SS Propaganda

Third Reich propaganda posters were some of the most visually appealing to come out during the period. I'm not sure if all the different posters produced by the Third Reich have ever been cataloged, but it must be an enormous number. Trying to catalog the posters produced just for the SS might be a near impossible task. Mostly they were printed on very thin paper and made to be used for a few weeks, then torn down or pasted over with the next new batch. Many might no longer exist due to their fragile construction.

A very large number of posters were also produced to attract foreign recruits to the Waffen-SS. Many unique posters designed specifically for these countries, and quite a number of German posters were adapted for this purpose as well, usually by localising the language.

Professor Ottomar Anton (1895-1976)
One of the most prolific Waffen-SS poster designers during the Third Reich was Ottomar Anton (1895-1976). Before the war he designed literally hundreds of travel posters for the large German cruise ship companies Hamburg-Amerika Line (HAPAG) and the Deutsche Afrika Line (some for the Cunard Line as well). Many were a "dreamy" type of design, done in the Art Deco style, with a scene depicting the country or area advertised with the cruise ship majestically sailing in the distance (see the samples below).

Besides his Waffen-SS posters he is probably best known for his two spectacular Zeppelin posters - one on the Hindenburg and one on the Graf Zeppelin. These are highly prized by both aviation and travel collectors and regularly sell at high prices.

One thing for collectors to note is Anton's signature. It appears on every single poster he ever did. On his earlier work it was O Anton with the word Hamburg underneath. At some point he dropped the Hamburg and it was just O Anton.

After the war he did poster work for various companies including the "4711 Cologne" company and the Adler typewriter company and taught as a Professor at the Bremen School of Art. He was a master of the "art deco" style and designed some of the most eye catching posters of the period. Many Waffen-SS posters were done in a patriotic style with Waffen-SS men, or potential recruits, gazing off into the distance. Politics aside, Anton was truly a master of his trade. He is buried at the Ohlsdorf garden cemetery in Hamburg.

Ohlsdorf Cemetery Listing For Ottomar Anton

Here are a few original samples of Anton's other work:

1. a HAPAG travel poster for cruises to Helgoland - a small island off the coast of Germany, with an unusual warm climate. It's still a popular tourist destination.

2. a HAPAG 1930 travel poster to cruise the islands in the Atlantic (in French). (my collection)

3. another HAPAG travel poster from 1934 advertising cruises in the Mediterranean Sea. Looks like a very Moroccan scene. (my collection)

4. Anton's famous Zeppelin poster, featuring the Hindenburg. I believe this is the only Zeppelin poster produced that shows a Swastika on the tail fin. All the others show either the German Tri Color or nothing at all on the tail fins.

5. a 1938 poster advertising Mein Kampf (without mentioning the title). Translates roughly to: "The Book. The power source of the Nation."

6. a post war 1950's poster for the 4711 Cologne company.

7. Probably the most desirable of all the Waffen-SS posters and certainly the most widely copied of all SS posters. The German magazine "Stern" used this poster on its August 2006 cover, which is a testament to it's iconic association with the Waffen-SS. Few originals of this poster survive today. (my collection)

8. The cover of German magazine Stern for August 2006 showing Anton's poster.

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All the posters below are from my own collection.

Click the photos below to view the close-ups.

	Waffen-SS	Probably the most desirable of all the Waffen-SS posters and certainly the most widely copied of all SS posters. According to certain sources, Anton used Knights Cross holder Klemens Behler as his model for this poster. Behler was still a recruit at that time (in 1941). He went on to win his Knights cross in 1945 while serving in the Artillery Regiment of the 23. SS-Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier Division " Nederland ". Klemens Behler survived the war and went on to serve in the Bundeswehr and died in 1998. The German magazine "Stern" used this poster on its August 2006 cover, which is a testament to it's iconic association with the Waffen-SS. Few originals of this poster survive today.
	Waffen-SS Hitlerjugend Recruiting Poster "Just You"	This is a recruiting poster designed by Ottomar Anton. This poster was to attract members of the Hitler Youth (Hitlerjugend) to the Waffen-SS, especially the 12 SS Panzer Division "Hitlerjugend". The caption reads "Just You". Originals of this poster are extremely rare and are highly sought after by collectors.
	Waffen-SS Hitlerjugend Recruiting Poster "Also You"	One more recruiting poster designed by Anton. This was also to attract members of the Hitler Youth (Hitlerjugend) to the Waffen-SS, especially the 12 SS Panzer Division "Hitlerjugend". The caption reads "Also You" with the recruiting office address below. Quite a rare poster.
	Waffen-SS Russian Helpers Recruiting Poster "Think about your future! Become a pupil of the SS"	Another SS recruiting poster designed by Anton. This poster was to attract Russian helpers to the Waffen-SS. The young Russian recruit depicted shows the armband and insignia designating him as an SS Helper. Originals of this poster also exist with German text and a Hitlerjugend member pictured as the helper. According to Angolia's "Insignia of the SS" there were at least eight countries that had SS helpers. These armbands are shown on page 471, one for each of the following countries: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Galacia, Ukraine, Ruthenia, Volga and Crimean Tartars Thanks to Paul (bnz.42 on the WAF) for the Russian translation
	Belgian Waffen-SS Recruiting Poster "Replacement Command the Waffen-SS"	A recruiting poster designed by T. Bertau in 1944. Featuring a red dragon representing the communists (and the Jews) being slain by SS Runes and a German soldier throwing a stick grenade to finish it off. One of the most dramatic posters from the war I have seen. This is an extremely rare Waffen-SS poster. The only other copy I know that exists, is in the "Musee royal de l'Armee et d'Histoire militaire" in Belgium (The Museum of the Army and Military History). Another version of this poster exists with slightly different text.
	Waffen-SS Wallonie Poster "Come With Us"	One of a number of posters designed to attract recruits to Leon Degrelle's SS Sturmbrigade "Wallonie". The Walloons were transferred from the Wehrmacht to the control of the Waffen SS in June 1943, becoming the 5th SS Volunteer Sturmbrigade Wallonien. After performing well in combat against the Soviets, the Wallonien Sturmbrigade was upgraded to become the 28.SS-Freiwilligen-Grenadier-Division Wallonien in October 1944. Despite this upgrade in status, the actual strength of the Wallonien remained that of a reinforced Brigade, around 8,000 men. At the end of the war the Walloons surrendered to the British, but Leon Degrelle managed to escape by plane and crash landed on a beach in Spain, where he was given sanctuary by Franco.
	Dutch Waffen-SS Poster "The Voice of the SS"	A striking poster advertising the SS radio broadcast every Sunday in Occupied Holland. An Art Deco type poster combined with a photograph which is not often seen. One of the few SS posters that has not been reproduced (yet)
	Dutch Waffen-SS Poster "All Will Come Right"	This Dutch Waffen-SS recruiting poster features Paul Krüger, the Boer President of Transvaal in South Africa during the Boer War. The saying "all will come right" was a popular Boer/Dutch saying.
	Waffen-SS Poster	A generic recruiting poster for the Waffen-SS. The red space at the base was apparently for individual SS offices to stamp or print their addresses. The artist is H'o'ch A batch of these was found a number of years ago and a fake version has now been produced with a recruitment office in France printed in the blank space at the bottom
	Reich Sports Promotion Week	This is not an SS poster but I thought I would include it here as the SS was very big on sports and the fitness and athletic ability of its troops. A nice poster with the classic Art Deco lines and smooth airbrushing. Quite a rare poster from 1935.

