German WWII Militaria & Propaganda
Lot 914:
Description
Obtained direct from relatives of Emil Maurice. Emil Maurice was SS member number 2 and a founder member of the organization. Strangely he was of mixed German Jewish descent. As Heinrich Himmlers power increased, he tried to dismiss Maurice from the SS, Hitler stood by his old comrade and allowed Maurice to stay in his position.History below:Emil Maurice (19 January 1897, Westermoor – 6 February 1972, Munich) was an early member ofthe National Socialist German Workers Party and a founding member of the SS. Together with ErichKempka, he served as one of Hitler’s personal chauffeurs. Unusually, he was one of the fewmischlings (a person of mixed Jewish and ethnic German ancestry) to serve in the SS.After Adolf Hitler’s release from prison, the Nazi Party was officially re-founded. In 1925, Hitlerordered the formation of a new bodyguard unit, the Schutzkommando (protection command). It wasformed by Julius Schreck and included old Stoßtrupp members such as Maurice. That same year, theSchutzkommando was expanded to a national level. It was renamed successively the Sturmstaffel(storm squadron), and finally on 9 November the Schutzstaffel (abbreviated to SS). Hitler became SSmember No.1 and Emil Maurice became SS member No. 2. At that time, Maurice became an SS-Führer in the new organization, although the leadership of the SS was assumed by Schreck, the firstReichsführer-SS. Maurice became Hitler’s chauffeur. He reportedly had a brief relationship withHitler’s niece, Geli Raubal, which led to his dismissal.When the SS was reorganized and expanded in 1932, Maurice became a senior SS officer and wouldeventually be promoted to the rank SS-Oberführer. While Maurice never became a top commanderof the SS, his status as SS member #2 effectively credited him as an actual founder of theorganization. Heinrich Himmler, who ultimately would become the most recognized leader of the SS, was SS member #168.This MK was presented to Maurice by Karl Fiehler – Mayor of Munich in December 1936. It’s signedby Fiehler in ink. A little of his history below:Karl Fiehler (31 August 1895 – 8 December 1969) was a German politician of the Nazi Party (NSDAP)and Lord Mayor of Munich from 1933 until 1945.It was specially made for Maurice with a page internal giving thanks for his service to Munich andthe NSDAP.
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