1st pattern Jawless cap skull thread

[Robin Lumsden]

The skulls are original.

The Rumanian medal also looks OK.............but is missing the eye for the ribbon. I'm not aware of this medal being faked.

[NickG]

Romanian medal

Here's the Romanian medal with ribbon ("crusade against communism"). Nick

[Ernst-H]

Waffen SS caps with jawless skull ??

At the AHF there is a topic about the 1947 Auschwitz trial in Krakow.
Many details and pictures of the men and women sentenced during that trial.

What I found interesting is that most seem to be wearing the jawless skull on both visorcap and schiffchen. Also the Schiffchen have Heer pattern eagles.

For example take a look at:
visorcaps with jawless skull: Aumeier, Gehring, Josten, Kollmer, Kraus, Moeckel, Munch
Sidecaps with jawless skull: Breitwieser, Dinges, Goetze, Lechner, Muller, Seufert

http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=49800

Was this a favoured insignia combination at Auschwitz ?

[jmh8300]

No. Most likely the Russians photographed the prisoners in the same unifrom, the caps are identical.

[Ernst-H]

the caps are not identical.

Look at the difference in:
- thickness of piping
- chinstrap and chincord
- position and orientation of the insignia
- shape of the cap

[besslein]

side caps are wh m42 model,with wh insignia and pz skull,very interesting

[Robin Lumsden]

These are staged Russian mugshots.

All these people are wearing the same 1 or 2 hats and the same 1 or 2 tunics!

Large number of people, small number of different hats and tunics!

[Robin Lumsden]

This man has the same cap and tunic.....................

[Robin Lumsden]

..............as this man.

[Robin Lumsden]

This man has the same tunic......................

[Robin Lumsden]

............as this man.

[Robin Lumsden]

These uniforms are 1947 Russian put-togethers................not Auschwitz 'haute couture'!

[NickG]

put togethers

I agree...Russian staged photos, but occassionaly M42's were used (unofficially)..here's a photo of a Estonian volunteer. Note modified wehrmacht M42 cap! Lots of Estonians transferred from Heer to SS, hence such oddities!
Nick

[derek]

I find these post war photographs quite fascinating. If nothing else it shows the real stuff was hard to find even a couple of years after the war and it was being cobbled together just like today.
Here's another example.
Derek

[Ernst-H]

ok, you convinced me

And I was just going to ask why they would need staging when the russians must have captured warehouses full of original stuff.

Derek, absolutely fantastic photo (allthough the fate of the individual may probably have been not so good)

I find these post war photographs quite fascinating. If nothing else it shows the real stuff was hard to find even a couple of years after the war and it was being cobbled together just like today.
Here's another example.
Derek