Mystery SS(?) Collar Tabs

[Noobkilla73]

Do you have any of his personal items? Uniforms, papers, medals, signatures, etc?

[GIZMO8Z]

Do you have any of his personal items? Uniforms, papers, medals, signatures, etc?

The only thing I have is this picture and the statements made by my Grandmother, her sister, and her brother.

[Noobkilla73]

That's fine. As long as you know he was around and fought for Deutchland.

[TrondK]

If he was in yugoslavia it could be he was involved in anti partisan activity. Then this story can have a sad ending if he followed the stream of soldiers over the elbe in 45 together with the other Eastern volunteers, SS and Cossacks. All those soldiers were given back to the russians- and they were all tortured and executed there.

Several hundred thousands together with their infant childrens and familys, all executed by the hands of englishmen and the russians. I wonder why we dont learn about this in school?

AHA- yes ofcource the "evil" germans didnt do it, so who cares???

[Scout]

Sounds like your family was lucky to get out and go to the USA.

[GIZMO8Z]

Here are even better shots of the four pictures:

[KradSpam]

Wow Joe, what a story man Did nobody in the family ever mention anything alluding to this? Great discovery I hope you find out more!

[GIZMO8Z]

Wow Joe, what a story man Did nobody in the family ever mention anything alluding to this? Great discovery I hope you find out more!

To be honest with you, I had heard that the SS "took him"... I assumed that meant that he was taken away and shot... and it was not something that was easy for anyone to talk about, so I never pressed the issue. Then I heard that he was a night watchman... but I never really thought anything of it.

The old version of this photo that I had before was such low quality that all I noticed was the military cap and Hitler 'stache. Collecting TR militaria has made me more aware of this stuff... I really wish I could express how excited I was when I noticed the collar tabs!

[GIZMO8Z]

I posted this topic on WAF. A member there (Nick G.) seems to have my Great Grandfather's picture figured out:

A visor for Schuma troops is not the norm! but he's not Schuma anymore...He's most likely SD (based on tunic+ shirt + tabs) worked with SD/attached to SD...
Btw SD also wore brown political color shirts on occassion as shown in portrait!
He retained his (pointed) Schuma shoulder straps...Reason: perhaps because he was not trained as SD, not a Reichs Deutscher... so not entitled to SD shoulderboards...
So locally recruited in Schuma and attached to/ transferred to SD, who often wore visors... This possibly explains the mix. ...
On (temporary) assignment with SD but still Volksdeutsche Shuma member (Schutzmannshaft), based on his (pointed) Schuma straps! He could have been be a translator or local guide indeed!

[GIZMO8Z]

Hi Guys,

Another quick update:


Just a quick update. I printed out the picture, framed it and presented it to my Omi. She absolutely loved it, and could not have been more happy! It's the first time she has seen her father "in living color" since WWII.



I also learned a little more information. My Omi insists that he was used by the SS. However, she stated that he had horrible knees, so instead of frontline duty, they used him at a post/ base/ HQ of some sort.

I also spoke to my Omi's brother, Edmund. He said that in the 1970s, someone tried to break into my Omi's house. The police were called, and they entered my Omi's home to make a police report. As the cops were taking statements, one of them noticed the photo of my Great Grandfather on the wall. He clearly resembles Hitler, AND at the time, his cap had Nazi insignia on it. The cops blew up on my Omi and her brother. They accused them of being Nazis and threatened to lock them up among other horrible threats.

As a result, my Omi's brother scratched out the insignia on the cap...