This is my first post here, and I hope to solve a small mystery... Here's a photo I purchased a while ago. Two friends (or relatives) had their photo taken in a studio in Dürnholz, Czechoslovakia. The town lies in Bohemia, which should place it in Wehrkreis XVII. Going by the uniforms worn by the guys in the pic, it was probably taken sometime between late 1940 (introduction of M40 SS side cap) and mid-1942 (removal of Panzer pink soutache and piping), but it could be later. It has been suggested that the guys in the pic were friends on leave when the photo was taken. Now, the W-SS guy is a bit puzzling: why does he sport an Edelweiss flower (a real one, not a metal or cloth badge) at the very top of his sidecap? If he was a Gebirgsjäger, wouldn't he have worn the Bergmütze instead of the sidecap? Checking those from Dürnholz who fell in W-SS service, there is one Sturmmann Anton Albrecht, born 31 July 1926, and KIA near Wieliszew/Modlin in Poland 19 October 1944. I've tried to find which SS units that fought in that area, and found just "Wiking". Anton couldn't be found on a list of "Wiking" KIA, so right now I'm at a loss... supposing that the guy in the pic is Anton Albrecht, of course (which seems less probable, as he must've joined up in 1943 and been around long enough to earn what appears to be a Wound badge in silver and an EKII before being KIA). Any ideas that can explain the Edelweiss and give a hint towards which division he served in?
Thanks in advance,
Björn
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