SS Propaganda

This section is quite long in comparison to others, where I have mostly let the photos do the talking. This is because there is very little information on many of the artists and their work - especially Ottomar Anton. I notice a lot of my text from this page is being copied verbatim on other websites - which is fine; but a link or credit would be appreciated as I don't get paid for this.

Anyway if you get bored, you can skip the text and just look at the photos.

A Warning to Collectors: I often get asked to authenticate Third Reich posters. There are many reproductions on the market. Some are very poor copies, some are complete fantasy items, some are printed from postcards and some are very good copies of the original poster. If you are contemplating spending thousands of dollars on a poster and you have little or no knowledge about posters, and it's not from a recognized dealer, please have someone check it for you, before you spend your money.

It's never a pleasant experience to find you have a very expensive fake in your collection. It's definitely not pleasant for me to have to tell you.

Below is a link to a section on fantasy and reproduction posters as a quick guide to pointing out at least some of these for those readers who are interested. Some of the Movie Poster dealers already have this feature to assist their customers

FAKE POSTERS - CLICK HERE .

The 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 Waffen-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 poster designs might have disappeared forever due to their fragile construction.

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

Quite often poster designs were made into postcards, recruiting booklets and other printed items.

While I have tended to focus on Ottomar Anton, I have to give credit to some of the other well known Third Reich artists who did propaganda for the Waffen-SS. These are the most notable I am aware of - if you can suggest some otthers I would be happy to add them to the list. All of their Waffen-SS posters are very rare and are hardly ever seen on the market:

Gino Boccasile - a very gifted artist from Italy, who was an Untersturmfuhrer in the Waffen-SS. He was imprisoned for a short period after the war, but still went on to have a successful career as a graphic artist. After the war he did posters for many different consumer products and even some very racy, sexy covers for the French mens magazine "Paris Tabou". He died in 1952.

See Gino Boccasile's posters here:

http://www.galleria.thule-italia.com/

Hans Schweitzer - a German artist who signed his posters and other artwork with the name "Mjölnir" which is the name of Thor's Hammer. He was a favorite artist of Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels. He basically did one poster for the Waffen-SS that is highly sought after. He was another artist who went on to success, after the war, in graphic arts.

Harald Damsleth - he did a number of outstanding posters for Waffen-SS recruiting in Norway. He was imprisoned for several years after being tried for treason at the end of the war, but he too had a successful graphics art career. He died in 1971.

Check out his posters at these websites:

http://www.frontkjemper.com/index_files/art.htm

http://www.galleria.thule-italia.com/

Finn Wigfors - he was born in Sweden but lived most of his life in Norway. He is best known for doing perhaps the very last Waffen-SS poster of the war. He was another artist that spent time in prison after the war due to his association with the Third Reich.

See his artwork here:

http://www.galleria.thule-italia.com/

SS-Haupsturmfuhrer Professor Ottomar Anton (15 December 1895 - 7 November 1976)

Ottomar Anton was one of the most prolific Waffen-SS poster designers during the Third Reich. Many of his Waffen-SS posters were done in a patriotic style with Waffen-SS men, or potential recruits, gazing off into the distance.

Before the war he designed literally hundreds of travel posters for the large German cruise ship companies "Hamburg-Amerika" Line (HAPAG) the "Deutsche Afrika" Line, and some for the British "Cunard" and "White Star" Lines 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). He also did some posters for a few beer and cigarette companies such as the famous Eygyptian cigarette company "Kyriazi".

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. He also did a couple of posters for sailing events for the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, which are quite rare, and some political posters such as the "Das Buch" poster pictured below.

SS Rank

A small recruiting brochure produced by the SS-Hauptamp (SS Head Office) identifies Anton as having the rank of SS-Hauptsturmführer d.R. Waffen-SS (the SS Reserve. Also see below about this brochure). His SS Number is 283804.

A number of web sources state him as being Hermann Goering's favorite artist. As there is very little information on Anton I cannot confirm this. He does not appear to have done any artwork for the Luftwaffe before or during the war. If anyone has any further information please feel free to contact me.

Signature

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.

Post War Work

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. Politics aside, Anton was truly a master of his trade.

Burial Place

Anton is buried at the Ohlsdorf garden cemetery in Hamburg. This cemetery appears to be mostly for the citizens of some accomplishment (polticians, movie and theater stars, doctors, professors etc). I have provided a link below to the page where Anton is listed, which shows the location of his burial plot.

