Here we have a nice set of Tank Commanders Optics – this SF14 Z set up is one of the hardest and rarest to find, for use in the turret of the commanders cupola.  These were used in various tanks including the StuG and Tank Hunters. This particular set was a GI Bringback likely from the European Theater of Operations . Important: We can send US inclusive, but for all other countries we need to charge the shipping cost.       

Neudorf was born in Ukraine and served in one of the oddest Waffen SS units known. I was unable to find any other Soldbuch for a member of this unit. Apart from doing excavations and preparing special defences, they engaged partisans in Italy, and are mentioned by various sources for taking part in the Pedescala massacre in Italy. His Soldbuch was issued by, Prof. Gustav Riek (see below for his career – Himmlers Staff) The unit:Himmler ‘s SS had set up a special department of geologists: it was the ” SS-Wehrgeologen Bataillon (mot) 500″ set up between 1941 and 1942 in Hamburg-Langerhorn. Then in the summer of 1943 a department was sent to Italy , in the Reggio Emilia area , while the other units were sent, on March 16, 1944 , to the Breton region in France . In Italy they had to officially prepare the fortifications for the “Blaue Linien” between Trentino and Veneto . After 8 September 1943 , at least 200 Italians, including 5 officers, joined that unit, so that by April 1944 the unit had a strength of 12 officers, 50 non-commissioned officers and 580 men, with the following armament: 27 MG, 6 mittl. Gr.Werfer, 60 machine guns, 450 rifles. In the spring of 1945 the “SS-Wehrgeologen Btl ” was stationed on the Folgaria plateau in Trentino, and was under the command of Obersturmbannführer (Lieutenant Colonel) Rolf Hohne, born on 26 September 1908 , who had led in 1936 the excavations in the castle of Quedlinburg , where the skull of Henry I the Fowler was found , the mythical king of the Saxons, of which the head of the SS , Heinrich Himmler, believed to be the reincarnation. Some of the purposes of this special SS unit was also the search for sources of water, minerals and precious stones. Research carried out above all on the Carpathians, through excavations in archaeological sites and explorations of natural caves. Now, this SS Unitt was inspired by the studies of Wilhelm Teudt , director of the “Ortungslinienforschung” department of the Ahnenerbe , and by those of Josef Heinsch relating to the theory of the “Heilige-linien” , who maintained that Trieste could be the place of contact or one of the doors to the afterlife, or one of the crossing points to another world. In 1943-1945, when the impending defeat of the Third Reich became obvious, the SS geologists were sent to southern France and Italy, to work on the Blue Line. Blu line was a system of fortifications, to be built in the Prealps, to stop the allies, invading at the time Sicily during ‘Operation Husky.’ An even more ambitious plan included the idea to use the mountains as the Alpenfestung, the Alps-fortress, as a last refugium for the Nazis. At this time the unit comprised more than 600 men, including geologists and soldiers. In the Italian city of Trieste, the Wehrgeologen helped in the construction of ‘Small Berlin’, a system of underground bunkers. During this operation, the geologists explored also caves and ancient mines, in part for minerals and resources, but also searching for the mythical entrance to a supposed ancient underground reign. Supposedly, strange galleries of unknown origin were discovered. At least some members also studied supposed earth-force-fields. Wilhelm Teudt and Josef Heinsch, both researchers at the Ahnenerbe, believed that streams of energy, following Ley-Lines, crossed beneath the city of Trieste. Today, Nazi geologists searching the entrance to the Hollow Earth sounds like the plot for a bad movie. This should not hide the cruel reality of the war and the regime. The SS Wehrgeologen were also involved in war crimes. In the