The Himmler's SS (47 page)

SS-Gruppenführer Gille was the first Waffen-SS recipient of the Knight's Cross with Oakleaves, Swords and Diamonds. For this presentation photograph, taken on 20 April 1944, he wore a fine example of the SS general's Schirmmütze, with aluminium piping.

On 21 March 1940, the gaudy black, white and red swastika decal was ordered to be removed from SS steel helmets for the duration of the war, for camouflage reasons. At the same time, helmets began to be painted in a darker shade of field-grey and given a rough surface texture which was less prone to reflecting the light. In June, an order prohibited further manufacture of the white-topped summer peaked cap. On 15 October 1940, the other ranks' 1934-pattern field cap was replaced by a new style Schiffchen identical in cut to the officers' version. It became known as the ‘Feldmütze neuer Art', or new model field cap, and featured a machine-woven eagle and death's head on the front of the cap instead of the Totenkopf button and side eagle. On 1 December the same year, the fledgling Waffen-SS alpine units received a field-grey Bergmütze, or mountain cap, to be worn instead of the Schiffchen. It was of basic ski-cap design, with a short peak to provide sufficient shade from the glare of the sun and snow. The scalloped side flaps could be lowered to cover the ears, and fastened at the front by means of two small buttons. Officers' caps had aluminium piping around the crown. Insignia comprised a woven death's head on the front of the cap and an eagle on the left side.

In February 1941, the manufacture and retailing of Waffen-SS peaked caps was freed from RZM control, and from then on the Schirmmütze could be made to individual order by private hatters. Four weeks later, the 1916, 1918 and RZM model steel helmets, and any old stocks of earth-grey cloth headgear still in use, were ordered to be withdrawn from service, and sent to the concentration camp and prison workshops for processing and re-issue to Wehrmacht reserve units. The winter of 1941–2 saw the first widespread use of fur caps, particularly captured Russian
ushankas
, by the Waffen-SS. An almost indescribable range of official, semi-official and unofficial winter caps quickly developed, and the insignia utilised was entirely dependent upon what was available at the time. Metal Schirmmütze badges, cloth Feldmütze insignia, sleeve eagles and even death's heads cut from SS-Totenkopf-Division collar patches have been observed in photographs.

On 1 August 1942, the smooth inward crimping of the steel helmet rim was abandoned for economic reasons, giving the model 1942 helmet a much sharper silhouette. The next month, the
soutache
was dropped and no longer featured on field caps. By 1943, practical experience at the front had shown the Schiffchen to be almost useless in comparison to the Bergmütze. On 1 October that year, therefore, a new field cap was introduced to replace all its predecessors. Known as the Einheitsfeldmütze, or standard field cap, it was very similar to the mountain cap but had a longer peak and lower crown. On 1 November 1943, the SS runes helmet decal was discontinued for the duration of the war. The year 1943 also saw the introduction of the fez, or Tarbusch, for wear instead of the field cap by members of the Muslim SS units. The fez was made from heavy field-grey felt, with a dark-green silken tassel and standard woven insignia. The unlined interior had a thin leather sweatband. A version in maroon was sometimes sported by officers when walking out or on parade, but this was an unofficial variant, obtained by converting the standard civilian fez, and was a temporary expedient pending issue of the field-grey type. Albanian Muslims had their own conical fez. In 1944, Italian SS formations made widespread use of former Italian army field caps, peaked caps and steel helmets, with the addition of appropriate insignia, and in 1945 some Indian volunteers transferred from the Wehrmacht wore turbans with Waffen-SS uniform. For Himmler, that must have been the ‘final straw' in the development of SS headgear!

On 7 October 1944, Himmler spent his birthday visiting Waffen-SS units on the western front. Most of the young SS soldiers in this photograph wear the Einheitsfeldmütze.

As with SS uniform in general, the aforementioned dates in the story of headgear can be invaluable in dating period photographs of Waffen-SS troops. The same can be said of tunics, so they also merit some detailed coverage. Members of the first armed SS units wore the 1932-pattern black service uniform on all occasions. It was identical to the outfit issued to the Allgemeine-SS, but while it was impressive when worn on parade or when walking out, it proved totally impractical for use in the field or when performing general barrack duties. In order to protect the black uniform in such circumstances, tunics and trousers manufactured from a lightweight grey-white cotton drill were produced in the summer of 1933. Officers and NCOs subsequently wore a drill jacket which was cut very much like the black tunic, although sometimes with concealed buttons, and on which collar patches and a shoulder strap were worn. Other ranks had a less attractive, shapeless, badgeless tunic with a standing collar.

