BACKGROUND: The SS-Gebirgsjäger-Regiment-12, "Michael Gaßmair", (12^TH Mountain Troop Regiment "Michael Gaßmair"), was originally formed in September 1939 as the SS-Totenkopf-Standarte 7, (7^TH Death Head Regiment). The regiment was to become one of the cadre units of the SS-Kampfgruppe Nord, (SS Battle Group North), on its inception in February 1941 and was redesignated, SS-Infanterie-Regiment 7 {mot.}, (7^TH Motorized Infantry Regiment). In September 1941 SS-Kampfgruppe Nord was upgraded to Infantry Division status and in January 1942 it was converted to a Mountain Division. In October 1943 the division received its final designation as 6. SS-Gebirgsjäger-Division "Nord", (6^TH SS Mountain Division North), and in June 1944 the regiment received its final designation as, SS-Gebirgsjäger-Regiment-12, "Michael Gaßmair". On June 21^ST 1944 personnel of the regiment were allotted an honor cufftitle scripted, "Michael Gaßmair". Of Note: Michael Gaßmair, (1490-1532), was a revolutionary Tyrolean Protestant reformationist and an adherent of Switzerland’s Huldrych Zwingli’s doctrine. Gaßmair intended to overthrow the Roman Catholic Hapsburg’s to create a Protestant peasant republic and led an unsuccessful revolt against the Monarchy. Fleeing to Italy after the unsuccessful revolution Gaßmair was assassinated in Padau in 1532. Also Of Note: The RZM, Reichzeugmeisterei, (National Equipment Quartermaster), was official founded in June 1934 in Munich by the NSDAP, Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, (National Socialist German Worker’s Party) as a Reich Hauptamt, (State Central Office), and was based on the earlier SA Quartermaster’s Department. The functions of the RZM were not only to procure and distribute items to Party formations, but also to approve chosen designs and to act as a quality control supervisor to ensure items manufactured for the Party met required specification and were standardized. Starting in late 1934 items manufactured for the SS came under the quality control of the RZM and were marked by a cloth RZM/SS approval tag. The dimensions and design of these cloth tags was altered in 1935 and this second pattern tag remained in use until early 1938, when it was replaced by a paper tag. In 1943 the Waffen-SS assumed full control over their uniform item production and no longer fell under the authority of the RZM. Also Of Note: Due to the late introduction date, the "Michael Gaßmair" cufftitle was only produced in the machine woven, (BeVo), pattern.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Roughly, 1 1/4" tall, 19" long, full length, BeVo, machine woven, black rayon construction cufftitle with machine woven Latin script with the stylistic, Germanic dual "S", (ß), eszett, character, "Michael Gaßmair" in silvery/grey cotton threads. The cufftitle is bordered at both the top and bottom edges with interwoven, vertically stitched, silvery/grey cotton threads. The full length cufftitle has the typical "salt & pepper" pattern reverse with folded over machine stitched ends. One of the folded over ends has the machine woven, manufacturer’s trade name, "Bevo-Wuppertal", also in silvery/grey cotton threads indicating manufacture by Bandfabrik Ewald Vorsteher in Wuppertal. The cufftitle is in overall very good, unissued, condition with minor age toning. Scarce cufftitle.

GRADE ****                                 PRICE $3,995.00