An original red fez was recently sold by Manion’s. The fact that something original was sold on that site is, alone, remarkable. However, what was of far greater interest than the fez, itself, was the photo which accompanied it. It showed the soldier who brought it back as a souvenir, holding it at Dachau on the day he obtained it! According to what is written on the back, the date was July 1, 1945.
Also, though this is just speculation, based on the odd manner in which he is holding it in the photo, I believe he is using it to carry something. Perhaps this photo captures a GI using a fez as a “shopping bag” for souvenirs from the insignia stores in the clothing depot, which is something of which we have all heard stories, but which many have dismissed as myth or exaggeration. Whether he is actually carrying anything in the fez or not, I find it to be a very interesting photo, which adds another piece of hard evidence to the Dachau depot “hoard” story.
Many thanks for posting this Brad .... we were at the Dachau camp the week before last (13th ?) on a beautiful hot, sunny day. All that's open to the public now is the 'Protective Custody' camp and the museum in the former maintenance buildings. It's a truly stunning place, and driving to it you get the feeling of how large the actual camp complex itself must have been.
Many thanks for posting this Brad .... we were at the Dachau camp the week before last (13th ?) on a beautiful hot, sunny day. All that's open to the public now is the 'Protective Custody' camp and the museum in the former maintenance buildings. It's a truly stunning place, and driving to it you get the feeling of how large the actual camp complex itself must have been.
Ian.
I lived in upper-Bavaria (actually, middle-Frankonia) for three years, while stationed in Germany with the U.S. Army. Often, when we had guests visiting us from the States, my wife and/or I would take them to Dachau on the way to Munich. I must have been there at least four times. For me, each time was as sobering and impactful as the first visit. It is impossible to describe the feeling to those who have not been there.
Great photo! It would be great to know what rests inside that cap . . .
Dachau is definitely an "experience" . . . but the most moving KZ that I have visited to date has to Mauthausen - VERY depressing. In addition, visit the leftover remants of the Ebensee Camp (Camp II) - I had one of the creepiest moments of my European experience there . . .
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Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did . . .
Wow great historical photo hopefully more pictures of US soldiers carrying souvenirs from the Dachau concentration camp will surface, thanks for sharing.
Superb photo here that I would love to add to my collection.
Spelling mistakes and grammatical error aside, it sure is a pleasant surprise (considering my chosen area of collecting) to see a photo capturing (a very small part of) the feared and hated "Dog Kenelles" of the Dachau KL.
I was at Dachau in July and I couldn't find the are where the former Allach factory was. I think that it may have been outside the walls. I did see where the SS Herb gardens used to be though.
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When one Alte Kampfer was trying to best another, he would ask, "But were you at Coburg?"
Now that is an excellent shot! I did hear that fezes where filled to varying degrees with cloth, makes one wonder indeed about the contents if any of the one in the picture....I know fezes used to walk into motel buys filled with SS cloth
Thanks for posting that shot.
Hundestaffel, here is a clearer shot of the kennels at Dachau.
Erichs, the Allach building was on the other side of the Uebungslager in what is now the restricted area occupied by the Police.
Robin, there is a superb series of shots of GI's in May 1945 showing them with all kinds of SS booty, but unfortunately the owner does not wish them to be made public.
Derek
Many thankx for posting the picture of the Dachau KL SS Dog Kennels.
SS KL Dog Handlers (and their dogs) did not (for good reason) last long in the hands of liberated KL prisoners. Among others, I have a very disturbing photo of a ex-Auschwitz KL Prisoner beating an ex-Auschwitz KL SS Hundestaffel dog to death in front of it's kennel. While the Soviets unquestionably staged many immediate Auschwitz KL Prisoner liberation photos, the look, feel and "vibe" of this photo clearly says otherwise.
"Hundestaffel"
Last edited by Hundestaffel; 08-27-2009 at 08:53 AM.
Another entry for the Dachau depot story
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