Waffen SS SS-Feldgendarmerie Officer Set

[Gordon Williamson]

Here is a superb set that I just acquired from a German auction site, thanks to a tip off from Ian Jewison.

Many years ago, when visiting my Knight’s Cross winner friend Heinrich Springer, he took me to visit the chap who ran the Truppenkameradschaft of the Götz von Berlichingen Division, Walter Ott.

Herr Ott asked me what my special interests were and when I told him it was the Feldgendarmerie, he provided me with the addresses of several former members of the Divisional Feldgendarmerie-Kompanie, including its commander and suggested I write to them.

The company commander, Oskar Lösel, was one of those who replied and we remained in touch for some time during which Herr Lösel kindly supplied me with information about his career and a few photos.

I was surprised when Ian sent me a link to the auction site, to see a seller offering a small grouping consisting of a “Soldbuch, Polizei Dienstpass and Führerschein” in the name of Oskar Lösel. Unfortunately, the auction photo showed a nice Führerschein and Dienstpass, but not a Soldbuch, but rather an Ausweis to a pre-war organisation which was later banned by the Nazis, the “Arbeiter-Turner-Samariter-Kolonne” an organisation promoting health and safety at work, first aid training etc etc.

[Gordon Williamson]

Nevertheless, if it was indeed the same guy, I was still interested in his Polizei Dienstpass so contacted the seller and asked for any more images. I was even more surprised when what arrived was a set of images of --- an SS-Soldbuch. Sadly the cover was missing and had been replaced with a crude plain card cover but the inside was completely intact and even better, from the information inside it clearly WAS the same Oskar Lösel that I had known ( sadly he passed away several years ago). Even his signature was still identical and hadn’t changed in the least from the 1940s to when I had corresponded with him.

I double checked with the seller and he confirmed that the group included the Dienstpass, Ausweis, Führerschein and Soldbuch. For some bizarre reason, he had omitted the Soldbuch from the image posted on the auction site.

Here are the docs. First the SS-Führerschein

[Gordon Williamson]

Interior.

No photo was ever attached, the licence being validated by the Sold buch which did contain a photo.

The Feldpost number on the licence corresponds to the Generalkommando of the SS-Panzerkorps, later to become II SS-Panzerkorps. Lösel belonged to the Feldgendarmerie Trupp attached to the Korps.

[Gordon Williamson]

The Polizei Dienstpass, issued April 1941

[Gordon Williamson]

Personal details and Next of Kin

[Gordon Williamson]

Like many Police officers, Lösel was given equivalent rank in the SS, in this case SS-Untersturmführer as shown in the entry at the bottom of page 7.

[Gordon Williamson]

Lösel carried out his obligatory national service with the military from October 1932 to March 1934 with Artillerie Regiment 51, as shown on page 8

[Gordon Williamson]

There are several pages showing his various unit postings with the Police, including attachments to the Luftschutzamt

[Gordon Williamson]

As well as his later military decorations, his Dienstpass shows the SA Sportabzeichen and the Police Long Service Medal for 8 yrs.

[Gordon Williamson]

His last entry in the Dienstpass being in 1942, subsequent career moves are shown in his SS-Soldbuch, Lösel having been transferred from the regular Police to the Military Police.

Lösel had been at pains to stress in his correspondence that he was a career Police Officer who had been drafted (not volunteered) into the SS-Feldgendarmerie. I suppose with Himmler being Chief of the German Police as well as Reichsführer-SS he could post “his” personnel wherever he wanted.

Interesting then, that his rank is shown in the Waffen-SS Soldbuch, not as SS-Untersturmführer but as Leutnant der Schutzpolizei.

(The original cover of the Soldbuch was ripped off - possibly while he was a POW). It is interesting also to note the stamp of the American CIC (Counter Intelligence Corps). Lösel even remembered the name of the US Intelligence officer who interrogated him, Captain Kaltenbach, and thar he amazed Lösel by seeming to already know all sorts of personal information about him, to the tiniest details.

