Heer Officer Tunic

[Johnny R]

Look inside the sleeve for stitching traces. So far all I see is popcorn and wishful thinking.

[NickG]

If he was German I do not think he would wear the shield but you have better martinis in California then we do in the Midwest. You are cropping the book page as well. It says he reported that "the medical officers found that. . ." not that he was in the unit.

Who knows...? Germans in other "legions" did adopt those shields to show unit kinship and loyalty...(example: "Freies Indien" German Cadre)
but I really don't know....
If it is the same officer (same name) the text partially reads:
(Offizier) Benno Derda berichtet, daß die Offiziere, namentlich die Sanitätsoffiziere der spanischen Freiwilligen „meist tief gläubige Männer" waren...
So he was certainly embedded with them otherwise he would not have had such intimate first hand knowledge!
Who knows? Let's wait for the book to arrive... Just wanted to show a possible ghost on the sleeve...but maybe it is a little bit of wishful thinking too!
To be continued!

[NickG]

Lets try under different lighting conditions...Note areas A + B
First the shoulder area...(protected wool and unprotected wool...)

[NickG]

Now the left sleeve again areas A + B comparison...
Am I trying too hard?

Look inside the sleeve for stitching traces.

Btw no traces of stitching inside the sleeve liner,,,so if it was there is was stitched to the woolen shell only...

[Johnny R]

Looks like you created an indentation that cast a little shade over the area where you want us to see a patch ghost.

[NickG]

Nope nothing manipulated...
Here is a picture of the tunic when it was NOT (yet) in my possession...
Still shows the wrong rank insignia and collar tabs stitched on incorrectly!

[NickG]

Well its coming together nicely...a re-restoration...a "Leutnant Infanterie"
Now with the proper rank and waffenfarbe, no more reserve status! (1943!!)
Tabs mounted in the right angle parallel with the upper edge of the collar.

[NickG]

Shown here with an old transitional infantry visor + with a later war time visor,
much more appropriate for this 1943 dated tunic. Still working on a possible Azul Div. link!

[NickG]

Two more! Happy with the result!

[NickG]

The book came in...
It was a long shot and the chances of it being a match were slim and Johnny was right about that!
Benno Derda, the soldier who was in contact with the Spanish Azul Division troops, was a medical NCO. No match...
I was hoping he was a German-Spanish translator imbedded with the Spaniards...alas no cigar...not a Leutnant Dolmetscher...
He worked at an aid station where he was in contact with Azul troops in Krasnogwordeisk, Hauptverbandplatz (1942)
Coincidently this NCO with the same name as my tag (besides his medical skills) was actually a Dolmetscher (interpretor) in German-Russian...
He was later evacuated from Kurland Kessel and ended up in Pomerania (Pommern) in 1945 with end rank Sanitatsfeldwebel... surviving the war, so no match....

I will try Deutschen Dienststelle (WASt) to find out more.