Unused Waffen-SS collar tab acquired postwar by a US soldier
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Washington, United States
Unused Waffen SS collar tab with lightning bolt insignia acquired by 22 year old Lt. Charles Rudulph, United States Army, during a July 10, 1945, visit to the former Dachau concentration camp near Munich in Germany. The tab would have been worn in a pair on the collar points of a uniform shirt or jacket. The SS (Schutzstaffel; Protection Squadrons) established Dachau, the first concentration camp in Nazi Germany, in March 1933. The SS commanded, administered, and guarded all concentration camps, and were known for their cruelty. Dachau was liberated by American forces on April 29, 1945. Rudulph, an officer in the 106th Infantry, entered combat in France in November 1944. He was wounded during the Battle of the Bulge but rejoined his unit. After Germany surrendered on May 7, he was posted to Straubing with Battery X, 566th AAA Battalion.
- Title: Unused Waffen-SS collar tab acquired postwar by a US soldier
- Location: Germany--History--1945-1955.
- Provenance: The badge was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2003 by Ramona A. Rudulph, the wife of Charles Rudulph.
- Subject Keywords: Soldiers--United States--Biography. World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American.
- Type: Military Insignia
- Rights: Permanent Collection
- External Link: See the full record at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Medium: Unused, angled rectangular black wool military badge with 2 SS runic devices shaped like lightning bolts embroidered in gray thread and stacked horizontally in the center. The cloth is folded over and glued to stiff, white netting. The diagonal ends are cut to fit on a uniform collar point.
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