SEPP DIETRICH portrait: Wartime ?

[markus]

Dear friends,

I'm looking forward to purchasing the below portrait photo of Sepp Dietrich and am not really sure about it being pre-May 1945.

Can anyone with more experience pls help me.

The size of this portrait is 30 x 24 cm.

On the reverse someone wrote with a pencil: "Gauleiter of Köln"

The stamp on the lower left corner reads:

NACHDRUCK JEDER ART VERBOTEN
ALLEINHERSTELLER
PHOTO-HOFFMANN
MÜNCHEN, FRIEDRICHSTRASSE
VERLAGSNUMMER 1556


Thank you in advance!

Markus

[markus]

More detail

[markus]

Backside

[Br. James]

Hi Markus,

According to the rubber-stamping on the reverse of the photo, this portrait print was produced by the Heinrich Hoffmann Studio located at Friedrichstrasse 34 in Munich, and as far as I am aware, Hoffmann's career as a professional photographer ended in May of 1945 and he did not return to that profession after his release from prison in 1950...at least not at that address! So, unless someone came into possession of a rubber stamp made for the Hoffmann Studio and sought to mislead by using it to suggest false provenance to post-war photographs, this photo would appear to be produced during the TR period.

As I'm sure you know, this photo of Sepp Dietrich was taken shortly after his promotion to Panzer General of the Waffen-SS on October 1, 1941 as he is wearing the collar tabs of an SS-Obergruppenführer according to the regulations of 1942-45. He held the rank of SS-Obergruppenführer from July 1, 1934 -- which he received as a "thank-you" from Hitler for his participation in the Röhm Putsch.

Hope this response is helpful to you.

Br. James

[markus]

Thank you Br. James for your contribution and insight.

Is this Hoffmann stamp a known pattern or could it be
generic in the worst case?

Myself, I think the photo is 100 pct wartime, but the way
this hobby is going I prefer to listen to other collectors'
opinions which I appreciate very much.

Markus

[Br. James]

One further comment, Markus: I'm not sure what the presence of the penciled phrase, "Gauleiter of Köln," may mean as it is a composite of German and English! The German title would be: "Gauleiter von Köln"...? My first thought was that this photo was intended by Dietrich to be personalized to Gauleiter Josef Grohé of Cologne and presented to him as a gift, but the presence of this German/English phrase has me wondering whether perhaps this photo was originally 'liberated' from Grohé's office or home and the Allied soldier wrote a note to recall where he found it?! Confusing...!

Br. James

[Br. James]

Thank you, Markus; my pleasure! The rubber-stamping looks correct for the period to me, as one which would have been made for and used by Hoffmann Studio during the TR era. But I'm sure there are colleagues here who have studied Hoffmann's work much more closely than I have and hopefully we will read their responses soon.

Best regards,

Br. James

[markus]

Yes, the whole 'HOFFMANN' topic is a collecting field of its own, I have heared.

It would be nice to hear from other knowledgeable collectors what their
opinion is.

Thanks!

[randy@treadways]

Hoffmann sold many prints and other items, not just postcards, and for larger prints a rubber stamped attribution on the back is not uncommon.

1556 is the correct stock number for the Dietrich photo. (postcards exist, numbered 1556, which use the same photo)

Friedrichstr. was the final Munich location for the Hoffmann studio (starting around 1937 or so), after previous stops at Schellingstr., Amalienstr., and Theresienstr.

It looks okay to me.

Penciled notes like the Gauleiter note are common postwar notes by collectors and dealers on genuine pre-1945 paper items like photos and postcards. One of the owners or sellers of this photo over the years must have been English-speaking. In my own collection I often get out a 'clean' eraser and just erase away notes like that (probably a "sin" to purists just in case Dietrich wrote it himself- but hey, it's *my* collection--- LOL ) Same thing with pencilled notes in the corner about value in DM or Euros or $$ or pounds- obviously just postwar collector notes.

[markus]

Hi Randy-

Thank you very much for the info. Also with regards to the stock
number which apparently matches the Dietrich postcards.

I'm sure the photo will make a nice contribution to my LAH gallery.

Thank you very much!

Markus

[Spanish Freiwillige]

So far it sounds like a nice TR photo, I really like the detail of Sepps regalia, and detail of his uniform and cap, yet Sepp should get more slip before photo shoots......

[randy@treadways]

I checked in my collection, and my Hoffmann postcard 1556 is *not* the same photo... but it is Sepp Dietrich. Hoffmann did this often- keeping the same stock number but replacing the image with a newer view of the same person from time to time. Military promotions were a good reason for a new picture, when they could get the person into the studio during a home leave.

[markus]

Beautiful card Randy and thanks for posting. Very interesting. I actually learnt something again today.

[randy@treadways]

Your photo must be later than my postcard, because Dietrich is wearing the Swords, and it looks like a higher rank on his collar tabs.

[Br. James]

Thanks, Randy, for prompting me to go back and check further! In Markus' photo, the latest-received promotion or decoration Dietrich is wearing is the Swords to his KC which he received on March 16, 1943. He was the 26th recipient of this high award. In Markus' photo he also wears the uniform (collar tabs and boards) of an SS-Obergruppenführer, which he had been promoted to on July 1, 1934, and at the time of the award of the Swords he had already held the rank of Panzer General of the Waffen-SS since October 1, 1941. Dietrich would receive two more promotions and one further high decoration before the end of the war, but they all would come after the time of Markus' photo: on August 1, 1944 he was promoted to SS-Oberst-Gruppenführer and that would bring him the collar tabs with the three pips along the leading edge instead of the two pips he wears in Markus' photo, and also three pips on his shoulderboards, again instead of the two in this photo. On that same date -- August 1, 1944 -- Sepp Dietrich was also promoted to the rank of Panzer Generaloberst of the Waffen-SS, and this promotion was awarded retrospectively as of April 20, 1942, though this rank would include no physical indication on his uniform -- but a very nice pay increase retroactive for the previous two and one-third years! And lastly, on August 6, 1944 Dietrich would receive the Diamonds to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords, the 16th recipient of this highest award grade of the Knight's Cross.

Therefore, IMHO, Markus' photo is most probably of SS-Obergruppenführer Sepp Dietrich as he appeared on the occasion of his receipt of the Swords to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves in mid-March of 1943.

Br. James