The Himmler's SS (60 page)
Authors: Robert Ferguson
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Death's heads were not worn solely by the SS during the Third Reich. The Prussian style on the left was used by the army's 5th Cavalry Regiment, while the Brunswick pattern, right, was sported by members of the 17th Infantry Regiment. Panzer units, the Naval Kustenschütz Danzig and the Luftwaffe's Schleppgruppe 4 and Kampfgruppe 54 all chose the Totenkopf as their distinctive emblem.
An Austrian 1916-pattern steel helmet with hand-painted death's head, as worn by various Freikorps formations
c
. 1919â20.
Himmler prized the plain and simple Blutorden, or Blood Order, above all his other decorations. This medal, also known as the 'Ehrenzeichen vom 9. November 1923', recognised NSDAP members who had participated in the Beer Hall putsch or rendered outstanding services to the Nazi party during its formative years. The award became steeped in a deliberately cultivated mystique which guaranteed the wearer special privileges wherever he went.
Black service uniform as worn by an SS-Oberscharführer in the 12th Sturm, 3rd Sturmbann, 88th SS Fuss-Standarte (Bremen),
c
. 1935. The âswallow's nests' at the shoulders denote his position as a member of the unit's drum corps, and his decorations, including the Turkish War Star, indicate extensive First World War service.
The SS newspaper
Das Schwarze Korps
alongside copies of
FM-Zeitschrift
, the magazine for SS Patron Members, and
Storm SS
, the periodical of the Germanic-SS in the Netherlands.
The 1936-pattern SS chained dagger was an ornate item of dress weaponry, and is depicted here alongside the 1933-pattern with hanging strap. Every facet of their design harked back to the medieval and Dark Age Germanic past.
The SS death's head ring. This particular example was awarded to SS-Hauptsturmführer Kurt Taschner on 9 November 1942. Taschner, an administrative officer in both the Allgemeine-SS and the Waffen-SS, served at various times in the 61st SS Fuss-Standarte (Allenstein), the 11th SS-Totenkopf Regiment, âDas Reich', âDeutschland', the WVHA and finally the Latvian SS Brigade.
Three unofficial rings, bearing death's heads and runes. These were popular among SS officers and men, and are known to have been manufactured to order by concentration camp inmates who were jewellers by trade.