GAU ESSEN, Large swastika, Croatian, Rumanian Buckles: SS Related ?

[Vlad]

I think it a fake

[Marc verstraete]

Fake But nice patina

Marc

[Garth Thompson]

Thanks guys, my suspicians are confirmed.

Garth

[Ross Wozniak]

gau essen

Hi Guy's,

This weekend I picked up a Gau Essen buckle. I came to the forum to find out more about it. I have looked through many threads with much debate and some heated arguments about this buckle and I still don't know much about it.

Anyway I have a steel painted Gau Essen buckle with no makers mark. The buckle has wear and rust on it. Some of the forums I read said that none of these have been issued.

After reading other posts and looking around online, I think mine is probably fake. I have seen many web sites selling repros of these.
Anyway, is it possible to have a real steel painted (dark grey green) Gau essen buckle. Sorry no pic, the wife is on vacation with the digital camera.

Does anyone know definitively what they were for and who used them?

Thanks

[David North]

Wonderful that no one has mentioned SS on this post.

The Gau Essen is now a common fake, although the reoccurring features on the fake, of a steel (rather than nickle silver) box and a straight (rather than angled) catch.

The very limited number of Gau Essen buckles that I have seen, all appear to have exactly the same features.

I am somewhat unsure if anybody actually knows who made them, what their exact commission instruction was and indeed, if ever worn and by whom.

Original Gau Essen attached for a comparison.

Regards,

David

[David North]

02

[Ross Wozniak]

thanks for the info

Thanks for the info and the pic. From your description mine is definitely fake. "Straight catch and steel box". I'm glad I did not pay much. I thought it was cheep enough it would be a good buy if real and not a terrible waste if fake. So I took the chance. Unfortunately when I see things for sale I do not have the forum in my back pocket as a reference. And I am not an expert at any third reich items so unless I buy from someone I trust, or go home research and then go back for the item I am always taking a chance. I have not done too bad. Not too many fakes.

[Zeller]

interesting thread indeed. Pity not to revamp it
I read interesting points of view on the croatian volksdeutsch buckle, but where are the pics of it worn? anyone could post the images from Jahrbuch der Deutschen Volksgruppe in Kroatien???
thanks

[Wickie]

The buckle is not shown in the year book of the Volksdeutschen in Croatia. There is just a description of the uniforms and insiginas of the "Einsatzstaffel der Deutschen Mannschaft". Everything the book tells is that the belt was black and the buckle was white aluminium colored. No information about the design of the buckle.
But I'm sure the buckle shown by Marc is good and I think it was just worn by the Einsatzstaffel.

Other "Volksdeutsche" in Croatia wore several kind buckles, most of the times with old Germanic runes like the "Tyr" or "Odal" rune.

Christian

[Tommaso]

Deutsche Einsatzstaffel in Kroatien have with the SS-Selbschutz were the first units employeed to build up the 7th Prinz Eugen just at first, infact most of the DEK were disbanded in 1943-44 and the oldest people of that unit were resettled back in Germany and Austria.
The area were most of this unit guy were recruited was called "Berg Tirol" since most of the people over there was resettled under the Austro-Ungarn empire from Tyrol and Bayern, due to that maybe we can explain the use of that motto.

Cheers
T

[buckle1]

Sorry, it is a reproduction buckle.

Bill

[gebirgsmarine]

and here an croatia beltbuckle in Alu

Its an beautiful Ground Found!<div align="center"><p><img src="http://cdn03.trixum.de/upload2/104600/104425/3/38608349faaee1a96a9ba408b177249eb.jpg" /></p><p><img src="http://cdn03.trixum.de/upload2/104600/104425/1/15bfc5395169a1880f91c818563edbcd9.jpg" /></p><p><img src="http://cdn03.trixum.de/upload2/104600/104425/5/52ed26a5dc7a1def711ffabe39f4dbda7.jpg" /></p></div>

[Dan88]

Hello fellow collectors,

I made two major acquisitions last week; one of them is the Croatian (SS) EM buckle.

I did some research and this buckle belongs to the “Action detachment of the German troops in Croatia” (1941-1943) later becoming part of the SS Prinz Eugen Gebirgs division, (7th Waffen SS division.)

I have rarely encountered this buckle and have been looking for one for a long time.
Only Catella speaks about this piece in his book. None of the other authors mentions this item.
No written op photography document are know at this time
Any information is welcome as are pictures of other specimens known.

Marc V.

Hello Marc, I happen to have an officers variant of this ES buckle.