Overview
- Brief Narrative
- Red fez with a swastika and Death's head given to Lt. Colonel Lee Israel by a German camp guard immediately after the liberation of the camp by US troops on April 29, 1945. Lt. Col. Israel gave it to Richard Price n the circa 1950s. 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
-
received:
1945 April 29
- Geography
-
received:
Dachau (Concentration camp) after liberation;
Dachau (Germany)
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Anthony T. Price
Physical Details
- Classification
-
Dress Accessories
- Category
-
Headgear
- Object Type
-
Fezes (lcsh)
- Physical Description
- Red felt fez with a 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: 9.125 inches (23.178 cm) | Width: 6.500 inches (16.51 cm) | Depth: 4.500 inches (11.43 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
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The fez was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1992 by Anthony Price, the son of Richard Price.
- Record last modified:
- 2024-10-03 12:43:31
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn7096
Download & Licensing
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