Waffen-SS Books

NEW - Waffen-SS Recruiting Book


Waffen-SS Song Book


This is a nice example of a song book or" Liederbuch", issued to the Waffen-SS. It has the divisional stamp of the 4. SS Polizei Division (the replacement Battalion) on the inside of the front cover. It also has an inscription written by the Dutch SS soldier it was issued to; which translates roughly as: "In memory of 31/03/1943 my departure to the Waffen-SS" Signed Jan and dated again 31-03-43 These books are pocket sized but have a large number of songs covering many different types of occaisions from festive, to patriotic and marching songs. Each section is nicely illustrated and it is interesting to see a drawing of the SS Honor Ring here.




	SS Propaganda Third Reich propaganda posters were some of the most visually appealing to come out during the period. I'm not sure if all the different posters produced by the Third Reich have ever been cataloged, but it must be an enormous number. Trying to catalog the posters produced just for the SS might be a near impossible task. Mostly they were printed on very thin paper and made to be used for a few weeks, then torn down or pasted over with the next new batch. Many might no longer exist due to their fragile construction. A very large number of posters were also produced to attract foreign recruits to the Waffen-SS. Many unique posters designed specifically for these countries, and quite a number of German posters were adapted for this purpose as well, usually by localising the language. Professor Ottomar Anton (1895-1976) One of the most prolific Waffen-SS poster designers during the Third Reich was Ottomar Anton (1895-1976). Before the war he designed literally hundreds of travel posters for the large German cruise ship companies Hamburg-Amerika Line (HAPAG) and the Deutsche Afrika Line (some for the Cunard Line as well). Many were a "dreamy" type of design, done in the Art Deco style, with a scene depicting the country or area advertised with the cruise ship majestically sailing in the distance (see the samples below). Besides his Waffen-SS posters he is probably best known for his two spectacular Zeppelin posters - one on the Hindenburg and one on the Graf Zeppelin. These are highly prized by both aviation and travel collectors and regularly sell at high prices. One thing for collectors to note is Anton's signature. It appears on every single poster he ever did. On his earlier work it was O Anton with the word Hamburg underneath. At some point he dropped the Hamburg and it was just O Anton. After the war he did poster work for various companies including the "4711 Cologne" company and the Adler typewriter company and taught as a Professor at the Bremen School of Art. He was a master of the "art deco" style and designed some of the most eye catching posters of the period. Many Waffen-SS posters were done in a patriotic style with Waffen-SS men, or potential recruits, gazing off into the distance. Politics aside, Anton was truly a master of his trade. He is buried at the Ohlsdorf garden cemetery in Hamburg. Ohlsdorf Cemetery Listing For Ottomar Anton Here are a few original samples of Anton's other work: 1. a HAPAG travel poster for cruises to Helgoland - a small island off the coast of Germany, with an unusual warm climate. It's still a popular tourist destination. 2. a HAPAG 1930 travel poster to cruise the islands in the Atlantic (in French). (my collection) 3. another HAPAG travel poster from 1934 advertising cruises in the Mediterranean Sea. Looks like a very Moroccan scene. (my collection) 4. Anton's famous Zeppelin poster, featuring the Hindenburg. I believe this is the only Zeppelin poster produced that shows a Swastika on the tail fin. All the others show either the German Tri Color or nothing at all on the tail fins. 5. a 1938 poster advertising Mein Kampf (without mentioning the title). Translates roughly to: "The Book. The power source of the Nation." 6. a post war 1950's poster for the 4711 Cologne company. 7. Probably the most desirable of all the Waffen-SS posters and certainly the most widely copied of all SS posters. The German magazine "Stern" used this poster on its August 2006 cover, which is a testament to it's iconic association with the Waffen-SS. Few originals of this poster survive today. (my collection) 8. The cover of German magazine Stern for August 2006 showing Anton's poster. ................. -..-..........-- ...-........... -----.......... ----..........- ................. ................. All the posters below are from my own collection. Click the photos below to view the close-ups.