Description
Product Description: This Grey SS Fez is a top shelf display object. This type of headgear is most associated with the Bosnian Muslims who served as volunteers in the 13. Waffen-Gebirgs-Division der SS “Handschar.” This one is textbook, made of wool with a heavily felted surface. The color is an appealing field gray, and the form is typical, with a top knot and black rayon tassel. The front of this grey SS Fez is complete with the original factory applied insignia. The SS eagle and swastika emblem as well as the Totenkopf skull are both Bevo style machine woven in silver-gray thread on a black backing. The insignia are machine sewn with a straight stitch as is typical. The inside of this fez shows the bobbin thread from the machine application of the insignia. There is a thin leatherette sweatband that shows little if any wear. The bottom edge of the fez shows a bit of loose stitching where the sweatband is affixed, which may just be the way this fez was made. These gray examples are significantly harder to find and more desirable than the red ones, though all of these have become increasingly hard to find. This one does not appear to have been ever issued, and is a choice example that remains in excellent/near mint condition.
Historical Description: The origins of the SS began in 1923 as a small detail of men meant to protect Nazi Party meetings during the first years of the party. Under the leadership of Heinrich Himmler, the SS would grow to become one of the most feared, loathed, and yet in some instances, respected organizations in world history. From the early days of the Nazi party to its final moments, the SS were Germany’s foremost security, surveillance, and elite military organization. The SS was comprised of three main elements, the Allgemeine SS (General SS), the Waffen SS (Armed SS), and the SS Totenkopfverbande (SS Deaths Head Units). The Allgemeine SS were primarily responsible for policing, security, the Gestapo, and enforcement of racial policies. The Waffen SS were the organizations paramilitary combat troops who would eventually become the nucleus of Germany’s most elite formations during the Second World War, comprising of many divisions and volunteers from all over Europe. The role of the SS Totenkopfverbande is amongst some of the most notorious of the organization as their responsibility was overseeing and operating the concentration camps and death camps from 1933 to 1945. Additional subdivisions of the SS also included the Sicherdienst “SD”, and the Geheimestaatspolizei “Gestapo”. By the end of World War 2, the SS would have grown from a small unit of 8 men, to over 1 million, including volunteers from nearly every European nation serving in their ranks.
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