Description

Here we have an ultra rare SS marksmanship award produced in silvered cupal by the Otto Gahr firm. This particular example is the highest grade and with three oak leafs and is considered the sharpshooter grade. This incredible decoration was phased out by the end of 1937 in favor for the newly introduced wool sleeve diamond. Period photos of this badge in wear are extremely hard to find and the decoration was permitted for wear on the right breast pocket. The reverse features a double Sig rune emblem as well as the GES. GESCH marking. RARE.The Schutzstaffel (SS) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe during World War II. It began with a small guard unit known as the Saal-Schutz (“Hall Security”) made up of NSDAP volunteers to provide security for party meetings in Munich. In 1925, Heinrich Himmler joined the unit, which had by then been reformed and given its final name. Under his direction (1929–45) it grew from a small paramilitary formation during the Weimar Republic to one of the most powerful organizations in Nazi Germany. From 1929 until the regime’s collapse in 1945, the SS was the foremost agency of security, surveillance, and terror within Germany and German-occupied Europe. The two main constituent groups were the Allgemeine SS (General SS) and Waffen-SS (Armed SS). The Allgemeine SS was responsible for enforcing the racial policy of Nazi Germany and general policing, whereas the Waffen-SS consisted of combat units within Nazi Germany’s military. A third component of the SS, the SS-Totenkopfverbände (SS-TV), ran the concentration camps and extermination camps. Additional subdivisions of the SS included the Gestapo and the Sicherheitsdienst (SD) organizations. They were tasked with the detection of actual or potential enemies of the Nazi state, the neutralization of any opposition, policing the German people for their commitment to Nazi ideology, and providing domestic and foreign intelligence. Free shipping ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD & I don’t charge PayPal fees like some of the other guys!