village of Laita various civilians were executed by the bataillon 500. The villages of Pedescala and Settecà, in the province of Trentino, were both burned to the ground and 83 civilians killed. This happened during the withdraw of the German troops in the last days of World War II, an involvement of the SS geologists seems also possible in this case. Signatures: Page 2 –  Johannes Gustav Riek (May 23, 1900 in Stuttgart − November 1, 1976 in Feldstetten) was a German archaeologist from the University of Tübingen who worked with the SS Ahnenerbe in their excavations, and led the teams that excavated the Vogelherd Cave in 1931, the Heuneburg Tumulus burial mounds in 1937 and the Brillenhöhle 1955–63. At Vogelherd, Riek discovered ivory figurines of the Aurignacian archeological tradition. Gustav Riek studied geology and was a scientific assistant in Halle/Saale and at the Prehistoric Institute of the University of Tübingen. In 1934 he habilitated with the work Die Eiszeitjägerstation am Vogelherd in the Lonetal and became a lecturer at the University of Tübingen. In 1935 Riek was appointed associate professor and director of the Institute for Prehistory and Early History. In 1929 he became a member of the NSDAP, in 1933 he joined the SA and was a block warden as well as archive and press warden. In 1937 Riek became a member of the SS. From 1933 he was also a member of the Reich Association of German Civil Servants (RDB), from 1934 in the NS-People’s Welfare (NSV) and in the NS-Altherrenbund (NSAHB), from 1935 in the NS-Dozentenbund (NSDDB) and for this man of trust at the Mathematical -Faculty of natural sciences at the University of Tübingen and in the same year a member of the Reichskolonialbund (RKB). In the SS Ahnenerbe he worked on Germanic prehistoric research. In March 1941, Riek was appointed to the personal staff of Reichsfuhrer SS (RFSS) Heinrich Himmler. In December 1941 Riek received the SS Totenkopfring and the Julgabe of the ancestral heritage. From January 1940 to March 1942 he was responsible for the political training of prisoners in the SS special camp in Hinzert, first as Obersturmfuhrer and then as Hauptsturmfuhrer of the Waffen-SS. In the fall of 1941, Riek was involved in the murder of 70 Soviet prisoners of war by injecting potassium cyanide. According to Strobel 2003, p. 452, Riek…

Directly out of the woodwork, this amazing story of Oberst Horst Kitschmann.  Amazing Uniform was worn in London in 1937! Interestingly, he had the tailor add some material to the inners of the tunic for his left shoulder, as he badly wounded in WW1.  Items included:  Period Tunic of the Regimental Commander A.A 5 Aiguillette (never removed from Tunic)  Officer Parade Belt and Buckle Officers Sword and Internal carrying strap  English Medal for the Coronation 1937 with Sweetheart Ribbon  German Horseman’s Badge in Silver Kitschmann had an impressive career, the new owner will receive a copy of the 78 Page Folder from the German Archives.  Here is a brief synopsis of his career, found below.  Kitschmann, Horst Hans Alfred *24.02.1895 in Graudenz †11.11.1975 Vater: Oskar Kitschmann, Dezernent für das Schulwesen in Berlin, †1918 Mutter: Wilhelmine, geb. Heymann, †31.12.1934 Ehefrau: Gertrud, geb. Albrecht, *21.12.1903, verheiratet den 26.05.1938 2 Söhne (*1939 / *194x) Promotions: 27.01.1915 Fähnrich 31.05.1915 Leutnant (Patent vom 11.09.1915) 01.07.1922 RDA vom 01.09.1915 (134) erhalten 31.07.1925 Oberleutnant mit RDA vom 01.04.1925 (110) 01.04.1930 Rittmeister (15) 01.12.1935 Major (21) 01.01.1939 Oberstleutnant (19) 01.11.1941 Oberst (13) Career: 18.08.1914 als Kriegsfreiwilliger in das Füsilier-Regiment Nr. 35 eingetreten 05.11.1914 als Fahnenjunker im Füsilier-Regiment Nr. 35 übernommen 07.01.1915 verwundet 02.06.1915 dem I. Ersatz-Bataillon des Füsilier-Regiments Nr. 35 überwiesen 04.09.1915 zur 2. Ersatz-M.G.-Kompanie des III. Armeekorps kommandiert (bis 29.02.1916) 26.09.1916 zur Lehr-M.G.