The floppy, battle-worn appearance of the ‘crusher' cap made it a popular item of headgear right up until the end of the war. Here it is worn by two NCOs of SS-Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 1 at Kaiserbarracke in the Ardennes, 17 December 1944. The schwimmwagen driver has kitted himself out with a civilian leather motoring helmet.

At the beginning of 1935 a new earth-grey uniform, identical in style to the black service outfit, began to be distributed to soldiers of the Leibstandarte and SS-Verfügungstruppe, although it was not referred to in official orders until 25 November of that year. Enlisted men's tunics had five buttons down the front instead of four, and could be worn closed at the neck. Since the standard SS armband with its bright colours was clearly unsuitable for field use, it was replaced on the left arm of the earth-grey tunic by an eagle and swastika. In March 1936, an earth-brown version of the uniform was produced for everyday work wear for SS-Totenkopfverbände personnel on duty within the confines of concentration camps. It was not to be worn by sentries at the main gate, who were on view to the public, or as a walking out dress. The earth-brown tunic sported collar patches, a shoulder strap and the SS armband.

In 1937, the earth-grey and earth-brown uniforms of the SS-VT and SS-TV were replaced by a new standardised field-grey uniform. It was based on that of the army, but the Feldbluse retained the typically SS features of slanting slash side pockets and a black-and silver-piped collar which was the same colour as the rest of the tunic. The following year, the Leibstandarte began to be issued with army tunics, distinguished by their unpiped dark-green collars and pleated patch side pockets, for wear during training.

Three SS-Hauptsturmführer attached to the ‘Handschar' division at the end of 1943. Their decorations indicate that they are German nationals. The officer in the middle, a veteran of the SA/SS rally at Brunswick in 1931, wears the blank right-hand collar patch sported by some ‘Handschar' personnel prior to the introduction of the divisional scimitar and swastika patch. Note also the early use of maroon fezzes and Styrian gaiters.

A Leibstandarte Obersturmführer is dwarfed by two recruits wearing the lightweight fatigue uniform, autumn 1934. The officer has a tailored grey drill jacket, used in conjunction with the cap and breeches of the black service uniform. Note also the 2nd pattern LAH helmet decals.

At the end of 1939, the sudden formation of the SS-Totenkopf-Division and the Polizei-Division necessitated the widespread and general use of army-issue tunics since there were insufficient quantities of the SS-style field-grey uniform to go round. Because of the basic differences in cut between the two patterns, and Himmler's desire for uniformity of dress, various contradictory orders were issued during the winter of 1939–40, prescribing which outfits should be worn by officers as opposed to NCOs and other ranks, when they should be buttoned or unbuttoned at the neck, and so on. These orders were generally ignored by all concerned, and the result was a fair mixture of dress worn simultaneously within even the smallest units.

By May 1940, army tunics had begun to make their inevitable appearance in the ranks of the SS-Verfügungsdivision, and they soon became universal throughout the Waffen-SS. During the course of 1940, their dark-green collars were phased out in favour of field-grey ones, and that August the black and silver collar piping was discontinued. From 1942, purely for reasons of economy, patch pockets were made without pleats and in 1943 the lower edges of the pocket flaps were straightened. The wool content of the model 1943 tunic was also drastically reduced, which resulted in poor thermal insulation and a low tensile strength. On 25 September 1944, an entirely new style of field service tunic based on the British army battledress blouse was introduced for wear by all German ground combat units, including members of auxiliary formations such as the RAD and NSKK. This uniform required considerably less cloth than the earlier models, and the normal triple or double belt hook location holes were reduced to only one position. Moreover, the internal field dressing pocket was omitted. A universal colour called ‘Feldgrau 44', which was more slate-grey-green than field-grey, was devised for the new outfit in an effort to standardise the various military and paramilitary uniform colours hitherto seen on the battlefield. However, in reality, many different shades of it emerged. The 1944 field uniform was very unpopular, and was not issued in sufficient quantities to change the appearance of the Waffen-SS radically.