SS Panzer M43 Cap From Hannahs Reich

[Gary Wood]

Hummel figurines.

OK what are they?, really do not know can someone post one or two?
cheers
Gary

[Anders S]

Here.

[Anders S]

[Bobwirtz]

...

[Scott A. Hess]

YOU can also collect "Hutschreuther" german porcelain figurenes, they look almost identical to the SS allach, wonderful pieces pre, during and post war, my sister and I collect those too, very nice items!

[davidSW]

The Hummel figures look very nice, its strange that only a few months before the world let the german prisoners make Allach for the germans to celibtrate its 1000 year project.

Still nice and more intersting than the origon of this thread .

[TonyS]

Tony you may be interested to learn that the profits from the sale of the very successful porcelain Hummel figures were used to provide funds for German children orphaned as a result of World War Two.

Many of these children were from former SS families. Their fathers had been killed in the war or were prisoner of war. Sadly in some cases their mothers meet some particularly nasty fates because of their association and connection with the SS. All of the conquering powers of Nazi Germany declared the SS illegal and condemned their families to hell. Some individuals went out of their way to avenge what the SS had done in the worst possible ways for example Czechoslovakia late 1945 and well into the early 1950's.

so these little "cutsey" Hummel figures may have been one of the few rays of hope and source of funds that the off-spring of the elite of the thousand year reich may have had help from in a post May-45 world.

Another thing, is the fact that some Allied soldiers chose to bring home Hummels figures from the occupation of Germany along with the war booty. This is what created interested esp. in the USA and export orders for a new West Germany.

In a funny or cutsey sort of way Hummel's have a place in the history of collecting Militaria and keep in mind that they were first seen at a trade fair in Leipzig 1935 so they must have qualified as approved art by the party. Production was put on hold during the war and porcelain tank identification models were made at the factory instead. Pre-war and war-time Hummels are sought after today.

May-be I should have just talked about the SS Panzer M43 but hey its all been said or not said, Chris

Thanks Chris - very interesting info.

Are those yours Anders?

I wasn't making fun. But now you mention it......What cute little dolls you play with Dr Strangelove - does your Mommy dress you up like that when she takes you out in your stoller?....... ha ha ha

[Dr. Strangelove]

Ah Ha !

Get close to my wheelchair and old Doktor Strangelove will show you a Hummel figurine !!! I taught Werner Von Braun how to play Chess, advised three Presidents and survived the Cold War and lost my arm in the surprise attack at Peenemunde! Never make fun of my Hummel collection again!! Oh and that M43 still sucks.

[90th Light]

Whoops, it think I might have started something

I first encountered Hummels several years ago when I bought some items from a returned British soldier who had immigrated to New Zealand in the 1960's. He had been at Normandy and fought his way across Europe to be stationed in Germany after the war as part of the occupation forces. He picked up a few items including a couple of nice SS collar tabs & war badges during the fighting but got a lot more while in Germany.

Amongst his items when I went round to see him were five of these Hummel figures in grey war time boxes dated 1942. Now this was interesting in two ways, no one has ever seen a Hummel sold in a factory box and two of the figures were done in gloss finish which is very rare for that time and since. The boxes are probably shop boxes at the time and the date may be a stock-take reference but they were made to measure.

I knew nothing about these Hummels when I got them but could see they had come from the war and did some research. After that I got interested and have always purchased good ones esp war-time or before when they have been at the right price. My wife and children love them and they are something we can have on display in our house with no worries except someone or the cat breaking them.

This bring us to a whole new issue, wartime German Porcelain except SS Allach is really under-valued. In fact at the moment here in New Zealand prices have gone down a lot and you really came make some good buys. The quality of some items is amazing. I totally agree with Scott Hess that "Hutschrether" is every bit as good as SS Allach, in fact many of their artisans work for SS Allach or were press- ganged into working for them. Hutschrether is classy stuff which can really off-set a room. We have several good pieces in white & gold.

The more you get into German porcelain the more you will find special areas of interest and connection with the German armed forces of WW1 and WW2. For example some reading this may have heard of a company called "Victoria" porcelain of Czechoslavakia. They were a successful company of the Austro-Hugarian empire and made a lot of the souvenir-ware one sees all over the place. In 1938 however the entire company was annexed by the SS and became part of their industrial empire. I can only assume that its owners must have been Jewish or some other un-acceptable group at the time and thus they lost their property totally to the Reich. What this means however that when you see the marker mark "Victoria Germany" then you are looking at an SS made product for export and profit of the party.

