Article about: by ToxicGas You have an impressive collection Friedrich, and these reference photos are very useful. I have saved a few for the purpose of comparing, thanks. If I were to seek an eagle to di
Today, I bought this Totenkopf badge for £75 after posting it on here for opinions. 'Dimas' and 'carlsson1982' said it looked original, so I am very grateful for the help. I would have passed it off as 'too good to be true' most likely, had I not sought advice on it. I've been searching for one for a long time and have found nothing affordable or genuine, so I have been very lucky here. After buying, I asked the seller if he knew any of the history of the piece, and this is what he sent:
'Hi Mathew,
Just to reiterate what I mentioned before.
I was given this badge in 1953 by an uncle who served in the Royal Engineers and was in action in France and Germany. From what I was told and he didn’t like talking about it but in his words. He was sent to Belsen to undertake a clean up operation which included maintenance on bulldozers which were used to bury bodies. Whilst he was there one of the inmates came over to him and pressed your badge into his hand and said,”This is token for you to keep.” My uncle felt so sorry for him he gave him his leather jerkin which is a sleeveless leather jacket that the engineers used to wear and told the man your one of us now so you can help me out. My uncle insists because he gave the man something to do, a purpose, it kept that man alive. My uncle was only there for two days and he was moved on but he said it took a week to get the smell out of his clothes and never knew whether the man survived.
Sorry this is such a sad story but that’s how my uncle got the badge. When he gave it to me, my first thought was it might be a pirates badge and as a child whenever we played pirates I was always the captain cos I had the real pirates badge.
All the Best, '
-I really never expected to hear such a story. I have no reason to doubt the truth in this as he told this to me after I had bought the Totenkopf, I just casually asked. He told me this over the phone, so I asked him to write it down exactly in an email for reference, as this to me is equally as valuable as the item itself. I'm still a little shocked... I wonder how a camp inmate came into possession of this? I've done some research, but have read nothing on any uprising or camp rebellion. Were these manufactured in the camp perhaps, or would this have been a camp guard's insignia?
I will post more photos when I have it in my hands. These are the seller's photos. Can anyone say as to the actual value of this? I was prepared to pay up to £250, though I thought it would sell for more!
After further reading, I came across something that mentioned the killing of two SS guards there, for which there were reprisals. Maybe it came from one of them? I've tried to think for what purpose an inmate, presumably starving and ill (going by his description) would be carrying a Totenkopf badge. To me it seems to make sense as a kind of 'trophy', taken from a fallen SS man- the idea of it being taken from a cothing store is of course possible, but it seems less likely to me in that these things would not have been of any value to anyone at the time, so why take it in that case? All we can do is speculate in the end, but the fact that it comes with the story it does, is amazing enough. None of my other militaria comes with any known history. I think this Totenkopf will be one of my most precious possessions.
Definitely, especially at £75! I think I've been very lucky indeed. Thanks again for the help carlsson, I'd been searching for so long until now, and most of what I came across was fake. I'm very pleased with this.
Well it arrived today, and it looks great. A real piece of history here, which I was fortunate enough to stumble across and buy for such a low price! I still can't believe my luck. The seller even said to me he was advised it could sell for a lot of money on a specialist site, and that I had a good deal- I suppose he was just looking to pass it on and make some fast money. I assured him it is now in good hands.
A very nice totenkopf. You are fortunate to have received the oral history of this badge.
although not unfounded, today's new collector on the whole dismiss most of the oral history that comes with a piece. Some of this is based on the fact that fraudsters will attach a bogus provenance to a piece. I was fortunate to start collecting in an era that I was able to believe most of the oral tradition of an item that I received from veteran purchases. I agree with Ade that there is no reason to doubt the oral tradition of your badge.
BOB
LIFE'S LOSERS NEVER LEARN FROM THE ERROR OF THEIR WAYS.
RZM M1/52 Totenkopf cap skull with a story
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