to men of the SS Sonderkommando Zossen and SS Sonderkommando Jüterbog for wear during training and fatigues. Standard SS badges were pinned to these extremely unpopular and short-lived caps.

Men of the Sonderkommando Zossen enjoying a break from their training at Essenfassen, summer 1933. All wear black ‘krätzchen' field caps and the grey cotton drill fatigue uniform.

At the end of 1933, it was suggested that the 1916 and 1918 model steel helmets were unnecessarily heavy for the armed SS, whose main role was then one of internal security rather than open warfare. A small number of the army's experimental 1933-pattern vulcanised fibre helmets were duly distributed, but were excessively ugly and immediately rejected. Consequently, during the early part of 1934, the Reichs-zeugmeisterei der NSDAP, or RZM, the Nazi party's contracts office, placed an order for the supply of new SS helmets which were slightly different in form, weight and appearance from their army counterparts. The RZM-pattern helmet was made of a lighter steel alloy, had standardised ‘one size' ventilation lugs and a wider quick-release chinstrap. There were two inspection marks die-stamped inside the neck of the blue-black helmet, i.e. SS runes on the left side and the RZM symbol on the right, and the liner generally bore the unit property stamp in ink, an example being ‘II/SS 2' for the 2nd Sturmbann of the ‘Germania' Standarte. The RZM helmet was popular, and was distributed for parade and guard duty until 1939.

On 23 February 1934, special insignia were introduced for wear on all SS steel helmets, hand-painted at first and then in decal form. The Leibstandarte, with its unique status, was authorised to use white SS runes on a black shield (soon replaced by black SS runes on a silver shield) on the right side of the helmet, and an army-pattern shield bearing the national colours of black, white and red in diagonal bars on the left side. Troops of the Politische Bereitschaften, and their successors in the SS-VT, wore white-bordered black runes within a white double circle on the right side of the Stahlhelm, and a white-bordered black swastika on the left side. On 15 December 1934, steel helmets began to be painted in so-called ‘earth-grey', a grey-brown shade, for military manoeuvres, and at the same time a new other ranks' field cap in an identical colour was introduced to replace the black Krätzchen. The 1934-pattern cap was again intended for drill use only and was shaped like an upturned boat, hence its nickname ‘Schiffchen', or little ship. Its design was based on the army forage cap, with a scalloped front and side panels which could be lowered to protect the wearer's ears in cold weather. The first Schiffchen were issued with a machine-embroidered version of the 1929-pattern eagle on the left side and a plain white metal button to the front. Soon after its introduction, however, the plain button was changed to one featuring an embossed death's head.

In March 1935, troops of the SS-Wachverbände were authorised to wear a large silver-painted Prussian Totenkopf on the left side of the steel helmet, to distinguish them from the Leibstandarte and SS-VT. This insignia was short-lived however, for on 12 August 1935 a new set of standardised helmet badges was introduced for all SS units, to replace those previously worn. The new insignia, designed by Professor Hans Haas, comprised black SS runes on a silver shield to be worn on the right side of the helmet, and a red shield bearing a white disc containing a black swastika to be worn on the left side. The original order decreed that these badges were to be painted on, but on 14 August it was announced that they would be available in decal form from the firm of C.A. Pocher of Nürnberg, at a cost of 25 Reichsmarks per 1,000 pairs. SS units were instructed to have the decals applied to all their helmets in time for the NSDAP rally that September.

SS steel helmet insignia. These were worn by soldiers of the following units: A – Leibstandarte-SS ‘Adolf Hitler' (23.2.34 to autumn 1934); B – Leibstandarte-SS ‘Adolf Hitler' (autumn 1934 to 11.8.35); C – Politische Bereitschaften and SS-VT (23.2.34 to 11.8.35); D – all SS formations (12.8.35 to 1945).

Towards the end of 1935, an earth-grey version of the black SS peaked cap was introduced for officers of the Leibstandarte and SS-VT, to be worn on all occasions when a steel helmet was not required. The new Schirmmütze had an earth-grey top with a black velvet band and white piping for all officers up to and including SS-Standartenführer. Higher ranks had silver piping. Officers acting as judges and umpires at military exercises wore detachable white cloth bands on their caps. On 1 November the same year, a supply of the new lighter model army steel helmet, with shallow neck guard, less protruding visor and simple ventilation holes instead of protruding lugs, was set aside by the War Ministry for distribution to the armed SS. The Leibstandarte and ‘Deutschland' received theirs on 11 May 1936, and the other SS-VT formations followed suit. Nevertheless, the traditional 1916 and 1918 models still continued to be worn for some considerable time, particularly by officers and during parades.

An NCO of the Leibstandarte wearing the M35 steel helmet outside Kharkov, March 1943. The SS runes decal is clearly shown.

On 31 March 1936, the other ranks' field cap began to be manufactured in a black version for wear with the black service uniform when walking out, and in ‘earth-brown' for SS-TV personnel on duty within concentration camps. Insignia remained the same, although the 1929-pattern eagle was replaced by the distinctive SS type later in the year. A new field-grey combat uniform was generally distributed to all branches of the armed SS in 1937, with consequent changes in headgear. The earth-grey and earth-brown Schiffchen were replaced by a ubiquitous field-grey version, and the officer's peaked cap also began to be made with a field-grey top.

On 25 February 1938, a new field cap was created for NCOs. It was similar in appearance to the Schirmmütze, but the peak was made of the same cloth material as the top of the cap and there was no chinstrap or crown stiffener. It could be folded for storage in the back-pack or in a tunic pocket, hence its nickname ‘the crusher'. Many NCOs who later became officers continued to wear this very popular cap throughout the war, and some individuals hired private tailors to make variants of it with leather peaks, velvet bands and silk linings. The regulation SS badges in white metal were prescribed for the NCO's field cap, but photographic evidence illustrates a wide variety of insignia, both metal and cloth, being worn with it.

In 1939, a less elaborate version of the field-grey peaked cap was authorised for wear by NCOs in the vicinity of their barracks. It was only after the black uniform had ceased to be worn as walking out dress that other ranks were issued with, or allowed to purchase, the field-grey peaked cap for walking out. It was similar to the officer's Schirmmütze, but had a black leather chinstrap rather than aluminium chincords, and a simple cloth band instead of a velvet one. In June 1939, officers were permitted to purchase a non-regulation white-topped peaked cap for wear with the new summer uniform.

The outbreak of war in September 1939 witnessed the first use by some rear echelon SS units of the so-called Edelstahlhelm, which had previously been issued only to police and firemen and was manufactured from a thin gauge steel. Soon afterwards, following army practice, an inverted chevron or
soutache
of braided piping in the appropriate branch of service colour began to be worn on the front of the other ranks' field cap, above the death's head button, which was thereafter painted field-grey. Armed SS officers still had no regulation field cap of their own, and during the first few months of the war many of them purchased the 1938-model army officer's forage cap and replaced or covered the national cockade with either a metal SS death's head or a small silver one removed from an army panzer collar patch. This obvious shortcoming in SS headgear was remedied in December 1939, however, when a new field cap was authorised specifically for Waffen-SS officers. It was again boat-shaped but did not have a scalloped front, and the side panels were gently sloping in the style of the Luftwaffe Fliegermütze. The top of the flap was piped in aluminium cord, and insignia consisted of the SS eagle and Totenkopf machine-woven in aluminium wire on a black ground. A Waffenfarbe
soutache
was worn over the death's head. All officers were instructed to equip themselves with the new field cap by 1 January 1940.