von Stolz - Wiking?

[Jommeke]

Hello

I got this enveloppe with 5 pics and on there is written: "Reg. Komm. von Stolz?"

Looking for more information on the net i came across this information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_von_Scholz

So now i'm wondering if this is indeed the regiment commander of Nordland.

I really like the last pic: both commanders having a "meeting" in a shallow foxhole.
Who ever said KC wearing generals didn't get dirty, are contradicted here.

KR

J

[Jommeke]

PS Forgot to say the pics are printed on Agfa Brovira paper (no lines).

[Jommeke]

[Ruslan M]

Hi,

It's not Fritz von Scholz, but future SS - Obergruppenführer Arthur Phleps. He was commander of SS regiment "Westland" after the death of Staf. Wäckerle. And KC general on the fifth pic it's most likely GdK Eberhard von Mackensen commander of III. Armeekorps (mot.). And one more thought, smiling general on the second pic it's maybe GL Friedrich - Georg Eberhardt commander of 60. Infanterie-Division (mot) which also was part of III. AK. All pics from summer - autumn 1941.

Best wishes
Ruslan

[Jommeke]

Thank you very much, Ruslan!
You are right. I just did a search and found this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artur_Phleps

And there was one line that was very interesting:
"In 1941, Phleps decided to enlist into the German Army. Under his mother's maiden name Stolz, he joined the staff of the 5. SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Wiking. "

So the information on the envelop was quiet correct.
I'm glad you gave me his correct name so i can add the full story to these pictures.

KR


J

[MarcRikmenspoel]

Phleps was a Siebenbürgen (Transylvania) German. He was a career Habsburg KuK officer. He became a Romanian citizen after WW1, when his homeland passed to Romania, but he didn't get along well with ethnic-Romanian Vlachs. The Romanian state needed him for his talents, so he made a second career in the Romanian Army, but he finally left for Germany in 1940 when Romania was in disarray following the Vienna Awards. The Romanians wouldn't have been happy to see Phleps turn up as a German soldier, and Germany was courting the good will of Antonescu's new regime from mid-1940 onward.

All of this led to Phleps going slightly undercover, and joining the Waffen-SS under the name Stolz. By 1942, Romania was so firmly in the German camp that Phleps could operate openly under his real name.

There were similar cases with men from other countries. Switzerland didn't want its professional officers joining the German military, and some Swiss served in the Waffen-SS under assumed names to throw Swiss authorities off their track and to avoid antagonizing them. The most famous example was Euren Corrodi, who served in the Waffen-SS under the name von Elfenau.

[Jommeke]

Thank you MarcRik.
New info for me.

KR

J