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 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 all of the leather components still present. As the war progressed the design was simplified for economical and practical reasons so the cowhide cover was eliminated making these packs especially scarce on today's collector market. This example of a wartime rucksack comes complete with the correct shoulder straps, and retains over 90 % of the cowhide on the cover. The leather is in very good condition on the pack, though it does show some wear from service. Measures approximately 13"H x 14"W x 2"D empty.

Attached to the top flap of the tornister is a very nice aluminum Kochgeschirr Modell 1910 (Cookwar M1910) mess kit, which is a WWI design but did continue to be made up until 1940. It has much of the original black paint visible, though we were not able to see any maker marks.

The best part of this set is definitely the original Waffen SS Wool Blanket, which still has the original RZM tag, which has both the ((RZM)) logo as well as the ((ᛋᛋ)) Doppelte Siegrune (Double Sig/Victory Rune) emblem. It identifies the blanket as a MANNSCHAFTSDECKE für SS (Team Blanket for SS). It gives the Hersteller (supplier) as 7, and has the lot number No. 241720. The blanket is in very good condition, and is attached to the outside of the tornister with three utility straps.

A really nice example of a hard to find backpack with a Mess Kit and Blanket 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.