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SEE BELOW FOR DESCRIPTION
S003169 WAFFEN-SS, DUTCH RECRUITMENT/PROPAGANDA PAMPHLET.
(Propaganda Blättchen)BACKGROUND: As early as 1938 Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler and the Allgemeine-SS, (General-SS), began recruiting volunteer "Germanische", (Germanic), personnel who were considered to be suitably "Nordic", to serve in the SS-VT, SS-Verfügungstruppe, (SS-Special Purpose Troops). Originally these Germanic personnel were drawn from Dutch, Belgian, Danes and Norwegians but with only minor success. In March 1940 with the formation of the Waffen-SS recruitment of the Germanic personnel began to increase slightly and with the outbreak of WWII additional Germanic volunteers came forward to join the ranks of the Waffen-SS. The invasion of the Balkans in 1941 brought forward another pool of suitable Volksdeutsche, (Ethnic Germans), personnel available for voluntary enlistment in the Waffen-SS. The invasion of Russia on June 22ND 1941 and the war against Bolshevism resulted in the Waffen-SS experiencing another surge in recruits willing to serve with the Germans. As the war continued and man-power shortages became severe the standard criteria for acceptance into the Waffen-SS was decreased dramatically and numerous personnel who would have been unacceptable in 1939 were readily conscripted into service with the Waffen-SS. By the end of the war more then half of all the personnel serving in the Waffen-SS were non-Germans. One of the cheapest and most effective forms of luring new recruits was the production of pamphlets that were generally designed to extol the virtues of fighting the Russians and usually offered the recruits a national identity. On May 25TH 1940 the first Dutch volunteers were assigned to the newly formed "Westland" regiment and through-out the war other Dutch volunteers served with assorted SS units including the 11.SS-Freiwilligen-Panzer-Grenadier-Division "Nordland", the 23.SS-Freiwilligen-Grenadier-Division "Nederland" (niederlandische Nr.1) and the 34.SS-Freiwilligen-Grenadier-Division "Landstorm Nederland". Overall roughly 50,000 Dutch personnel served in assorted German military formations.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Roughly, 38cm x 48cm multi-fold, light weight paper recruitment pamphlet with printed black and white photographs and text with colored background fields. The front of the pamphlet features a black and white photograph of a young, SS-Untersturmführer, wearing a helmet and uniform in a cocky stance with one hand on his hip and the other hand casually holding a stick grenade. The visible uniform details include, the shoulder boards and rank collar tab, an army style sleeve eagle, a "Westland" cufftitle, a open rectangular, dual claw belt buckle, a three place ribbon bar, a Wound Badge, an Iron Cross 1ST class and what appears to be an Infantry Assault Badge. The photograph has a red printed caption, "Dat’s n’leven van stavast", (The life of the Stalwart). The connotation of the photograph and caption are quite clear as basically, Join us, we may be tough, as evidenced by the Wound Badge, but look what we have to offer, as evidenced by the Iron Cross and the cufftitle. Additional script poses most of the questions, with the appropriate answers, that a new recruit may ask including, "Hoe Wordt voor de Familieleden der Vrijwilligers Gezorgd?", (How are the families of the volunteers cared for?), "Wie kan zich Aanmelden?", (Who can Serve?), "Voor Welken Tijdsduur Verplicht men zich?", (For what duration does one obligate ones self?), "Wie kan Officier worden?", (Who can become an Officer?), and "Wat volgt later?", (What follows later?). More script lists some of the advantages of volunteering for service with the Waffen-SS and include, "Tarieven Kostwinnersvergoeding", (Wage Compensation Rates), "Sport en spel stalen de spieren", (Play Sports and steel the muscles), "lederen dag een maaltijd om van te watertanden", (Learn how a daily meal can make one’s mouth water), "Genoeglijk samenzijn na volbrachte dagtaak.", (Enjoyable gatherings after an accomplished days work) and, "Een Nederlandsch Vrijwilliger aan zijn Moeder", (A Dutch volunteer and his mother), with a replicated handwritten letter from a Dutch volunteer telling his mother how well things are going for him. The script is accompanied by twelve additional black and white photographs featuring SS men participating in sports, relaxing with an accordion and harmonicas, eating from a very large cooking pot, in a well stocked store room, skiing, marching, and in the field with a machine gun crew. The pamphlet also mentions a few of Holland's historical Dutch hero’s including, De Ruyter, Tromp, and J.P. Coen. The pamphlet ends with the caption, "Jongens met nit melden zich allen by het legioen en de Waffen-SS", (All Youth Report to the Legion of the Waffen-SS). The pamphlet also has the address to the Waffen-SS, "Ersatzkommando", (Replacement Center), in Den Haag with blank spaces for the volunteer to enter his name and address, for submission.
GRADE ****1/4 PRICE $119.00
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