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 AH. 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 Waffen-SS ("Armed SS") was organized as the 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 chose the ᛋᛋ doppelte Siegrune (Double Sig/Victory Rune) to be their emblem, and many of their divisions also used the old Germanic Runes and symbols as well.

This is a very nice rare original Waffen-SS recruiting poster for their Gebirgstruppen Mountain Troop forces, which offered both the prestige of serving in the NSDAP organization, as well as being a member of the legendary Gebirgsjäger mountain troops, which had a long history in the mountainous south of Germany and in Austria. The poster is a print of a painting showing an SS-Unterscharführer NCO with his rifle in front of mountains covered in snow, definitely a beautiful location that one in the Mountain Troops could expect to see. He is wearing the iconic mountain trooper M-43 cap, based on the Bergmütze mountain cap, as well as a jacket or smock over much of his uniform. The poster measures 16 1/4"W x 22 1/4"H, and has the following text at the bottom:

Melde Dich freiwillig zu den
GEBIRGSTRUPPEN
der WAFFEN – ᛋᛋ

The translation is relatively straight forward: "Volunteer for the Mountain Troops of the Waffen-SS".

Condition of the poster is very good, and it looks to have been display for some time, which unfortunately did allow some level of insect damage on the lower border. It also is relatively dusty with a bit of worked in dirt, which we have left intact to avoid any damage to the piece. The paper is relatively fragile after so many years, and there are tears at the edges. The poster does show some very old fold lines, but it looks to have been kept flat for decades, and will no longer fold on those lines. We were not able to locate any printer or artist information on the poster, but the printing pattern is entirely consistent with period printing methods. The age and yellowing of the paper backing definitely attests to the great age of the poster.