Did German soldiers ever go to war wearing the swastika armband (even once)?
Strictly speaking they were not soldiers, but units of the Reichs Arbeitdeinst (RAD) were often deployed as construction troops in support of the Wehrmacht. When operating in occupied territories they were armed for self defence. They were often engaged by partisans and RAD units were sometimes conscripted en mass into the Wehrmacht to fight Allied offensives.Later in the War the RAD were often employed as flak gunners.
How come some SS uniforms had armbands while some didn't?
I am asking my uniform expert on this question. Also here is the Hugo Boss SS uniform ad in 1934:Update: The NSDAP SS Party Member Armband was worn with dress and ceremonial uniforms.The most notable armband exception to the dress uniform was the white summer dress, sometimes an armband was worn with it, but you see many photos where they are not wearing an armband, but wearing the “Party Badge”, on their tie and sometimes there are not wearing any party identification at all.Usually (almost always), you see no party identification when it is a Waffen SS wearing the White Summer Dress Uniform and it is common to not see an armband with an Allgemeine SD White Summer Dress Uniform.The Armband generally was not worn with the SS grey service uniform or field uniform, but there were exceptions to this.In the attached photo, all but two are wearing the “Armband”; the exceptions are the SS Mess Waiter and the SD Officer.The SD Officer is wearing a Service Uniform; they did not normally wear an armband with the service uniform.The SS Mess Waiter uniform was different, although it was white and technically a dress uniform it was also a service uniform and an armband was not worn with this uniform.
Do line combat medics still wear the red cross armband?
They have been armed and shooting back since Viet Nam. Not sure there is a need to make yourself a priority target like you say. That said it has been along time since those armbands have been worn.
The value of a natzi swatstaka armband from a soilder of war with the soilders blood on it?
1) German Soldiers by law were banned from being part of any political organization. No soldier of the Wermacht (Name of the German Army in WW2) would have been wearing a swastika armband. 2) Only the Gestapo (Secret Police) the SS, and High Nazi Party Officials wore the swastika armband. So it was not a soldier that your uncle killed. 3) It is not going to be worth very much except to a possible collector of Nazi Memorabilia. Even then, they are fairly common so you won't get much for it.
Where do i sell Nazi arm bands i know i cant sell on ebay
There a lot of WW II dealers that will buy that from you. Most of them deal at gun shows, although there are quite a few on line now. I'd also call some larger antique centers and see if they have any memorabilia dealers or know of any. Each state usually has one or two guys that do a lot of military history items. That's a pretty expensive item, get a few quotes before you let it go. Just the patches are $50-75 the last time I looked at them.
Could SS soldiers remove the Nazi armband from their uniforms?
“SS Soldiers”, I can only assume you meant Waffen-SS troops, never wore Nazi armbands, not as part of everyday uniform. The only exception would be units like the Leibstandarte performing public duties. Armbands were political, not military items.In any event all armbands were removal items. Would be pretty impractical to have a suit or uniform, as well as the same suit or uniform but with armband, compared with just a detachable armband.And like all militaries, and most particular German militaries, rules and regulations on what you can wear were very strict. You couldn’t have certain combinations of awards and badges, for instance.Oh yeah and the tactical stupidity of wearing them at all. Better question would be “Has there ever been an SS soldier dumb enough to wear one on uniform”.
I found a Nazi armband from WWII, Is it worth anything?
Is it indeed an armband or a cuffband? It's not 'Berfteller'; it's "Hersteller" which is German for "Manufacturer". Hersteller is often followed by a 1-3 digit code which would identify it's licensed manufacturer. I don't believe an estimated value could be properly determined with the supplied details.
In a war like WWII, why wouldn’t the Nazis wear uniforms like the Americans so that they could sneak into their camps and ambush them? There’s probably a simple reason that I’m missing.
As others on this thread have pointed out, during the Battle of the Bulge in December, 1944, German special forces did infiltrate American lines wearing American uniforms in an attempt to sow confusion during the German attack. These men were picked for the mission because of personal knowledge of the United States, and because of their significant language skills and ability to speak English without a German accent.They did manage to create some initial confusion, but unfortunately for most of them they were not able to keep up the charade very long. No matter how knowledgeable a foreigner is about another country, there are cultural nuances that they will miss. In the tension and anxiety created by the initial German successes in the first days of the offensive, that was fatal for many of these Germans.The popular American historian Stephen Ambrose detailed some of these faux paus, such as an incident where Germans, when questioned by suspicious American military police as to which unit they were from, said they were from a cavalry company down the road — which instantly led to their deaths, because in the US Army cavalry are deployed in troops, not companies. Others in similar situations were quizzed by American soldiers from specific neighborhoods in the United States that the Germans claimed to be from, with references to local baseball teams, for example, or physical landmarks. The wrong answer brought quick retribution.Those like the unfortunate German “cavalry” troopers who weren’t killed on the spot were summarily executed by firing squad once their true identities were confirmed. As others on this thread have pointed out, wearing an enemy uniform is against the Geneva Convention. The US Army had no tolerance for that type of fighting by the time of the Bulge, and the Army leadership made crystal clear what should be the fortune of any German soldier caught in an American uniform.