Overview
- Brief Narrative
- Red fez with a swastika and Death's head owned by Rabbi Aaron Landes. The fez was found at Dachau concentration camp in Germany following the April 29 liberation by US troops. The red fez was part of the dress uniform of a Waffen-SS military detachment composed of Muslims from Bosnia, Croatia, and Herzegovina in occupied Yugoslavia, with one division from Albania. There was a green/field gray fez for the combat uniform. The creation of this unit was authorized by Hitler in 1943. The original purpose was to combat Tito’s partisans. Through recruitment and conscription, the unit had 26,000 soldiers within a few months. The group was commanded by German or ethnic German officers, and the uniforms were designed to reflect the religion/ethnicity of the recruits.
- Date
-
found:
after 1945 April 29
- Geography
-
found:
Dachau (Concentration camp) after liberation;
Dachau (Germany)
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Aaron Landes
Physical Details
- Classification
-
Dress Accessories
- Category
-
Headgear
- Object Type
-
Fezes (lcsh)
- Physical Description
- Red felt fez with a black tassel. The front of the cap has two patched embroidered in silver thread: the top patch is in the shape of a Reichsadler, a sinistra eagle with outstretched wings holding a wreath encircling a swastika in its talons. Below this is a Totenkopf [a Death’s head], or skull and crossbones.
- Dimensions
- overall: Height: 7.500 inches (19.05 cm) | Width: 4.250 inches (10.795 cm) | Depth: 7.000 inches (17.78 cm)
- Materials
- overall : wool, leather, metal, cord
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- No restrictions on access
- Conditions on Use
- No restrictions on use
Keywords & Subjects
- Corporate Name
- Waffen-SS
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The fez was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1992 by Rabbi Aaron Landes
- Record last modified:
- 2024-05-10 14:11:58
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn6364
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Also in Rabbi Aaron Landes collection
The collection consists of two Waffen SS fez found at Dachau concentration camp following its liberation by United States troops.
Date: after 1945 April 29
Red fez found at Dachau concentration camp after liberation
Object
Red fez with a label with Persian text owned by Rabbi Aaron Landes. The fez was found at Dachau concentration camp in Germany following the April 29 liberation by US troops. There was a unit of the Waffen SS that wore a red fez as part of the dress uniform. It was composed of Muslims from Bosnia, Croatia, and Herzegovina in occupied Yugoslavia. Unlike this fez, which is unadorned, the Waffen SS fezes had a Nazi Death's head and Reichsadler insignia.