-Kompanie des Rekruten-Depots 56 kommandiert 02.11.1916 verwundet 04.08.1917 zur 2. Ersatz-M.G.-Kompanie des III. Armeekorps 07.01.1918 in das Radfahr-Bataillon Nr. 1 versetzt 16.02.1918 erkrankt 07.11.1918 zur Ersatz-M.G.-Kompanie des III. Armeekorps kommandiert 21.02.1919 beim Freiwilligen Detachement Graf Stillfried 01.06.1919 mit dem Detachement in das Reichswehr-Infanterie-Regiment 5 übergetreten 29.03.1920 in das Reiter-Regiment 6 versetzt 19.05.1922 im 6. (Preuß.) Reiter-Regiment (Umbenennung) 01.04.1929 in das 1. (Preuß.) Reiter-Regiment versetzt 01.10.1930 in das 7. (Preuß.) Reiter-Regiment versetzt 01.04.1934 als Hauptmann in das Kraftfahrlehrkommando Zossen versetzt 30.01.1935 Hauptmann beim Kommandostabe 01.06.1935 Chef der 7. Kompanie 20.06.1935 Hauptmann beim Kommandostabe 15.10.1935 im Panzer-Regiment 5 (laut Stellenbesetzung) 15.02.1936 zum Generalstabe des Heeres (3. Abteilung) kommandiert (bis 31.03.1936) 26.02.1936 mit dem 01.04.1936 als Gehilfe zum Militär-Attaché bei der Deutschen Botschaft in London versetzt 25.03.1938 mit dem 01.04.1938 zum Kommandeur der Aufklärungs-Abteilung 5 ernannt 17.10.1940 mit dem 09.10.1940 Führerreserve OKH unter gleichzeitiger Kommandierung zur Panzertruppenschule 20.12.1940 Kommandierung aufgehoben 24.01.1941 mit dem 15.01.1941 zum Panzer-Regiment 201 kommandiert 21.02.1941 mit dem 10.02.1941 zum Kommandeur des Panzer-Regiments 202 ernannt 12.07.1941 Führerreserve OKH 04.10.1941 mit dem 26.09.1941 als Vertreter des Militär-Attachés zur Deutschen Gesandschaft in Helsinki kommandiert 29.11.1941 Kommandierung beendet mit dem 17.11.1941 (Dienst regelt der Chef des Generalstabes des Heeres (Attachéabteilung)) 20.01.1942 mit dem 05.02.1942 zum Militär-Attaché in Helsinki ernannt 01.10.1944 Führerreserve des stellv. Generalkommandos des II. Armeekorps 05.02.1945 zur Schießschule der Panzertruppen Putlos kommandiert 19.02.1945 zum Lehrtrupp der Panzertruppenschule Bergen kommandiert (bis 05.03.1945) Auszeichnungen: 18.11.1916 1914 Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse 16.05.1919 1914 Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse xx.xx.1918 Verwundetenabzeichen in schwarz xx.xx.1934 Ehrenkreuz für Frontkämpfer 02.10.1936 Wehrmacht (Heer) Dienstauszeichnung 4. bis 2. Klasse xx.xx.1939 Wehrmacht (Heer) Dienstauszeichnung 4. Klasse 27.08.1937 Großbritannische Krönungsmedaille König George VI (Genehmigung zur Annahme) 27.09.1939 1939 Spange zum Eisernen Kreuze 2. Klasse 30.09.1939 1939 Spange zum Eisernen Kreuze 1. Klasse 17.12.1940 Allgemeines Sturmabzeichen 20.04.1944 Kriegsverdienstkreuz 2. Klasse mit Schwertern He was also the winner of a Hungarian Medal worn around his neck, as well as Finnish Awards. _____________________________________________ Final comments, Kitschmann was imprisoned in Moscow along with Raoul Wallenberg and was even played in a character in the series about Raoul Wallenberg. Kitschmann is mentioned in many articles because of this link.  Military Attache in London: extremely rare to find any German Militaria related to the UK.  There are many references to Kitschmann in Helsinki as he was the leader of the Military Attache till the wars end.  Price includes worldwide shipping    

Ralf Vetter was called up in October 1942, interestingly he was born in Helsinki, Finland.  Grenadier Regiment 326 – 198 Infanterie Division Wounded in 1943 in Russia with the above unit and received the Black Wounds Badge.  