Original Item: Only One Available. 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. They were issued the same field gear as the regular Heer Army, however they were marked specifically for the SS.

This Waffen SS Marked cowhide-covered rucksack was known as the Tornister (Knapsack) Model 34 (developed in 1934) and comes complete with the correct shoulder straps, and looks to have most leather components still present. These are often described as being covered with "pony fur", however research shows that this was just a nickname, and was never used on these. The German nickname for these packs was Affe, or ape. Those issued to the SS exhibit more variation compared to those used by the Heer Army, and this example has cowhide on all sides of the pack, not just the flap or back. It also looks to have been made using mostly black leather, as usually preferred by the SS.

This example of a pre-war rucksack comes complete with its original shoulder straps, and retains about 75% of the cowhide, with areas showing damage from age and also insects. The leather is in good shape, but definitely shows wear and cracking from use, and overall the pack looks to have seen long service during the war. There are some repairs to the leather, as well as what look to be some period replaced leather components.

The upper back of the pack is marked with an SS RZM maker marking showing the Doppelte Siegrune (Double Sig/Victory Rune) emblem: (RZM) 01 / 37 (ᛋᛋ). The SS Used a different RZM numbering system, so we are unfortunately unable to identify the producer of the pack. We checked the interior, and were not able to locate any additional tags or identifying markings.

The pack definitely does show wear, and the canvas is stained and worn through in places. The leather is a bit worn and cracked, with some of the strap missing most of their length, while others are partly torn through. Some of the buckles are missing as well, so please consult the pictures for details. Measures approximately 14"H x 12"W x 2"D when empty. It has the correct straps on the exterior for a bed roll or other piece of field gear.

A really nice example of a hard to find backpack as used by German Waffen SS soldiers in WW2, fully marked and ready for research and display!

The Allgemeine-SS, (General-SS), was originally formed in May 1923 as the Stosstrupp Adolf AH, (Shock Troops Adolf AH), and was redesignated Schutzstaffel, (Protection Squad), in April 1925 with the official acceptance of the name verified on the second anniversary of the failed Munich "Beer-Hall" Putsch on November 9TH 1925. On January 6TH 1929 Heinrich Himmler was appointed as Reichsführer-SS, (National Leader {of the} SS), and on July 20TH 1934 shortly after the, June 30TH 1934, purge of the SA, Sturm Abteilung, (Storm Troopers) on the "Night of the Long Knives", the SS was rewarded by AH by being granted the status of an independent organization under direct control of the NSDAP, Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, (National Socialist German Worker’s Party).

The SS developed the distinctive SS style cap skull and cross bones on October 6TH 1934 and introduced the SS pattern national cap eagle in February 1936. After their introductions the skull and eagle were to be worn on all forms of SS headgear. In 1944 the SS developed a single piece of cap insignia which incorporated both the skull and eagle on a one piece trapezoid base for wear on the M43 field cap. Originally these trapezoidal pieces of insignia were produced in a machine woven version until a final, embroidered version was introduced in late 1944. The first versions of the trapezoidal cap insignia featured dual rows of teeth in the skull while later versions only had a single row of teeth. Panzer personnel’s cap trapezoids were produced with a black base to match the color of the cap it was to be worn on.