My apologise if I have banged on too much and for not talking about the specifics of SS Panzer M43 caps but I have had a fair go at that topic in the past and can not provide any new information to this thread except to say that trying to justify variations is always a questionable challenge.

On the other hand with the price of SS stuff being what it is these days may-be there are other un-tapped areas to collect & research even if for no other reason than a nice "go-with" in your cabinets of hats, daggers, badges, etc

With regards, Chris

[Dr. Strangelove]

SS Porcelain

Actually I am glad this thread has some direction now. I think a Forum on porcelain would be a great idea. And I like the information you have provided. Just think of the Mother In-law admiring your collection of cute figurines and talking about what a sweet boy you are while she has no idea they are the product of Slave Labor and Hitlers Third Reich!!! I see the appeal. Well Andy this is what you need to buy and then we will all be happy, buy one exactly like this while they are still cheap. Yes, $2,500 is cheap for one of these, look around and you will find one.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Interior

Interior Shot

[Anders S]

Are those yours Anders?

No, I found these pics on the net, however my mom has about 70 Hummel figurines, including a couple of lamp sets (as far as I know they were usually made in pairs, boy/girl motive). Most of them are post war made (you can see that on the stamp under the figure but she has a few rare 1st edition figurines made pre war. I'll try to take some pics next time I visit her.

[Scott A. Hess]

Whoops, it think I might have started something

I first encountered Hummels several years ago when I bought some items from a returned British soldier who had immigrated to New Zealand in the 1960's. He had been at Normandy and fought his way across Europe to be stationed in Germany after the war as part of the occupation forces. He picked up a few items including a couple of nice SS collar tabs & war badges during the fighting but got a lot more while in Germany.

Amongst his items when I went round to see him were five of these Hummel figures in grey war time boxes dated 1942. Now this was interesting in two ways, no one has ever seen a Hummel sold in a factory box and two of the figures were done in gloss finish which is very rare for that time and since. The boxes are probably shop boxes at the time and the date may be a stock-take reference but they were made to measure.

I knew nothing about these Hummels when I got them but could see they had come from the war and did some research. After that I got interested and have always purchased good ones esp war-time or before when they have been at the right price. My wife and children love them and they are something we can have on display in our house with no worries except someone or the cat breaking them.

This bring us to a whole new issue, wartime German Porcelain except SS Allach is really under-valued. In fact at the moment here in New Zealand prices have gone down a lot and you really came make some good buys. The quality of some items is amazing. I totally agree with Scott Hess that "Hutschrether" is every bit as good as SS Allach, in fact many of their artisans work for SS Allach or were press- ganged into working for them. Hutschrether is classy stuff which can really off-set a room. We have several good pieces in white & gold.

The more you get into German porcelain the more you will find special areas of interest and connection with the German armed forces of WW1 and WW2. For example some reading this may have heard of a company called "Victoria" porcelain of Czechoslavakia. They were a successful company of the Austro-Hugarian empire and made a lot of the souvenir-ware one sees all over the place. In 1938 however the entire company was annexed by the SS and became part of their industrial empire. I can only assume that its owners must have been Jewish or some other un-acceptable group at the time and thus they lost their property totally to the Reich. What this means however that when you see the marker mark "Victoria Germany" then you are looking at an SS made product for export and profit of the party.

My apologise if I have banged on too much and for not talking about the specifics of SS Panzer M43 caps but I have had a fair go at that topic in the past and can not provide any new information to this thread except to say that trying to justify variations is always a questionable challenge.

On the other hand with the price of SS stuff being what it is these days may-be there are other un-tapped areas to collect & research even if for no other reason than a nice "go-with" in your cabinets of hats, daggers, badges, etc

With regards, Chris

Hello Chris! My sister is a BIG TIME Heutschenreuther collector, she loves the "whippets" and the larger horse figurenes, I love the deco type girls, some of the larger and smaller items. I only have three piece, drop me a pm with your email, and I'll send you some shots, would love to see your pieces I shipped my pieces to Russia, as I love them, they look stunning in fact next to some SS items! You know your porcelain, again, off topic, but, heck, its fun! Okay, gotta go back to working on my 1/35 T-34, my panzer boys need some targets!

[Bob Hritz]

It is easier to sleep well with more standard pieces.

Bob Hritz

[Scott A. Hess]

Nice hats Bob! The dachau type caps I own (2) are the only SS panzer M43's I have, I too sleep well with these. I have a Dachau field grey M43 as well. With prices being what they are, sleeping well has become a big deal in this hobby!