✠ With special thanks to Simon Tierney for his help in this post and throughout the collection ✠
The photograph here shows a selection of Wächtern from the SS-Totenkopfverbände (SS-TV; litterally 'Death's Head Units’) out with a few 1 litre bottles of Pilsner and some glasses, enjoying an off duty drink.
It is difficult to know which of the many permutations they are from, but given their ages, and the inference that this is likely pre-France 1940 from the lack of combat based insignia, so they could either be SS-Wachverbände (Concentration Camp Guard units) or perhaps an SS-TV Standarte in the fledgling SS-Combat troops (Pre-Waffen SS). However, whatever point of their career they were at, they would certainly (as it was Mandatory) have served in one the Concentration Camps (Konzentrationslager). Under their leader, SS-Oberführer (later SS-Obergruppenführer) Theodor Eicke, the Inspector of Concentration Camps for the Third Reich, they would later well and truly earn a reputation for brutality, savagery, and depravity that was truly breath-taking, being amongst the worst of all offenders in the genocides of the battlefields of Russia and Europe, and the Concentration, Death and Labour Camps of the wider NSDAP regime. That being said, this small group of Wächtern sport an interesting array of insignia (though not an award amongst them) and even what appear to be 2 different varieties of Pre-WW2 SS Tunic. 2nd and 3rd from the left, most noticeable on 3rd, we see the pre-war M.1937 SS-Dienstrock (Service Tunic) which was intended as the SS’s field tunic (until WW2 Economies dictated that the SS would utilise the standard Heer Tunics, in the main). It is made obvious by the significantly shorter “fall” of the collar, and much wider “placket” at the throat, lacking a top button. This is because the tunic was initially intended to be worn open collar, and only closed for foul weather. This pattern would fall from common issue/use shortly after the invasion of Poland, but many kept it for its status giving properties of denoting an “original founder” of the formation.Similarly, we can see on the 2nd from left, not only is he an SS-Sturmmann (left sleeve chevron) but he sports the distinctive right hand sleeve chevron. The Honour Chevron for the Old Guard (German: Ehrenwinkel der Alten Kämpfer) Announced 30 Jan 1934, the first anniversary of Hitler becoming chancellor, he authorised from February 1934 all members of the SS, SA and NSDAP whose membership pre-dated 30 January 1933, in the “times of strife” of the party. It was subordinate only to the Golden Party Badge (Goldenes Parteiabzeichen) for the first 100,000 members of the NSDAP, or members of special praise, in terms of prestige. Quite understandably, he also appears to have the thin cord of “treße” around his epaulettes, denoting an SS-Unterführerbewerber (Junior Leader Aspirant) or “NCO Cadet”.
It is undoubted that he would have gone to the SS-Unterführerschule Dachau where after a period of training, he would have matriculated as an SS-Unterscharführer (Junior Sergeant) and thus would begin a rise through the ranks. Chances are, as an Old-Fighter, he may even have gone on to be promoted into the officer ranks, or returned to the SS-Wachverbände to oversea the unfortunate and doomed prisoners of the Holocaust. It would also appear that his comrades, 4th from the left, 1st and 2nd from Right Seated, and 2ndfrom Right Standing [ and 1st Right Standing is likely ] are similarly wearing the bands of SS-Unterführerbewerben.
It is rare to see a collection of NCO Cadets, and rarer to see them so early in the war, with an Alte-Kämpfe insignia, a crisp and rare photograph in the collection!