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The totenkopf used by the SS is different from that used by the German army in WW2. It's also largely an exaggeration (approaching a myth) that Hugo Boss had much of an influence on the look of Nazi uniforms: those uniforms were based on a universal style used by almost all armies since before WW 1, from Australia to the USA, to Japan etc.
Others, like the Wehrmacht, thought it looked cool and co-opted the pomp of the "elite" cavalry. Rommel, for example, was an infantry commander before WW2 but definitely took on the cavalry mindset. Fashion was very important to militaries in WW2 –
The SA were definitely subject to abuse and ridicule by communists and leftists, focusing on various aspects which probably included their uniform (there are certainly caricatures of German uniforms of the period by the likes of George Grosz, although some uniforms were even more ridiculous, such as the WW1-era cavalry's legendarily tight trousers).
The Russian winter was a contributing factor. The German winter is not like the Russian plains winter where the German army advanced. The German army was reportedly still wearing summer uniforms when the Russian winter hit. The winter was one of the coldest for that time period. Hitler refused to send winter uniforms when initially requested.
The German soldier in these units is in a preferred category and is the backbone of the German Armed Forces. Handbook on German Military Forces, U.S. War Department Technical Manual TM-E-431, 15 March 1945, Chapter 1: The German Military System. Otherwise the Waffen-SS and Wehrmacht generally performed the same role during the war.
The Schutzstaffel was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. When Heinrich Himmler became leader of SS (1925.) it grew up to largest and most powerful organisation in Third Reich. There were lot of SS divisions in WW2, and SS members commited lot of crimes. On Nuremberg trials SS was declared criminal ...
Allied casualties 23 million, German 10.1 Million. Score effectiveness Allied .25, German 1.84. Which means one in four Allied soldiers inflicted a casualty on the Germans, while each German averaged nearly two Allied casualties. Even after Depuy adjusted for defense posture the German score rating was 1.42. Which was five times as great as the ...
The main practical use for Pickelhaube style spiked helmets was to attract voluntary enlistments as part of fancy full dress uniforms, which was more important in the British and American armies because they relied on voluntary enlistment instead of the draft up until WWI (except for 1863-1865 in the US Civil War).
All three had specific reasons for appearing in military uniforms if and when they did (keep in mind that they did not regularly or always wear them). Stalin utilized the victory in the Great Patriotic War to establish his demi-God status throughout the Soviet Union and portray his actions in the 1930s as necessary for the war's outcome.
Can anyone identify these uniforms and the military decoration that looks like an x or a cross on the shorter gentleman? The shorter gentleman is my great-grandfather. The only information I have is his name. I don't even have his DOB or DOD (although I'm speculating circa 1880's - 1940).