Q62 SS M40 9th SS Hohenstaufen

[Gran Sasso]

The latest german phonebook lists 7 "Bernhard Melzer". 2 could be taken of the list (wrong second names), so only 5 left. Only 1 from east germany.

[CPB]

Thanks for looking him up.

Are these all listed as "Bernhard Siegfried Melzer"?

I'm kind of reluctant to follow up on this as the last thing he'd want is a call like that out of the blue. I think a lot of SS men are somewhat reluctant to talk to strangers. Understandably. But if anyone can do this sensitively or has done this before, then by all means go ahead. It would certainly be quite something.

[Jean-Loup]

I think a phone call isnt the best idea in this case, for the reasons you stated, as well as because the chances that one of these are the right man are rather slim.
You could however send letters to them, which is a less agressive approach than phoning, and has a better chance for a positive result if you do reach the right men.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Phone Call

I am with Jean that a phone call is a really bad idea...I can hear the call already..

Hey, I am some Nutjob from the USA and I found your SS Helmet and thought I would call you to see if you remember owning it and where you left it last, you want me to send you a picture of it? It has big SS Runes on it. No, I am pretty sure talking to me won't land you in Stadelheim Prison like that other 90 year old. And by the way, what Hair Tonic did you use during the War, I am trying to narrow this down....

Yes, a subtle Letter from a Military Researcher that mentions the helmet and never says SS is the way to go, you can even say the Unit Name Hohenstaufen and it would probably be okay.

[CPB]

An update on this. I tracked him down to Berlin but he passed away February 2011. Too bad.

[Jean-Loup]

It is really frusterating when you find out such a person died so recently before you tried contacting him.
Did he have any kids you could send you a photo of him?

[Paul M]

Chris,
Great job on the research, I am glad it worked out for you!
Paul

[A c h t u n g !]

I have just received the research findings for a helmet I picked up earlier this year.

It came out of the woodwork just recently – from a 325GIR 82nd Airborne guy. All he said was that he picked it up in Nijmegen. His unit fought there during Operation Market Garden. The only SS units that fought in Nijmegen were the 9th and 10th SS. The helmet is named and no research had ever been done on it. That was all I had to go on.

I asked Mike Constandy to take a look and, some months later, he's pretty certain the helmet belonged to Bernhard-Siegfried Melzer. Melzer fought with the 9th SS during that time, had the same rank - plus he is the only guy in the 9th or 10th that matches.

On closer inspection of the the paperwork, his head measurement was "54" which would equate to a size 62 helmet shell - which this is.

Melzer survived the war by all accounts and, if alive, would be 87. He was from Dresden.

Enjoy!

Very nice combat helmet. Worn with patina and that dull apearance, just the way I like them. Congrats! and thank you for sharing.

[CPB]

Thanks for the comments. I'm doing what I can to reach any relatives but it's near impossible to do this in Germany.

There is more to this story which I'll add at some point. In a nutshell, I think Melzer may have fought with Kampfgruppe Euling in the defence of Nijmegen - but more on this later.

Cheers for now.

Chris

[cobra-2001]

helmet

NIce lid for sure.Hope you can reach him .

[AndyC]

Great story and helmet find



Andy