The Himmler's SS (50 page)

SS paratroopers entrenched in the defensive positions around Schwedt on the eastern front, February 1945. All wear Luftwaffe Fallschirmjäger helmets, and the men in the foreground have standard Waffen-SS field-grey tunics.

While Waffen-SS troops never served in North Africa, there was a special SS tropical uniform. A number of units, primarily the Leibstandarte, ‘Wiking', ‘Prinz Eugen' and ‘Reichsführer-SS', saw action in the Balkans, southern Russia and Italy, where the sweltering summer conditions made the wearing of conventional uniform items very uncomfortable indeed. The demand for hot weather clothing was usually localised and temporary, however, so the development of a tropical uniform for the Waffen-SS was gradual and on an ad hoc basis.

The first requirement for tropical clothing was voiced in April 1941, during the hastily organised invasion of Greece, but on 15 April Himmler specifically prohibited his officers from using the recently introduced army tropical outfit. Consequently, troops of the Leibstandarte and ‘Reich' completed their race through the country wearing heavy regulation tunics and headgear, which proved far from ideal. Some members took to wearing the basic SS sports kit, comprising vest and shorts, when not engaged in combat, while others went bare-chested. A short-term partial solution was achieved by the issue of German, Italian, Dutch and captured British pith helmets, or Tropenhelme, diverted from the army's 5th Light Division. However, these items were generally unpopular and were not worn in any great numbers. When sported by the SS, they bore no insignia.

During the autumn of 1942, SS-Division ‘Wiking' advanced deep into the Caucasus region and the real need for hot weather clothing again became apparent. Following upon Himmler's prohibition on the wear of the army's olive-green tropical uniform, some ‘Wiking' personnel adopted the Luftwaffe's version instead. It was made from light tan cotton drill and comprised an unlined four-pocket tunic, Schiffchen field cap and baggy trousers. All Luftwaffe insignia were removed and replaced by standard SS badges from the field-grey uniform. On 15 February 1943, SS chevrons in tan-brown on black were created for wear with the tropical tunic by personnel of the ranks of Sturmmann and Rottenführer. At the same time, the use of collar patches with the tropical tunic was forbidden.

In September 1943, a wholly new and, for the first time, formalised Waffen-SS tropical uniform was introduced and distributed on an entire unit basis to the Sturmbrigade ‘Reichsführer-SS' on Corsica. The uniform was a strange hybrid and may, in fact, have been made by converting Italian clothing which had recently been seized by the Germans. The tunic had pleated patch pockets in the army style, was coloured light tan in the Luftwaffe style, and featured a caped effect across the upper section in the Italian Sahariana style, the peaks of the ‘cape' forming the upper pocket flaps. Insignia was officially restricted to shoulder straps, tropical sleeve chevrons and a special tan-brown woven version of the SS arm eagle, but normal collar patches were also occasionally seen. An SS tropical field cap, to accompany the new tunic, was in the same shape as the Einheitsfeldmütze, but without the flaps and buttons. Cut like the SS camouflage field cap, it was again light tan in colour and sported a tan-brown woven eagle and death's head. Photographic evidence suggests that the 1943-pattern Waffen-SS tropical tunic was only ever issued in quantity to the Sturmbrigade ‘Reichsführer-SS', and even then was not worn by members of that formation after they left Corsica to become the nucleus of the 16th SS-Panzergrenadier Division. The Sturmbrigade, a force of around 2,000 men which grew from Himmler's escort battalion, appears to have been chosen to field-test and evaluate the new tunic on an experimental basis. Whether it was reported upon adversely, or whether economies and the lack of tropical campaigns after 1943 dictated that no more stocks of the tunic would be manufactured, is unknown. In any event, it was never issued in large numbers again, although a few jackets were used by officers of the ‘Skanderbeg' Division and by men of the 8th SS-Panzergrenadier Regiment in Greece. The SS tropical field cap, on the other hand, was widely distributed among various units fighting in Italy during 1944–5, and was a popular item of dress.

During the last year of the war, members of SS formations fighting in Italy, Austria and the Balkans reverted to wearing a mixture of Wehrmacht and Italian tropical clothing, as availability and climate dictated. Luftwaffe items were most prized, particularly the tunic and Schiffchen, and the latter could often be seen sporting metal SS badges removed from the peaked cap. Moreover, despite the versatility of the camouflage helmet cover, it was not uncommon for Waffen-SS men to paint their steel helmets sand-yellow while serving in the Mediterranean area.

