Great picture , never saw that one before - thanks for sharing .
Notice the special capbadge worn by the Einsatz Staffel ..
Great picture , never saw that one before - thanks for sharing .
Notice the special capbadge worn by the Einsatz Staffel ..
Made by HICKE , but with a difference ..
That SAME capeagle was also used by the Volksdeutschen in SLOVAKIA .
Freiwillige Schutzstaffel ( FS ) = the armed service of the Karpatendeutsche Partei der Slovakei .
I have never been able to explain the link with Croatia , maybe there is none ..
Earlier discussion and more insignia >> Delich Treases: buckles, tags, Italian items.
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Excellent thread. Most have learnt something new with this one.
Congrats on a great find.
All the best
Dave
Excellent find...well done and thanks for sharing it with us...
cheers,Glenn
I beg to differ.
The badge in post # 22 is Slovakian. The cap eagles worn by the Slovakian and Croatian Volksdeutsche movements were very similiar, but different. They can best be told apart by the shield device: The Slovakian shield was of narrower proportions than the wider Croatian one, and the Slovakian shield had a smooth border, whereas the Croatian one had a "roped" border.
The Croatian cap eagle matched the design as found on the belt buckles for the Amtswalter of the Deutsche Volksgruppe in Croatia. One such buckle has been posted here, although it is misidentified as being Slovakian: https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/ss-un...tml#post958241
For a period illustration, see:
Kvislin
(Click to enlarge.)
A direct comparison of the eagle badges can be found over at the WAF:
Slovakian SS Insignia - Wehrmacht-Awards.com Militaria Forums
Finally, a side-by-side comparision of two period images. On the left is Franz Karmasin, leader of the Ethnic Germans in Slovakia (it's the same photo as in the Littlejohn work, where he is only referred to as "a member of the F.S."). On the right a member of the Einsatzstaffel in Croatia. Note the different outlines of the eagles, especially how the top corners of the shield protrude on the Croatian one:
Last edited by HPL2008; 10-04-2014 at 08:52 AM.
I completely agree - similar , but not the same .
Thanks for the links .. !
Incredible , though , that for a relatively small unit as the Slovak FS , 2 different makers were used . The Slovak eagle shown below is still different from the Hicke eagle ( shape of head ) .
The one with the wide , roped shield would then be exclusive for Croatia .
I saw one many years ago at Weitze , offered as Slovakian . The material seemed to be quite thin , lacking detail , and I was not convinced of its authenticity .
Now it is clear that it was - quite literally - a totally different bird ..
It wasn't that cheap anyway .
But he was probably right about the " extrem selten " , even if he got the description wrong .. >>
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