Reichsleiter Collar Tabs

[Ammersee]

This pair of Reichsleiter collar tabs were once worn by Walter Buch. He was an SS Obergrüppenführer, Reichsleiter and Chief Justice of the Nazi Party Court. My grandfather found, I believe by chance, Buch's cabin on Lake Ammersee while moving SE around the Munich area with the 3rd Army in the spring of 1945. He obtained a small collection of various items from the cabin, which he gave me in 1965.

The gold bullion thread on these tabs have long ago oxidized to a dark brown color. I blame it on the fact my grandfather lived in Miami Florida and I think the high humidity got to them. They've been brown for the 42 yrs I've owned them.

I'm not really a collector, and I'm sure these tabs are the rarest, most pricey items I will ever own. Thanks Gramps. Ammersee

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[CLENTER]

Ref:collar Tabs

RARE AND BEAUTIFUL!!!!

[crowback]

Tabs

Outstanding.

[Bill D.]

Really spectacular!

What other items did he bring back?

[Ammersee]

Hello Bill D. I have some of the insignia from one of his SS uniform, a few medals and pins that are broken. The pins on the back are broken and likely discards, but important to me none the less. Several small denomination pre-WW1 silver coins. A mint red wool armband. The standard one, not the SS.
I also have one of Buch's photo albums, which is pretty interesting.

One thing he brought back that I don't have and that came from the cabin was a US .45 Auto that was evidently a German battlefield pickup in WW1. (Buch was in the 114th Inf in WW1) The pistol was taken back to Germany and oak leaf engraved and fitted with ivories sometime after WW1. Since it was still marked "US Property", my grandfather had to sneak it back, broken in two parts and taped to his ankles. The photo album also had to be sneaked in as he was told the National Archives confiscated them upon reentry. He had the .45 taped to his ankles and the photo album taped to his chest.
When he got back to Chicago in '46, he sold the .45 on Maxwell St. (flea markets and fences for stolen goods. It's closed down now.) for $300. That was the money he used to get a car and apartment so he could get a job. I never saw the gun, but I can imagine what it was like. And, I would imagine it is in some advanced Colt collection today.

I asked my grandfather, now deceased, many times for more information on that cabin and of his war experiences in general. He was just not forthcoming with any except the bare details, and all well sanitized. Ammersee.

[Jerry45]

Tabs

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[Ammersee]

Thanks Jerry. And you are correct. Lucky. No skill involved. The congratulations should go to my grandfather, although he was just damned lucky too!
Here's a pic from Buch's album showing him in his Reichsleiter capacity. He is meeting (readartying) with the Japanese ambassador and Obergrüppenführer Werner Lorenz. You can see on Buch's jacket the Reichsleiter collar tab, a KVK 1st class w/o swords, a golden party badge, 1914 EK1, and a rare golden HJ "Ehrenzeichen mit Eichenlaub". That armband isn't bad either. Ammersee

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