[Gordon Williamson]

The Soldbuch was issued 2 September 1942 by the Generalkommando of the SS.Panzer Korps.

[Gordon Williamson]

After serving on the Eastern Front, Lösel was posted to France to take command of the Feldgendarmerie-Kompanie of the new 17 SS-Panzergrenadier Division, Götz von Berlichingen.

Note the unit info entry 17 SS-Pz. Gren. Div. "GvB"

[Gordon Williamson]

Kit issue entries showing the stamp for SS-Feldgendarmerie Kompanie 17

[Gordon Williamson]

Interesting entries at the lower part of the left hand page for the issue of tropical clothing "Tropenbekleidung"

[Gordon Williamson]

Lösel told me his personal weapon was an automatic pistol, but interesting to see that he was also issued a Machine Pistol, not so common for an officer.

[Gordon Williamson]

And indeed there is an entry showing that he possessed an automatic pistol that was his personal property.

[Gordon Williamson]

Interesting entry showing that he was classed as fit for service in "tropical" areas "Tropendienstfähig"

[Gordon Williamson]

And the most interesting entries, his awards. Note the Infanterie Sturmabzeichen and the EK1. Not especially high awards by any means, but decorations that are rarely seen being awarded to Feldgendarmerie and indicative of the heavy fighting that GvB found itself embroiled in during the battles in Normandy.

[Gordon Williamson]

And the man himself.

[Gordon Williamson]

An interesting comparison with the signature in his Soldbuch to the signature on the last letter I received from him before his death., shaky but still recognisable.

[hucks216]

That is an outstanding set to of acquired, especially as it belonged to someone you had been corresponding with. Did he ever say what had happened to his Soldbuch etc after the war or did he keep it all and this has been sold by the family after his death?

Signature on Pg 3 of the soldbuch is of, I believe, Karl Wiemann who was born 28th Jul 1903. It looks like it is also his signature on Pg 22 (second from bottom) for the IAB Silber entry.

Edited November 4, 2011 by hucks216

[hucks216]

And the signature at the bottom of Pg 22 for the EK I entry is of the Regimental Commander Josef Bäurle who was born 6th Auguat 1912 (died in 1978) and won the DKiG on 20th January 1943 while with 'Westland.' According to Lexikon he commanded SS-Pz.Grenadier Rgt 38 from November to December 1944 and SS-Pz.Grenadier Rgt 37 for just 5 days in March 1945. The Führerliste has him as being the commander of SS-Pz.Gren.Rgt 37 in April 1945. Both of those Pz.Grenadier Rgt's belonged to GvB.

[Gordon Williamson]

Hi Kevin,

You just beat me to it. Been going through the SS Führerlist and came to the same conclusions re Wiemann and Bäurle. Still trying to work out the other signatures relating to the Pz-Korps.

Lösel sadly didn't have any of his documents. A lot of his personal docs from his Police service were destroyed when the Police HQ in Stettin was bombed. All of his personal stuff was taken from him by the American troops top whom he surrendered ( from his letters looks like he was basically stripped of all his medals and insignia while being slapped around by souvenir hunting GIs. I suppose, being Waffen-SS its not too surprising ).

He did say that one of his captors complimented him on the conduct of the Feldgendarmerie-Kompanie.

He also gave me some info on his EK1. It was awarded for saving a group of elderly German army troops ( typical late war second-line troops) who were sheltering along with some civilians in a bunker. He and a few of his NCOs were decorated for that.

So, I don't think he ever had the Soldbuch after being released from captivity in 1947.

[Gordon Williamson]

Here is another interesting page, showing he was held as a POW at the former Stalag XIIID (Nürnberg Langwasser) and that despite the war ending in May, he was issued pay to cover from July to the end of September 1945 and then further pay in October 1945 !!

[Gordon Williamson]

A pleasant surprise this week when the seller contacted me to say that another document to Lösel had turned up. His Ausweis as a member of the Kripo is now set to join the rest of the group.