Original German WWII 3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf “Meine Dienstzeit” Personal Photo Album – 202 Photos Original Items

Original Item: One-of-a-kind-set. The SS (Schutzstaffel – ‘Protection Squadron’) was originally formed in 1925, ostensibly to act as a small, loyal bodyguard unit to protect the Führer, Adolf H. 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 NSDAP and eventually controlled nearly every function of German life and much of Occupied Europe.

When WWII began in earnest, the SS-Verfügungstruppe (SS-VT) (SS Dispositional Troops) became the Waffen-SS (“Armed SS”), an official military branch of the SS organization. Its formations included men from NSDAP ruled Germany, along with volunteers and conscripts from both occupied and unoccupied lands.

Here we have a wonderful 3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf Waffen SS personal photo album, with what looks to be all photographs they took themselves, with possibly a few professional shots. It is covered with a lovely wood textured black leatherette cover, and there is a lovely hand-drawn silver Waffen SS Totenkopf (Death’s Head) Skull & Crossbones badge in the lower right corner over an embossed silver Meine Dienstzeit (My Service). The album measures approximately 12 3/4” x 9”. The inside cover shows two portraits of Waffen SS Soldiers, with Günther Hubert † 3.5.44 on the left and Möldinger Melchior on the right. We assume this means that Hubert was killed in action, though we do not know whether the album belonged to either.

A total of 202 photographs fill the pages of this album, making it a treasure-trove of images taken from the viewpoint of a young, patriotic German soldier. Aside from the two portraits on the inside of the front cover, there are no captions that we can see on any of the photos. These are contained on 17 pages (as well as the inside front and back covers), and most pages are separated by “onion skin” separators. Almost all of the photos are attached by being glued directly to the pages, and there is no evidence that photos were moved around post war. There is ripping to many of the pages, so the album may have been exposed to moisture at some point.

The photo album looks to show Waffen SS soldiers in service in various locations over what looks to be both Western and Eastern Europe. There are a good amount of battlefield photos, as well as vehicles, and lots of pictures of Waffen SS soldiers. Most importantly, there are some great pictures of tanks and other armored vehicles! Definitely some great historical research potential in these pages!

Historical records like this album have become priceless time capsules that provide an incomparable level of insight into the individual experience of the Second
World War, now that almost eighty years have passed.

The older albums such as these usually withstand the ravages of time. The leather or fabric covers may wear, but the pages stay well intact. The black paper albums of the early 20th century are more fragile, while the glue from magnetic albums can damage photographs. And, as with all old photographs, keep albums in a safe, climate controlled environment.

More on the 3rd SS Panzer Division “Totenkopf”:

This elite division of the Waffen-SS of NSDAP Germany during World War II formed from the Standarten of the SS-TV. Its name, Totenkopf, is German for “death’s head” – the skull and crossbones symbol – and it is thus sometimes referred to as the Death’s Head Division.

The division was formed through the expansion of Kampfgruppe Eicke, a battle group named – in keeping with German military practice – after its commander, Theodor Eicke. Most of the battle group’s personnel had been transferred to the Waffen SS from KZ camp guard units, which were known collectively as SS-Totenkopfverbände; others were former members of Selbstschutz: ethnic German militias that had committed war crimes in Poland.

The division became notorious for its brutality, and committed numerous war crimes, including the Le Paradis massacre.