Info on German uniforms and/or units in this picture

[Jan]

All help welcome with info about what these picture might reveal. The pictures are part of a series from a German "transito" camp.


Best,


Jan

[HPL2008]

These men - or at least the vast majority of them - are eastern volunteers.

The lack of uniformity in their insignia is quite typical: Note that some have standard German collar Litzen, while others wear the special collar rank insignia for eastern troops. Some wear breast eagles, some don't.

The rank insignia are of the 1942 pattern. Ranks seen in the photographs are:

• blank shoulder boards = Schütze
• 1 bar on the shoulder boards = Stellvertretender Gruppenführer
• 2 bars on the shoulder boards = Gruppenführer. The man on the left in the foreground of the second picture also wears the corresponding collar rank insignia.

[Jan]

Thank You very very much! I was thinking that they might be joking altogether with their strange outfit before going on leave or something

Best,


Jan

[harryamb2]

in total agreement with HPL.

[Jan]

The transito camp was situated in S Finland from 1942-1944 so I was expecting the soldiers were either on the way to the north or back home in central Europe ? There was a camp for "soldiers?" from the Ukraine in the area too...

Best,

Jan

[TrondK]

These weird looking rank insignias were used by the Eastern Volunteers as HPL2008 says.
Very interesting photos, and these wonderful tunics really make me drool.

So next time you see a "stripped" german tunic for sale, remember maybe it lost its eagle as early as before 45.

[Jan]

Did some archive research today and managed to find out that the guys in the pictures are from a group of 75 soviet prisoners of war that decided to switch sides and join the voluntary forces of the Wehrmacht to fight the Soviet Union "General Vlasovs liberation army". Poor chaps :/

Best,


Jan

[Gunny Hartmann]

Very interesting thread!....

[TrondK]

Did some archive research today and managed to find out that the guys in the pictures are from a group of 75 soviet prisoners of war that decided to switch sides and join the voluntary forces of the Wehrmacht to fight the Soviet Union "General Vlasovs liberation army". Poor chaps :/

Best,


Jan

Yes Jan these guys was in for a though ride.
We can almost call the last photo "Dead men walking/marching". This is also why i find the volunteers so interesting, most collect SS- but i find the history of ROA and other volunteers highly addictive, since it is so much still unknown around them.