Hello everyone,
I'd like to share this item with the community before passing it on to another collector, as the Waffen-SS isn't my area of expertise.
I hope you will not consider it to be in bad style that, in view of this planned sale, I'll be showing a selection of pages and only a few high-res scans.
The item in question is a copy of the famous illustrated book "Waffen-SS im Westen" by SS-Kriegsberichter Zschäckel, published by Eher in 1941. This particular copy was presented to a member of Regiment Germania by one of his comrades. The recipient had the book re-bound with additional pages to accommodate photos, thus turning the book into a photo album. The photos are a mixture of private snapshots and PK photographs. Most have been trimmed, and all have been glued into the album. There are 56 photos all told.
I haven't attempted to establish the man's name, but I'm sure that he is easily researchable. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if someone on this forum can identify him right away
Most of the pages have some text in light pencil, but it is in a rather terrible scrawl.
The facts that I as a layman can deduce are that our man was trained at SS-Kaserne Hamburg-Langenhorn, that he was in Holland and then saw action in Russia in a grenade launcher unit. He was trained as an officer at SS-Junkerschule Braunschweig before returning to the southern area of the Eastern Front as a battalion adjutant of SS-Regiment Germania. There are a number of photos from 1943 showing high-ranking officers of 5. SS-Pz.Div. Wiking, especially of the commander of Regiment Germania, Oberführer Jürgen Wagner, and battalion commanders from "Westland" (Dieckmann and Ziemssen). Our man later seems to again have been involved with the Junkerschulen, apparently as an instructor (SS-Junkerschule Klagenfurt and Posen-Treskau). His final rank as seen on the photos was Untersturmführer, with the last photos likely dating from mid-1944.
If you can share any information on the places or individuals shown, please do!
Enjoy!
Alexander
I'd like to share this item with the community before passing it on to another collector, as the Waffen-SS isn't my area of expertise.
I hope you will not consider it to be in bad style that, in view of this planned sale, I'll be showing a selection of pages and only a few high-res scans.
The item in question is a copy of the famous illustrated book "Waffen-SS im Westen" by SS-Kriegsberichter Zschäckel, published by Eher in 1941. This particular copy was presented to a member of Regiment Germania by one of his comrades. The recipient had the book re-bound with additional pages to accommodate photos, thus turning the book into a photo album. The photos are a mixture of private snapshots and PK photographs. Most have been trimmed, and all have been glued into the album. There are 56 photos all told.
I haven't attempted to establish the man's name, but I'm sure that he is easily researchable. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if someone on this forum can identify him right away
Most of the pages have some text in light pencil, but it is in a rather terrible scrawl.
The facts that I as a layman can deduce are that our man was trained at SS-Kaserne Hamburg-Langenhorn, that he was in Holland and then saw action in Russia in a grenade launcher unit. He was trained as an officer at SS-Junkerschule Braunschweig before returning to the southern area of the Eastern Front as a battalion adjutant of SS-Regiment Germania. There are a number of photos from 1943 showing high-ranking officers of 5. SS-Pz.Div. Wiking, especially of the commander of Regiment Germania, Oberführer Jürgen Wagner, and battalion commanders from "Westland" (Dieckmann and Ziemssen). Our man later seems to again have been involved with the Junkerschulen, apparently as an instructor (SS-Junkerschule Klagenfurt and Posen-Treskau). His final rank as seen on the photos was Untersturmführer, with the last photos likely dating from mid-1944.
If you can share any information on the places or individuals shown, please do!
Enjoy!
Alexander
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