SS Oak Leaf - Otto Skorzeny

[alexael141]

Hello all - I have inherited this piece and wondered if anyone has any thoughts on it. On the front are large SS runes. On the back it reads:

Wenn Alle Untreu Werden
Stabswache & Stobtruppe = SS
Otto Skorzeny Alaric 12 9 43

There is also a 1936 metal stamp that I can't quite make out.

[Adrian Stevenson]

Sorry this is a fantasy item.

[alexael141]

Can you please expand on that? What do you mean?

[MAP]

Can you please expand on that? What do you mean?

Sorry to say it means it is fake. It is not a copy of an original item, but something that never existed

[HPL2008]

I agree with Ade.

It's a silly fantasy piece, and that is evident from the engraving alone: The German word is "Stoßtrupp" (not "Stoßtruppe") and is written here with a capital "B" instead of an "ß", which is an entirely different letter. (Never mind that it would be written with an "SS" instead of an "ß" when spelled all in upper-case letters.)

"Alaric" is a reference to the codename of the conceptual plan for the disarming of the Italian military. However, this is the English spelling of the name; in German this plan was known as "Unternehmen Alarich". (Not to mention the fact that this was only the original name for the plan; the actual operation was called "Operation Achse", which is surely the designation one would find on an actual commemorative item for this event.)

Also, Skorzeny had no connection to the original Stoßtrupp Adolf Hitler or the early Stabswachen and neither did they have any connection to Alarich.

Bottom line, the engraving consists of some random SS-related names and terms thrown together by a non-German speaker to fool buyers.

[alexael141]

Got it. I don't have any particular conneciton to it, I'm just wondering why someone would make this in the first place if that was the case.

[HPL2008]

In a word:

Money.

Offer anything with "SS" on it and somebody, somewhere will buy it...

[MAP]

Got it. I don't have any particular conneciton to it, I'm just wondering why someone would make this in the first place if that was the case.

For the $$$$ of course

[Martin C]

To profit from it, they appeal to the collectors desire to own a rare or a one of kind piece.

Mart

[Watchdog]

Sorry to say it means it is fake. It is not a copy of an original item, but something that never existed

In short; someone invented it after the war. Whether it was intended to represent a wartime artifact or not it has no connection to the war which is why it is referred to as a "Fantasy piece". This one does not appear to be even of the period.

There are too many fantasy pieces to count. Sometimes they are single pieces possibly made to unofficially commemorate someone or something but more often there will be a number of similar (small numbers are usually intended to imply rarity) items produced in the hope of gaining acceptance. These are the ones that really are made to deceive. The single item may be innocent enough and made in the same vein as a fan producing a football team wall plaque. Sadly, whichever it is the item will be of no interest or value to collectors of militaria in general or of Third Reich militaria and even ephemera in particular.

You are absolutely right to ask here because if it is not your field of knowledge you never know until you ask. Unfortunately in this case you do not have "the Holy Grail"

Regards

Mark

PS To reinforce the point about asking here, Andreas (HPL2008) has given some very telling points that show just how "Fantastic" this piece is.