SSTV Gruppenbild, "Ostmark," ca. 194x

[Friedrich-Berthold]

mysteries in riddles in enigmas, or the other way around.....

In any case, better than the average post on a militaria site, and far better than the competition, such as it is....

Thanks to our stalwarts for their yeoman service for the commonweal.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

When I was in Berlin at the end of June, I bought this very nice book which shows the scholarly importance of these images we puzzle over and how much they
contribute to scholarship. It is a fine piece of work derived from the Hoecker album given to the US Holocaust museum.

[HPL2008]

I just took a closer look at the pictures at a decent-sized monitor... A few more random observations:

FB is right that the unit number on the shoulder boards is indeed the "4" for the 4th Totenkopf-Standarte "Ostmark". It can be made out on the shoulder boards of some of the NCOs in the front row.

The Hauptsturmführer next to the young officer doesn't have the SS officer Ehrendegen either, but is carrying a "dovehead" sword. It figures, as the SS officer sword was introduced in 1936, after which it was bestowed on graduates of the Junkerschulen, officers ranked Standartenführer or higher and in certain special cases on an individual basis. Given his rank combined with the approximate timeframe of the photograph, he was very likely commissioned prior to the introduction of the Ehrendegen (it is also possible that did not originate from the JS system, anyway).

Note the variety of branch/unit insignia worn by this group:

a) Single "Death's Head" collar patches without company number
b) Single "Death's Head" collar patches with company number
c) Double "Death's Head" collar patches without company number
d) Double "Death's Head" collar patches with company number
e) Shoulder boards with regimental number
f) Shoulder boards without regimental number

Sitting next to the two officers is the unit's Spieß as identified by the double Tresse worn around his lower sleeves (and the reporting book tucked into the front of his field blouse in time-honored fashion).
Normally, the duty position of Stabsscharführer was held by men with one of the two highest SNCO ranks (Haupt- or Sturmscharführer); a lower-ranking man holding this duty position (such as this Scharführer, a JNCO rank) was officially designated as Stabsscharführerdiensttuer (I love that word).

[Friedrich-Berthold]

Thank you, Andreas, the uniforms are not very uniform, but they are very interesting and especially prone to your fine analysis.