Strafbataillon

[Gunny Hartmann]

First of all please move this thread if i have posted in the wrong section, also i have used the forum search and came up blank.
There seems to be very little out there on the net about Strafbataillon and i cant find any photos of them, what uniform did they wear, was it normal Heer devoid of insignia? all i have read is they wore a red triangle stitched to the uniform. I understand the pebbled (brain) buckle was not worn by the penal units and is now thought to be post war.
Any photos of troops from these units would be appreciated!.....

[AlecH]

Hi,
I've been looking for ages, hoping to find something connected with Strafbattaillons, the nearest thing I've found, a Wehrpass belonging to a soldier - a guard with a Feldstrafgefangenen Abteilung. Reading through information on Lexikon der Wehrmacht - as punishment, the prisoners were used as Bautruppen without weapons, working in dangerous areas on the front, laying / removing mines, road building, building strong points. They were also posted into areas where partisan groups were particularly active. The prisoners were issued short rations. After 3-9 months good conduct they transferred to a probationary unit. By 1943 there were 21 of these Abteilungen consisting of 5 companies all on the Eastern Front, later they were used on the Western Front. With the Wehrpass came 31 pictures, here are three. Regards

[Gunny Hartmann]

Cheers Alec, there really isn't much out there on this subject!...

[Wilhelm Saris]

I have always doubted the buckle to be pre-war, so before 1945,
and it always has been my opinion it was post-war. Mr. Hugh
Page Taylor said to me the buckle was indeed worn during the
TR-period and he told me he had a photo. He never came up with
it and so there has never been any confirmation! This is now maybe
at least 30 years ago or so.

I thought Angolia was the first that came up with penal in his "Belt
Buckles & Brocades of the Third Reich" from 1982, page 27. He
had no exact information either and by now we know his writing and
research abilities!!

[Gunny Hartmann]

Penal battalion, brain buckle?
Wilhelm, the photo on post 10 shows what is thought to be a post war fireman wearing the buckle!..

[Wilhelm Saris]

sorry, but what has the photo from post 10 from the other
thread to do with my answer? Yes, this type of buckle was
used after the war. There is no evidence it was worn before
the end of the war!