Original German WWII Italian 29th Waffen SS Grenadier Division Collar Tab & Sleeve Shield Insignia Set – Unissued Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. Here we have an excellent set of unissued insignia for a member of the 29th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Italian) also known as the Legione SS Italiana. This consists of the right side Collar Tab, as well as the Italian Volunteer sleeve shield.

Known as Kragenpatte in German, the collar tab measures approximately 2 1/2″ x 1 1/2″, and in the SS the Right side would indicate the particular unit of the wearer. The German runic symbols were reserved for ethnic German / Aryan units, so the foreign volunteer units would have insignia related to their home country. This example shows the Fasces emblem with an axe next to it, the insignia of the Italian Fascist party. It is made of black fabric with silver thread and an internal lacquered buckram fabric stiffener. Ther eis the correct small red stitch on the blade top of the axe.

The Italienische Freiwillige Waffen SS Ärmelabzeichen (Italian Volunteer Waffen SS sleeve insignia) is a text book example. It is constructed with Gold and Red machine embroidery, showing the Italian “Fasces” insignia of the Fascist Party in Italy, with a border around it. The insignia measures approximately 2 1/2″ x 2″, and is embroidered onto black “Badge cloth. These were usually sewn to the sleeve of the uniform. These were usually sewn to the sleeve of the uniform.

Both insignia are in excellent unissued condition, and show no signs of ever having been attached to a uniform. We have heard that many of these SS insignia were made at the Dachau camp, and many unissued examples were recovered at the end of the war when the camp was liberated. There is however no concrete evidence regarding this.

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During World War II, the Waffen-SS recruited significant numbers of non-Germans, both as volunteers and conscripts. In total some 500,000 non-Germans and ethnic Germans from outside Germany, mostly from German-occupied Europe, were recruited between 1940 and 1945. The units were under the control of the SS Führungshauptamt (SS Command Main Office) beneath Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler. Upon mobilization, the units’ tactical control was given to the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (High Command of the Armed Forces).

The Italian volunteer units were originally created in the puppet Italian Social Republic in 1943 as the Italian Legion, later renamed to a brigade. The unit was upgraded to division status on 10 February 1945, becoming the 29. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (italienische Nr. 1) (29th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Italian)). It was also referred to as the Legione SS Italiana (Italian SS Legion).

The Kingdom of Italy on 8 September 1943 signed an armistice with the Allies. In response, the German Army and the Waffen-SS disarmed Italian troops unless they were fighting for the German cause. The new Italian Social Republic was founded on 23 September 1943 under dictator Benito Mussolini. On 2 October 1943, Heinrich Himmler and Gottlob Berger devised the Programm zur Aufstellung der italienischen Milizeinheiten durch die Waffen-SS (“Program for the deployment of Italian militia forces by the Waffen-SS”) which was approved by Adolf and Benito Mussolini.