Ohlsdorf Cemetery Listing For Ottomar Anton

Finally we have a photo of Anton's burial place - but still no photos of the man himself. If anyone can help out with a photo of Ottomar Anton it would be much appreciated. I have exhausted every source I have except going to Hamburg myself..........

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

1. A rarely seen HAPAG travel poster - printed around 1930. This poster has the the older "O. Anton Hamburg" signature. Contrasting with a lot of Anton's work, it features a warm, golden sun soaked sky reflecting off the water. HAPAG regularly had cruises to warm climates in the Mediterranean, Carribean, Middle East and South America. The ship is done in a nice art deco style typical of Anton and also has the City of Hamburg's Coat of Arms on the bow of the ship. The ship has two stacks, and might have been drawn from the "St Louis" or the "Milwaukee" ships which saw service in the Carribean.

(my collection)

The majority of the Hamburg-Amerika Line's ships were sunk in the war (some were given/taken as reparation to Allied countries) but the fleet has since been rebuilt and is now merged with the Lloyds shipping company as "HAPAG-Lloyds"one of the world's largest shipping companies.

However, I don't believe they do many pleasure cruises these days, as it's mostly a freight company.

2. A HAPAG 1930 travel poster advertising a cruise to the islands in the Atlantic (in French). This poster also has the word Hamburg below Anton's signature. This actually is an updated version of an earlier poster which was done in less of an Art Deco style. Anton added a few elements (such as the basket of oranges) changed the ship to be at anchor (it was moving in the earlier version) and smoothed out the graphics to make it a much nicer image Click the thumbnail to see the two versions side by side.

(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. Probably the most spectacular of the Zeppelin posters (although Jupp Wiertz did some good ones too) This comes in English, German and Spanish versions. Usually this poster has a Tri-Color flag and Swastika but an auction in 2011 had a variation with dual Swastikas that sold for $4,000. A variation with an American Airlines overprint sold for $6,000 back in 2009. (my collection)

5. One of two known posters used for the sailing competition at the 1936 Olympic Games. This poster was originally done for the Yatch Club in Kiel and was simply changed for the Olympics with different text and the Olympic Rings added. Photo courtesy of the "Stadtmuseum - Warleberger Hof" in Kiel, Germany.

6. A powerful and striking 1938 political poster advertising Mein Kampf (without mentioning the title). Translates roughly to: "The Book. The power source of the Nation." This poster has gold leaf applied to the background and highlights on the eagle's beak and feathers which is quite unusual. I cannot recall gold leaf being used on any other Third Reich poster but I have seen it on one HAPAG travel poster. This photo does not do the poster justice by a long way. (my collection)

7. A post war 1950's poster for the 4711 Cologne company. I have not been able to find any Anton posters past the 1950's and I believe he retired from commercial work in this period.

8. A 1930's poster for "Kyriazi" brand cigarettes. Kyriazi was a world famous Egyptian tobacco brand in the early part of the 1900's and they set up a factory in Hamburg in 1925. This probably accounts for Anton producing posters for them. This is quite an unusal size at 176cm long by 83cm wide and I believe quite a rare poster as well. Kyriazi memorbilia is highly sought after by collectors.

9. 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)

10. The cover of German magazine "Stern" for August 2006 showing Anton's famous Waffen-SS poster.

11. The next four photos are connected to show Anton's close association with the Waffen-SS and his SS rank. This is Anton's "Dich Ruft Die Waffen-SS" poster which is sort of a German version of the famous US "I Want You" poster. I believe only a few of these have survived the war.

(my collection)

12. This is a period photo showing two SS Officers examining various posters (this photo is most likely from the SS Head Office). The French version of Anton's "Dich Ruft Die Waffen-SS" is on the wall behind them.

13. This small recruiting brochure, produced by the SS-Hauptamp, has the artwork from Anton's "Dich Ruft Die Waffen-SS" on the cover.

14. The credits page from the recruiting brochure identifying Anton as an SS-Haupsturmfuhrer.

15 &16. These are two original oil paintings by Anton. I discovered these in February 2013 and they currently reside in the US Army's collection of Third Reich war booty at Carlisle Barracks in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

The paintings are large in size with the ski trooper painting measuring at 90 x 60 inches and painted in oil.

