Totenkopf ring shrine

[JC620]

Official SS statistics show that during its 10 year life, approximately 14,500 rings were presented. By January 1st, 1945, 64 percent had been returned to the shrine, 26 percent were in the procession of their holders, and 10 percent had been lost in the battlefield. This means that a little over 3,500 rings were in circulation outside the shrine at the end of the war. In the Spring of 1945, with the Wehrmacht in full retreat, Himmler ordered that the rings cared for in the Shrine be blast sealed into the side of a mountain near Wewelsburg, in order to prevent their capture by the Allies. To this day, they remain undiscovered.

Anyone know any info on this?

[Rylan]

Wish I knew more... All I know is I want to be the first one to find it!

I have always been facinated by the thought that there are thousands of SS Honor rings hidden away somewhere. I wonder if there have ever been any serious search attempts for the rings.

[JC620]

wewelsburg is an area full of salt mines

[Robin Lumsden]

See here................

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...ad.php?t=58958

[phild]

Official SS statistics show that during its 10 year life, approximately 14,500 rings were presented. By January 1st, 1945, 64 percent had been returned to the shrine, 26 percent were in the procession of their holders, and 10 percent had been lost in the battlefield. This means that a little over 3,500 rings were in circulation outside the shrine at the end of the war. In the Spring of 1945, with the Wehrmacht in full retreat, Himmler ordered that the rings cared for in the Shrine be blast sealed into the side of a mountain near Wewelsburg, in order to prevent their capture by the Allies. To this day, they remain undiscovered.

Anyone know any info on this?

Im not convinced that several of your main statements are true and if they are I would be curious to know how they are documented or otherwise backed up.

First, I do not read or understand the RFSS report of Jan 45 to state that 64% of all rings awarded had been returned to Wewelsburg but rather that they had been accounted for, and that is a big difference.

Second, I have seen nothing other than a attribution to a rather vague statement credited to Hans Macher were he stated that he blased the rings at the castle into a mountain near Wewelsburg (except the 100 or so found by Black's company). Macher may or may not have said that and if so he may or may not have been telling the truth.

I do believe that the numbers of these rings that have been forever lost is very high.

I can not say that your statements are wrong, I am just saying that I have not seen the evidence and frankly I very much doubt that that it would have possible to collect thousands and thousands of these rings from W-SS between the "turn in" order and the Jan.45 status report....

[JC620]

you are right phild, knowone can know for sure. please see robins thread

[phild]

you are right phild, knowone can know for sure. please see robins thread

I don't think that the thread in the above link sheds any new information on what happened to the returned rings much less how many of the 20k of so awarded rings were actullay returned to the castle.

My feeling is that the number of rings actually at the castle in 1945 were several thousand and not more than that. I base this on my reading of the early 1945 SS report on the status of the awarded rings. I also have the feeling that if these rings were disposed of or hidden by Macher, they are much too deep to ever be found by a metal detector as they would have almost had to have been tossed in a mine shaft of some type or natural crevice and then could have been buried by blasting the entrance...these things could be dozens or even hundreds of feet underground. I do no that it would have taken a truck load of explosives to have blasted a hillside down on them or some such non-sense and they did not have that by all accounts nor did they have the time.....they could not even burn down the castle!

[equirhodont]

I base this on my reading of the early 1945 SS report on the status of the awarded rings.

Where I can find this report, please?
Thanks,
Martin

[Reichskanzler]

Where I can find this report, please?
Thanks,
Martin

I too would love to take a look at this report if anyone else knows about it.