Original Item: Only One Available. This is an original October 1, 1942 issue of Das Schwarze Korps (“The Black Corps”), the official weekly newspaper of the SS. It is identified as Issue 40 of the publication’s eighth year and remains in very good condition, showing expected discoloration and wear from age.

Das Schwarze Korps was established in March 1935 under the authority of the Reichsführung-SS. It was published by the NSDAP controlled Franz Eher publishing house, with Gunter d’Alquen serving as chief editor and Max Amann as publisher. The newspaper was available for public purchase, while SS members were expected to read it and promote its circulation.

The publication served as a principal propaganda organ of the SS and worked closely with the Sicherheitsdienst, or SD. Its articles promoted SS policies and ideology while frequently attacking Jews, the Catholic Church, Freemasons, Communists, and other groups regarded by the organization as political or ideological enemies. The German Federal Archives describes it as an SS weekly published from March 1935 until April 1945 under Gunter d’Alquen’s editorship.

This issue is marked:

Berlin, 1. Oktober 1942
40. Folge ✶ 8. Jahrgang

This translates as Berlin, October 1, 1942, Issue 40, Eighth Year.

The newspaper measures approximately 12½" × 18½". It has been folded in half, as commonly encountered with period newspapers, and the paper displays expected age discoloration. The central fold has become somewhat delicate and should be handled carefully to prevent further separation or damage.

The cover features a political cartoon titled:

Der US.-Marine-Sachverständige

This can be translated as “The U.S. Naval Expert.” The cartoon satirizes the American naval response to German U-boat operations during 1942, when shipping losses off the American coast remained an important subject of German wartime propaganda.

Another article is titled Die Grenze des Bluffs, or “The Limit of Bluff,” and addresses the situation in the United Kingdom. Additional pages contain propaganda and political satire directed against Joseph Stalin and other Allied leaders. As expected for a period newspaper, the rear cover contains commercial advertisements.

An interesting original wartime issue of the official SS newspaper, displaying well with its illustrated U-boat themed cover and offering substantial primary source material for the study of German WWII propaganda, journalism, and public messaging.