Lot 8569

Description

Numerous photos from the French campaign, including six very rare shots taken after the Battle of Le Paradis (inscribed and dated “1 June 1940” on the reverse); nine photos showing the subject wearing the Knight's Cross and SS “Norge” uniform (extremely rare, likely unpublished); numerous shots in SS camouflage gear; unit vehicles (bearing the *Totenkopf*/Death's Head emblem); an award ceremony; SS Knight's Cross recipients such as Theodor Eicke and Paul Hausser; high-ranking SS officers; a visit by Adolf Hitler; training and shooting exercises; a rare shot featuring an SS winter camouflage helmet; portrait photos; nine large-format photos in *Allgemeine-SS* uniform (featuring a very rare cuff title); ten “Unsere Waffen-SS” (Our Waffen-SS) postcards; SS graves (grave crosses), etc. In total, over 210 photos and ten postcards, plus one photographic negative (showing an HJ anti-aircraft helper). German Reich passport (with photo, issued 11 July 1929); a permanent pass for a 1934 Berlin exhibition; a 5½-page handwritten statement regarding the Le Paradis massacre of 27 May 1940 (a document cited on Wikipedia, written on 20 September 1947 during his imprisonment). Also included are additional documents, field mail, POW mail, postcards, and newspaper clippings. Fritz Knöchlein was awarded the German Cross in Gold (15 Nov. 1942) and the Knight's Cross (16 Nov. 1944). He joined the SS in 1934 and graduated from the SS-Junkerschule Braunschweig; his service included stints with SS-Totenkopfstandarte I “Oberbayern” and the 2nd SS-Totenkopf-Regiment (mot.). He also commanded several SS regiments, such as SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 23 “Norge” and SS-Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 49. Very rare!

Condition: II Questions about the lot?