My thanks to Wilhelm Saris for answering my question.
Philip
IMHO it is not that either , but rather a buckle for Volksdeutsche in der SLOVAKEI .
The officers version of the Croation DM is pictured below , next to the other ranks version that does appear in the picture of mr. Delichs collection ( thanks for sharing .. ! ) .
BTW - for some reason , both groups ( i.e. in Croatia and Slovakia ) did share as a symbol the same type SS eagle holding a pointed shield as metal cap badges ..
Here's a picture of another buckle of the Freiwillige Schutzstaffel Slovakei - collection of mr. Bob Hritz .
I hope it's OK to use it here - as it is the ONLY other original example I've encountered sofar ..
Einsatzstaffel der Deutschen Mannschaft in Kroatien - both groups used that same type eagle as a cap insignia - I have not been able to explain the connection yet ( I'd be interested to learn ! ) ..
Note the third type eagle as worn by the Slovak F.S. - from David Littlejohns " Foreign Legions " ( I believe , not at hand right now ) .
Thank you for all the interesting and useful material.
Maybe I was confused by the eagle. Can't find my documentation,
but you will be right winkelman!
Indeed very nice buckle collection.
Agreed; the belt buckle is for the Freiwillige Schutzstaffel, i.e. the Ethnic Germans' A-SS equivalent in Slovakia. By the way, the unnamed F.S. member seen in the above scan from the Littlejohn title is actually Franz Karmasin, the German Volksgruppenführer in Slovakia.
Speaking of the Freiwillige Schutzstaffel... A cuff title containing the abbreviation "F.S." has been posted in the parallel thread with varia from the Delich collection:
Allow me to repeat a question I had asked there (which might have gone unread): Am I right in assuming that this, too, is from the Freiwillige Schutzstaffel? Or, if not, what exactly was its use?
(The borders of the cuff title are clearly made in a manufacturing style that differs from normal A-SS cuff titles, which would make sense were it made outsided the borders of the Reich.)
Would it be possible for Friedrich-Berthold to ask Mr. Delich about this cuff title?
As a side note, there are also belt buckles which bear the capital letters "FS" which have always puzzled me. Here are two examples (not owned by me; the photo was saved from the net for personal reference):
Some attribute them to the Freiwillige Schutzstaffel, while others assume them to be for the Freikorps Sudetenland (which I personally doubt). There was also a Freiwilliger Schutzdienst in the pre-annexation Sudetenland, which might be a third possibility.
I would be most interested in any (documented) information on these. Perhaps Mr. Delich or one of our expert members - like d'alquen or Wim Saris - would be able to help here.
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