Description
Product Description: This is a fantastic example of the iconic SS Honor Ring. This original and extremely desirable 1937 pattern ring was made by the firm of Otto Gahr in Munich. It’s a textbook piece, produced of silver consisting of four main pieces: inner core, outer band, inner band, and skull. The typical seam can be seen behind the skull. The exterior of this ring shows only minimal wear, with all of the runic symbols remaining very visible and fairly crisp. This ring shows signs of having been professionally resized to a slightly smaller size during the war, as is common with these. It is engraved inside with the name of the recipient, “Gross,” the date of award, “20.4.37,” and the signature of Heinrich Himmler. This exceptionally well-preserved ring has two small dents to the top edge of the inner band, and no other damage to note. It goes without saying these rings are in very high demand today and usually are found with half of the runes blurred from daily wear at the time. This one is a wonderful surviving example that would be very hard to upgrade. The condition rates as excellent plus.
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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