Original Items: Only One Set of Two Available. The SS (Schutzstaffel) was originally formed in 1925, ostensibly to act as a small, loyal bodyguard unit to protect the Führer, Adolf AH. Under the direction of the Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, the SS grew to be the most ruthless and feared organization of the 20th century. They were the vanguard of Germany eventually controlled nearly every function of German life and much of Occupied Europe.

Here we have a very nice set of two German WWII SS Insignia, including an SS Reichsadler (National Eagle) badge, and a Gas Protection Specialist NCO Sleeve Badge. These are quite hard to find, as not many were brought back by USGIs, and they are also very sought after. We have heard that insignia of this type were found by the liberating allied forces at CC Camp, and many were recovered at the end of the war. There is however no concrete evidence regarding this.

The Reichsadler badge is made of black felt fabric with silver/white thread, and shows no signs of having been attached to a uniform or cap. It does however have some staining on the front of the silver thread embroidery. It measures approximately 3 3/4" x 1 3/4".

The SS Gas Protection Specialist NCO Sleeve Badge is made from the same black felt, though the thread looks to be more white than silver. These were attached to the sleeves of NCO's who were in charge of instructing troops on the proper use and maintenance of their gas protection gear. The badge measures 2 1/8" in diameter, and is in excellent unissued condition.

A great insignia set, ready to add to your collection!

The Allgemeine-SS, (General-SS), was originally formed in May 1923 as the Stosstrupp Adolf AH, (Shock Troops Adolf AH), and was redesignated Schutzstaffel, (Protection Squad), in April 1925 with the official acceptance of the name verified on the second anniversary of the failed Munich "Beer-Hall" Putsch on November 9TH 1925. On January 6TH 1929 Heinrich Himmler was appointed as Reichsführer-SS, (National Leader {of the} SS), and on July 20TH 1934 shortly after the, June 30TH 1934, purge of the SA, Sturm Abteilung, (Storm Troopers) on the "Night of the Long Knives", the SS was rewarded by AH by being granted the status of an independent organization under direct control of the NSDAP, Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, (National Socialist German Worker’s Party). The SS developed the distinctive SS style cap skull and cross bones on October 6TH 1934 and introduced the SS pattern national cap eagle in February 1936. After their introductions the skull and eagle were to be worn on all forms of SS headgear. In 1944 the SS developed a single piece of cap insignia which incorporated both the skull and eagle on a one piece trapezoid base for wear on the M43 field cap. Originally these trapezoidal pieces of insignia were produced in a machine woven version until a final, embroidered version was introduced in late 1944. The first versions of the trapezoidal cap insignia featured dual rows of teeth in the skull while later versions only had a single row of teeth. Panzer personnel’s cap trapezoids were produced with a black base to match the color of the cap it was to be worn on.