What type of uniform is this ?

Joe B

Banned
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
3,435
Thanks Received
893
The uniform this boy is wearing has an unsual cut to it , it looks to be a type of double breasted Panzer wrap cut with dark green collar and double rows of buttons .
Opinions welcome .

You don't have permission to view attachments.
You don't have permission to view attachments.
 

Attachments

    You don't have permission to view attachments.
Last edited:
Great photograph, hard to find subject!
Look at my album about the Grosses Militär-Waisenhaus from Potsdam.
This lad is from the Kinderhaus (childrens house) from the Sulzbach-Rosenberg
institution-branch. One can identify it by the MWSR abbreviation upon the
shoulder-straps.
I had an extensive article about the various institutions in the "Military Advisor"
from winter 2001/2002, an article with 33 pages. The various abbreviations
upon the shoulder-straps were explained: MWP (Potsdam); MWL (Liebenau)
and MWSR, as mentioned above.

The lad is wearing the typical tunic for younger boys, which was worn at all three
institutions. I thought there was also a photograph of such tunic in the album,
but it wasn't. I have some in my collection of over 400 Waisenhaus photographs!
 
Last edited:
For me it is great fun when I can write about a subject about which there is not much known about,
as with this Waisenhaus-stuff. Many, many years ago I ran into a German by accident, who turned
out to be at that moment the Waisenhaus-archivist. He allowed me to come over and photograph
what was of use. We only had about one and a half day (the result is mentioned in the earlier post).
Later I got in contact with some of their members.

They are still organized and every year they have a reunion. But the group is getting smaller and
smaller while members are dying. Their oldest member is from 1914, who still lived at the end of
2011. In my "album" I showed the cover for their magazine. They still do send around magazines
twice a years. Its name is "Die Kuppel", which includes annecdotes and stories of their life in the
Waisenhaus.

I have never met one of the guys (or girls) that has said to me he did not like his staying there, but
most of them deny they were NPEA. Above all they were "Jungmann" from the Waisenhaus.
 
Excellent information Wim and thanks for posting the photo Joe :thumb:
 
I am very, very busy, as within two weeks I have to control the final lay-out for one
of my newest books: Gorgets of the Third Reich (mentioned before, a book in English
with 704 pages and over 1,500 photographs). The chapter about HY will have 34 pages
with interesting photographs and information. Some photographs are known, as I used
them also in my handbook!

So in between of all of my work (busy as a beehive) I would like to show some more
photographs from younger lads, wearing the typical double row of tunic.

You don't have permission to view attachments.
You don't have permission to view attachments.


First my good old friend Hans Ahrens, during his stay at the childrens home (Kinderhaus).
Note the one Litze upon the collar. A sign the lad is from the "Kinderhaus".
Further mrs. Viergutz with her sons Hans-Karl, Günter and Jürgen. The two older boys
do wear the regular tunics for elder boys with the double Litze; the youngest son the typical
tunic with one Litze. The photograph is from 1941.
Both photographs do show the MWP-abbreviation (Militár-Waisenhaus Potsdam) upon the
shoulder-straps.
Enjoy my friends............and learn!
 

Attachments

    You don't have permission to view attachments.
Thank you for your imput Wilhelm , and taking the time when you have very little to contribute to the forum friend.
Does anybody know if one of these rare double breasted tunics has survived in a collection ?
 
Hello,

none of the guys I have spoken with, except Ahrens, even remembered this type of tunic.
Until now I have only seen one tunic for the older boys, as I have also seen the typical
field-cap they did wear. During the NPEA-period regular NPEA stuff was in use (but as I
mentioned "denied" the NPEA, they most often said they hated it to be political, as they
felt more their bond with the army).
Would like to see such a tunic myself, or another regular tunic with original shoulder-straps.

By the way the shoulder-straps for Postdam are being reproduced, after the war, as a sort
of souvenir for the former students.
 
Better pics here!

You don't have permission to view attachments.
You don't have permission to view attachments.
 

Attachments

    You don't have permission to view attachments.
It looks like this is the Mother of the two boys? The reverse says .. with my two boys..(or my two youngest boys) and the mouths and face look just like her. But if its an Orphans home then surely that would mean they had no mother? In any case it looks strange seeing "little people" dressed like this, like Mini-soldiers.
 
Well, could it be their father was killed? How you try to question is up to you, but
simply have a look at the worn shoulder-strap, which says it is anyway from the
Militär-Waisenhaus Sulzbach-Rosenberg. This was a sub-institution from the main
Waisenhaus at Potsdam.
Maybe I have somewhere the rules how to get a student from any of these institutions,
but look at other photographs I have shown, maybe there is another mother involved
(post 6).
 
Post 6 really does look like a Family of "little soldiers" :001_cool:
Until this thread, i had no idea about this uniform.
 
Albrecht, it looks as this photograph is being cut (at left). There is a piece of another
shoulder-strap visible with an L, which stands for Haus Liebenau, the institution near Graz.
One can also see the ranking for a Jungmann-Hundertschaftsführer (red with yellow middle
stripe). As far as I remember the two Litze the boy at right wears is as he is an older boy
in the "Kinderhaus", waiting to be transferred to the "Knabenhaus".
 
Metallwarenfabrik: I thought you subscribe to the Military Advisor?
In issue 1 from winter 2001/2002 I had an extensive article about the Waisenhaus
with 33 pages. This is now ten years ago. Before that date hardly any collector
knew anything about the Waisenhaus. Yes, they knew it had existed!

Something else: I even know a former Waisenhaus-member who had both parents.
His father was disabled during the war and he was allowed to be at the Waisenhaus.
It is a pity he has died a few years ago!
 
Last edited:
Right, photograph has ben cut and for sure the other shoulder board is an L. I wonder why haved benn cut.
 
Back
Top