First Waffen-SS Division Question

[Zeon Elite SS]

Hi i was wondering if anyone could answer this question that has been bugging me out for almost a year now.

why the heck did the First Waffen-SS division LAH have there emblem with a Slanted Key in a shield?

what origin does this symbol come from knowing how the nazis took every kind of reference they found and used it for there own themed ideas?

that questions been bugging me out for a while now because i see the key on the Heineken bottles as well so i am under the assumption it must be a old german tradition in refrence of the Key.

[UWO]

Hi,
the historical chief of the Leibstandarte SS AH is Jozef Dietrich.
It used to call him by the diminutive of his first name to the Bavarian mode: "Sepp".
In German the name Dietrich means "passes-partout" (universal) key.
The (universal) key "passe-partout" becomes the Division tactical insigna.
Regards.
UWO.

[BILL]

Nice answer UWO.

[billmunny]

LAH & the 12th SS

Great answer; and when Sepp Dietrich was awarded his Oakleaves to the Knights Cross, the LAH divisional symbol of the key on the shield gained oakleaves under the shield as well.

On another note, because the 12th SS Division was raised from Hitler Youth who by 1944 at reached age 16 or 17, but built around a cadre of LAH officers and NCOs, the divisional symbol for the 12th SS was likewise the LAH key but with the HJ rune as well.