These are part of a huge number of Third Reich paintings and other artworks still held by the US Army. Unfortunately they are not for public display and even researchers are rarely allowed to see them.

If the US Army is afraid of fueling political movements by hanging onto these items they are quite mistaken. The amount of original Third Reich militaria in the market is simply enorrmous.

It would be nice if the US Government at least allowed these artworks to be displayed from time to time. Some have also deteriorated quite badly from improper storage.

These photos are courtesy of the Texas Tech University and the negatives were taken by Richard Schroeder and information collected by Billy I. Ross

Others are some random Anton posters just to fill in the space.

The poster at #17 features the Steam Ship "St Louis" which became infamous when it took 937 Jewish refugees from Hamburg to Cuba in July 1939. Cuba then refused to let them disembark. The USA and Canada also refused to take the Jews and the ship was forced to return to Europe.

#19 is another rare Anton Waffen-SS poster. Translates roughly as "Called to Fight - Guardians of Peace". Fakes of this poster are quite common.

# 20 The HAPAG Steamship "Patria". Not the same "Patria" ship sunk in Haifa harbor in Palestine full of Jewish refugees. For some reason unknown to me this poster regularly sells between $1500 and $2000. Maybe the Swastika flag on the bow ups the price on it......(my collection).

#21 A "Collection of Fairytales" book illustrated completely by Anton in 1922. A whimsical childrens book with dozens of illustrations to match. Anton would have been about 26 years old when he did this..As soon as I get time I will scan some of the color plates from the book and add them here. (my collection)

	Waffen-SS POSTERS

	Leibstandarte-SS Adolf Hitler "Also You for the Leibstandarte-SS Adolf Hitler" Comparison with the postcard.	One of the rarest Anton black and white posters done specifically for the Leibstandarte SS "Adolf Hitler" Panzer Division. The image itself was used on a number of posters (see the postcard section below) but recruitment posters done for specific Waffen-SS Divisions are rare and for the LSSAH rarer still. This is only the second of these posters I have seen. The postcards are much more common. These posters all have different recruiting addresses - this one being for the Alpenland district.

	Waffen-SS Estonian Recruiting Poster "Defend Your Homeland"	NEW A colorful and patriotic Estonian SS Legion poster. I've not seen one of these outside of Estonian collections and the Bundesarchiv.

	Waffen-SS French Recruiting Poster "Elbow to Elbow Against the Common Enemy" German and French comparison	NEW Probably quite a rare poster this is the French version of the Anton poster above. Not as rare as the German version as a number of these have been sold in France. But it it is rare to find it outside of France or French region collections. This poster is also shown in the period Paris street photo at left.