Various items of protective clothing were widely distributed to Waffen-SS personnel, irrespective of their branch of service. As early as July 1935, the Leibstandarte was issued with an earth-grey double-breasted greatcoat, or Mantel, which bore collar piping and full insignia. This item was superseded by a field-grey version in 1937, and with the military development of the SS-VT and SS-TV there was a tendency to follow closely army greatcoat fashions, which led to the gradual adoption of a dark-green collar and the ad hoc removal of collar patches. By the outbreak of war, the situation as regards greatcoat insignia was muddled and various orders were issued in an attempt to clarify the position. The dark-green collar was officially approved in December 1939, only to be cancelled a few months later. Collar piping for other ranks became obsolete in August 1940, and all surviving examples of the old earth-grey coat were recalled in March 1941. Officers with the rank of SS-Oberführer and above were permitted to wear the greatcoat with the top three buttons undone, in order to expose their distinctive silver-grey lapels, and from 1941 holders of the Knight's Cross or any other neck award were also allowed to do so, for the purpose of displaying their decorations. As the war progressed, many officers countered the declining quality of the issue Mantel by having greatcoats tailor-made to their own specifications. These items incorporated such refinements as removable blanket linings, reinforced buttons, extra pockets and detachable sheepskin or fur collars. The result of all this was that dozens of variations on the basic Waffen-SS greatcoat came to be produced and worn side-by-side, many of them in contravention of regulations. Moreover, a massive version of the Mantel, called the surcoat or Übermantel, was designed to be worn on top of the ordinary greatcoat by drivers of open motor vehicles or those on static sentry duty.

‘Sepp' Dietrich's field-grey leather greatcoat, with SS-Obergruppenführer shoulder straps. It bears the maker's label of ‘Schuchart & Tschach, Dresden'.

A soldier of the 51st (Highland) Division with two Waffen-SS captives in Normandy. The officer in the middle wears the regulation motorcyclist's coat. Note also the unofficial attachment of cords to his ‘crusher' field cap.

Officers had the option of purchasing a field-grey leather greatcoat, but this item was extremely expensive and few subalterns could afford it. There were several variants, both in cut and in the use of insignia. As an alternative to the Ledermantel, many junior officers and NCOs bought the much cheaper 1938-pattern field-grey raincoat, the so-called Regenmantel, made of rubberised cotton twill with a leather-like appearance. Others used the regulation motorcyclist's coat, or Kradschutzmantel, which was first introduced for army despatch riders and eventually came to be widely worn by a variety of Wehrmacht, Waffen-SS and police personnel during inclement weather. Early examples had a dark-green cloth collar, but after 1940 the whole coat was made from rubberised fabric. The skirt could be divided and buttoned around the legs for ease of use on the motorcycle.

Following the disastrous winter campaign of 1941–2, when no adequate warm clothing was provided for German soldiers fighting on the Russian front, preparations were made to design and supply appropriate uniform items with a view to averting a similar crisis. Various fur, sheepskin and lambswool waistcoats and caps were issued in the short term, and snow anoraks originally intended for mountain troops in Norway were diverted and shipped east. Wherever shortages were still apparent, captured Soviet winter clothing was issued, augmented by civilian items collected in Germany. Throughout 1942, the Waffen-SS developed its own winter combat uniform, or Winter-Sonderbekleidung, independent of the Wehrmacht. It consisted of a heavy, fur-lined parka-type coat in a waterproof cement-grey gabardine, with matching overtrousers. When snow lay on the ground, an undyed white cotton hooded smock and trousers were issued. These were designed to be worn on top of the parka and overtrousers and were readily washable. At the end of the year, a padded reversible parka in a waterproof rayon, white on one side and tan or reed-green on the other, was distributed for use as a windcheater.

The definitive Waffen-SS winter uniform did not enter service until 1943–4, and comprised a hood, jacket, trousers and mittens all made from two layers of windproof material with a wool-rayon interlining. The whole outfit was reversible, being white on one side and SS autumn camouflage on the other, and was designed to be worn over the normal field uniform. The white side tended to get filthy very quickly, which defeated its purpose, so troops were ordered to wear the uniform with the camouflage side out unless they were actually fighting in snow-covered terrain. During 1944, a small number of similar garments were made utilising stocks of captured Italian camouflage material. The manufacture of fur-lined items for the Waffen-SS was generally undertaken by the Ostindustrie GmbH, and was a speciality of the SS-Bekleidungswerke in the Lublin area, primarily at the Poniatowa and Trawniki labour camps. Fur garments removed from concentration camp inmates throughout the Reich were ordered to be collected and forwarded to Lublin for reprocessing. It is a sad fact that many Waffen-SS soldiers wore winter uniforms lined with fox-furs and stoles taken from old women who had died at Auschwitz, Majdanek, Sobibor and Treblinka.

Totenkopf troops in Kharkov, March 1943. The tank commander (whose cap's death's head has almost fallen off!) sports an unofficial sheepskin waistcoat, while his colleagues have been issued with the fur-lined cement-grey parka.

Away from the front line, the basic SS sports kit comprised a white vest, black shorts, white socks and black shoes. The front of the vest bore a large black woven badge featuring the SS runes within a circle. A black vest with reverse insignia colours was also available as an alternative for wear during team events where the opponents would be in white. Members of the Leibstandarte had their own shield-shaped sports vest badge, comprising an eagle's head surmounted by the ‘LAH' monogram. A two-piece black tracksuit with white SS runes was issued for ‘warming up' exercises, while SS fencers had silver runes within a black diamond stitched to the upper left sleeve of the padded fencing jacket. Sportswear was not generally issued to the Waffen-SS after 1941, for reasons of economy, and was thereafter reserved for members of sports teams and for wounded soldiers engaged in exercises and physiotherapy associated with their recuperation.