SS knight Cross also Estonia ID needed

[gnadenlose]

Riipalu's name at birth was actually Reibach, which may indicate that he was or was viewed as a Volksdeutscher.

A lot of Estonians had German names before they changed them to Estonian ones in 1930-ies, so that is not the case here.

[Paul E]

Thanks Paul, I checked that last night too and no Party number and no SS number. It is still a mystery as to why Riipalu wore the runes on his tunic and is likely to remain so

It appears that it was a" trendy" thing to do within the Estonian SS Units especially the Frontkampfer as per the period photos and the above comments, i don't think there is anything else to read into him wearing them than that

[Ljotrulf]

Riipalu

It appears that it was a" trendy" thing to do within the Estonian SS Units especially the Frontkampfer as per the period photos and the above comments, i don't think there is anything else to read into him wearing them than that

I think you are probably right Paul since strict adherance to dress regulations was not a strong point in the Waffen-SS especially on the front line.

[109]

reply

Hi Kass, can you make room in your message inbox? It is full and I cannot send you any messages at the moment because of that.
Thanks
Mac

[MarcRikmenspoel]

Some more information has emerged since the previous posts on this topic. As I've mentioned elsewhere, the SS carried out its own foreign policy, separate from that of the official German Foreign Ministry. As part of that, the SS intended to set up a confederation of Nordic states, with the cooperation the Germanic-SS in those countries. By mid-1944, they had decided that Estonia and Latvia were worthy of joining this prospective union. This was a complete change from Nazi intentions in 1941, which had been for the eventual displacement of the Baltic populations, with the emptied territories being resettled by Germans (and with the Baltic-German minority remaining in place).

By the time this SS policy was decided upon, the Estonian and Latvian Waffen-SS military leadership realized that SS patronage was the only friend they had. The Soviets wanted to re-occupy their countries. The British, who had aided them after World War 1, were allied with the Soviet Union and would not be helping a second time. The Americans and French were in league with the British and Soviets. But the German SS valued the military contribution of the Balts, and now sought political cooperation. The staffs around Soodla (Estonia) and Bangerskis (Latvia) accepted this, as the SS was supplying their men with weapons and training, and offering the only bit of self-determination being offered. It wasn't true independence, but it was to be a degree of respect as a state in the greater Nordic Union of the SS, with status equal to, for example, the Netherlands and Norway.

Riipalu was very active in this decision to cooperate with the SS, and I now believe his wearing of the runes was reflective of this.