Grenadier Regiment 1121 – September 1944 – 553. Volks-Grenadier-Division After the start of the Battle of Lorraine on November 8, 1944, American units began shelling the positions of the 553rd Volksgrenadier Division on November 12, 1944. On November 12, the Americans continued their attack and broke into the positions of the division on both sides of Leintrey (about 40 km west of Sarrebourg), which had already suffered considerable losses again. Under the orders of Army Group G, the severely weakened division had to expand its sector into the Reclonville and Cirey areas. The division was subordinated to the 19th Army and was no longer operational. In mid-November 1944, the division had to face heavy attacks south of Blamont from the 79th US Infantry Division and the 2nd French. Repel Panzer Division. The strength of the grenadier companies had dropped to 4-8 men, the Grenadier Regiment 1121 no longer existed. On November 19, the attacking Allied formations were able to break through the front of the division in several places. Saint Georges was also taken by the enemy. A short-term marching battalion was added to the Grenadier Regiment 1119 and was completely wiped out in the fighting for Saint Georges. On November 20, the division was then included. The remnants of the division managed to break out of the encirclement via Niderviller (immediately on the Rhine-Marne Canal). According to AOK 19, the division was considered completely destroyed on November 20th. 1,300 men had escaped from the containment ring. On November 21, the division received 500 replacements from the Army NCO School in Bitsch. The following day, the divisional commander, General Bruhn, was taken prisoner. The division was taken over by General Höhne. The remnants of the division marched to Bitsch, where they were rallied. The Grenadier Regiments 1129 and 1121 were disbanded, the Grenadier Regiment 1119 still had the strength of a battalion. From Bitsch, the division was to be relocated to the Stuttgart area for refreshment. Due to a lack of personnel, however, it was immediately integrated into the defensive front on the Upper Rhine north of Karlsruhe. The division was now the XIII. Subordinated to the SS Army Corps and had a strength of one infantry regiment, two battalions from the Ettlingen NCO School, two replacement infantry battalions and various Volkssturm units. The artillery was a regiment with three departments (nine batteries) of different types of guns. Heavy weapons or anti-tank guns were completely absent. In early January 1945, the division received orders to cross the Rhine north of Strasbourg and form a bridgehead. Just one day later, it was under heavy Allied artillery fire. Then the division was taken back behind the Rhine and the LXIV. in the area north of Baden-Baden. Here the division became a corps reserve. On January 20, 1945, the division was assigned the Pioneer Battalion No. 405. On January 26, 1945, the division was transferred to the Pforzheim area for refresher training. In this refresher room, the division received teams born in 1927 and 1928 and the division was completely filled. At the beginning of March 1945, the division was transferred back to the Rhine and deployed there for defense. Here, too, they were again supported by Volkssturm units and fortress artillery. The planned training of the replacement did not take place because the soldiers had to be used to build the fortress. On March 24, the division received orders to move to the Höhenstrasse in the Weinheim-Heppenheim section of the Bergstrasse. On March 24, 1945, the division had a strength of 4,065 men. In the period from March 26 to 29, 1945, the right wing of the division was pushed back to Würzburg. On April 1, 1945, the division was ordered to retreat behind the Jagst. US troops focused on Crailsheim and took the town on April 6th. During the ensuing Battle of Crailsheim, the 553rd Volksgrenadier Division again suffered heavy casualties. On April 12, the US 10th Panzer Division broke through the division’s front near Öhringen. On April 16, Schwäbisch Hall was taken by US troops. The remnants of the division went back to Günsburg on April 22nd. The city fell to the Americans two days later. On April 23 the division still had a strength of 1,500 men, on April 26 there were still 600 men. On April 27, 1945, the division was finally crushed. A reorganization was planned as a division of the 33rd wave. Comments:  Sadly he pulled his unit page, he likely had something to hide. But an interesting Soldbuch to a Soldier born in Finland who fought for the German Army.