D-105 Extremely Nice SS Soldbuch for a Member of
the 13th SS Division “Handschar”
Bilingual Soldbuch was issued on 28 April 1943 through the
Kroatische SS-Freiwillige-Division “Handschar” to SS Sturmmann Heinrich
Wilhelm, who was later promoted to Unterscharführer. Wilhelm, who was born on
13 July 1916 in Essegg, Yugoslavia, and was a barber in civilian life. Soldbuch
has a truly exceptional photo of Wilhelm wearing a brand new SS uniform clearly
showing the SS runic tab. It's interesting to note that his hair is extremely
well groomed, speaking for his civilian profession. Wilhelm was assigned to the
2nd Company of SS-Sanitäts-Abteilung 13 (SS Medical Battalion 13) and served as
a Medic for his entire military career. Wilhelm was trained with the K 98 rifle
and possessed a Class III SS Driver’s License, which is included in the
grouping. This license was issued by the Divisional Headquarters on 25 November
1943. Wilhelm received the Silver Zvonomir Medal on 5 May 1945. The clothing
issuance pages are well filled out and show that he received a green fez that
Muslim members of the “Handschar” Division were issued. Issued a pistol,
possessed the German Red Cross identification giving him rights under the Geneva
Convention, and was permitted to wear the Red Cross armband. Wilhelm was
captured by the Americans at the end of the war and was permitted to begin a new
life in Germany. This Soldbuch is jam-packed with entries. Stamps were de-nazified
(nicely done!) by Wilhelm himself because he would have needed to use this
document as a post-war identification. Grouping also includes the following:
Photo of Croatian(?) Troops marching. This photo is well captioned on the
reverse, but I can not read the language; pre-war Croatian identification for
Wilhelm. He originally had the name Hinko Wilhelm, but Germanized his name
during the war. His identification has a nice photo of Wilhelm; a document
concerning his refugee status; post-war ration booklet and stamps; document
concerning his post-war employment. He (of course!) was employed as a barber;
1947-dated refugee identification issued in Witzenhausen; and a 1955 dated
West German identification for refugees. This is an exceptional and rare SS
Soldbuch grouping for a soldier who served as a medic with the reknown
“Handschar” Division, a Unit that had few survivors.
$1,400.00
Reduced Price: $1,150.00
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Item D-105
