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Original German sleeve insignia designed for soldiers of the Waffen-SS "Croatian" volunteer sleeve shield. As with other foreign volunteer units, the Germans developed and produced a national sleeve shield intended for soldiers of the 13th Waffen-SS Division "Handschar" (Croatian No. 1). The item is made using machine embroidery on a backing of thick, black uniform cloth. The obverse features the traditional Croatian red and white checkerboard pattern, set within a shield with a flat top and rounded bottom. This is the first type of such shield, almost certainly coming from the SS clothing department in the Dachau KZ camp after its liberation in 1945. The shield is in very good, unissued condition, showing only minor signs of long-term storage. It is a fine, fully original SS sleeve shield and a valuable collector's item.
Historical context:
The introduction of this distinctive national sleeve shield was officially approved on April 30, 1943, during the formation of the "Handschar" division. According to regulations, it was to be worn by all soldiers of this unit to emphasize their national origin. The production of this pattern took place, among others, in textile plants in Dachau, from where many unissued examples seized by American soldiers as war trophies originated after the war. The checkerboard shield became the recognizable symbol of Croatian formations within the SS structures, documenting the history of foreign volunteer units from the 1941–1945 period.