	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 this poster was created 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 - he 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. This one in my collection would be the largest size that was printed.
	Waffen-SS Hitlerjugend Recruiting Poster "Especially You"	Another very rare 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 "Especially You". This poster and the one immediately below would be roughly circa 1943. This image has also been used on postcards. Originals of this poster are extremely rare and are highly sought after by collectors.
	Waffen-SS Hitlerjugend Recruiting Poster "Also You"	Another rare 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. I have seen this poster image also used on postcards and a couple of recruiting booklets. Quite a rare poster.
	Waffen-SS Recruiting Poster "The Waffen-SS Calls You"	More of Ottomar Anton's work. This is the Third Reich equivalent of the famous US Uncle Sam "I Want You" poster. This poster was also printed with French text and the artwork also appears on recruiting brochures. The French version can be seen in the period photo at left. A comparison of an authentic French version can be seen in the photo at left; the color is quite a bit more yellow than the German version. I am aware of only two other original German copies existing at this point. The size of this poster is 78cm x 54cm and like all the Anton German posters has the SS Head Office printing details on the bottom border. Fakes of this poster - of both the German and French versions - are now appearing.
	Waffen-SS Russian Helpers Recruiting Poster "Think about your future! Become a helper 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
	Waffen-SS Mountain Troop Recruiting Poster "Sign up voluntarily for the Mountain Troops of the Waffen-SS"	NEW Melde Dich freiwillig zu dem Gebirgstruppen der Waffen-SS or Sign up voluntarily for the Mountain Troops of the Waffen-SS This Anton poster is recruiting troops specifically to the Waffen-SS Mountain Divisions. It has a label stuck onto the base localizing it specifically for the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.
	Waffen-SS French Recruiting Poster "If You Want France To Live, You Will Fight In the Waffen-SS Against Communism" SS Head Office Posters in Paris 1944 Posters in Cherbourg 1944	"Si tu veux que la France vive, tu combattras dans la Waffen SS contre le bolchévisme" or "If you want France to live, you will fight in the Waffen-SS against Communism." This poster appears to be one of the rarest surviving Waffen-SS posters. Only two of these have come up for sale in the past 10 years as far as I can determine; and it has not been reproduced as yet. A couple of French war museums appear to have originals as well. If anyone else reading this has an original one, please let me know. This poster as far as I know was only ever done for France - I have never seen a version with German text. It is shown in the period photos to the left. The street scene in Paris (middle photo) shows a number of Waffen-SS recruiting posters actually in use. This is interesting from a few points - besides showing the SS posters. The photo was shot by André Zucca who was a Frenchman employed by "Signal" magazine to capture scenes of Paris for German propaganda. An exhibition of his work in Paris in 2008 caused an outrage because it showed mostly happy, playful and very chic looking people - no one being shot or tortured, no Jews being rounded up etc, but then Zucca can hardly take the blame for this as no photographer would have been permitted to film such things. Zucca did a lot of work in color, having been given the rare color Agfa film by his employers. More of his amazing color work cab be seen here: http://www.bigpicture.ru/?p=112006 Zucca had to work under an assumed name after the war - he died in 1976. The third period photo showing the poster is a US photo taken after the liberation of Cherbourg in 1944. But back to this poster......... Posters featuring SS Panzers and SS Panzer Officers - in this case a Panzer IV and an SS-Untersturmführer in the Commanders hatch - are very rare and I cannot recall seeing any other Third Reich posters with SS Panzers specifically as the subject. There are a few that have tanks and Panzer troops but not as obvious as this poster. This poster was painted directly from the photo shown underneath the poster. Taken by SS Kriegsberichter Duerr it was also used in the postcard series "Unsere SS" or "Our SS". The rest of the postcard series can be seen here: http://www.moonwheel.net/WSSUnsere/index.htm Due to it's rarity I have added a couple of close up shots. Normally that is something I don't do because of the people wanting to produce fakes. Size is a rather large 118 cm x 78 cm. It appears to be signed DJ3 (possibly a reference crediting the photographer Duerr) and dated 1943.
	SS Police Posters "Day of the German Police"	NEW "Tag der Deutschen Polizei 1941" or "Day of the German Police 1941" These two posters are by the German artist R. Seyfried, who unfortunately I know nothing about. They were also done as postcards (see the postcard section below) that came in a commemorative pack. The third piece of artwork in the series by Seyfried was also produced as a poster (the Bundesarchiv has a copy) but I've not seen one for sale, so far. Both images are great examples of the Art Deco style of the period. A few collectors have commented on the "Arizona" style desert background he used in this series. I admit it is unusual for a German poster..... Both posters also have the letters "WHW" which stands for "Winterhilfswerk" or Winter Relief - literally "winter help work" indicating they were used as donation tools to support the Police fighting in anti-partisan duties behind the Army.
	Dutch Waffen-SS Poster "Europa is Aangetreden"	"Europa is Aangetreden" or "Europe is Moving Forward" This poster is designed to attract recruits to fight the Communists and specifically made with text for the Waffen-SS Standart "Westland". The Westland Regiment was attached to the 5. SS Panzer Division "Wiking" for the duration of the war.i
	Belgian Waffen-SS Recruiting Poster "Replacement Command of 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). At least one other version of this poster exists with a different recruiting office address.
	BelgianSS Photo Exhibition Poster	This poster is promoting an SS photo exhibition that runs from April 30 to 21 May at the Wine Room on Meir St. in Antwerp Belgium. It also promotes a "50% reduction on presentation of the rail road tickets in the exhibition."
	Dutch NSB W.A. Poster "EVERYTHING FOR THE FATHERLAND" "JOIN THE W.A." Dutch NSB / WA insignia	NEW Dutch NSB WA EVERYTHING FOR THE FATHERLAND JOIN THE W.A. A colorful recruitment poster for the Dutch NSB and WA. This is a very striking poster done in a typical Art Deco style with smooth "air brushed" images and geometric lines and shapes. It shows off well the colored flag and the insignia that was worn on the black WA uniform. The artist is Van Altena. The Dutch NSB (Nationaal-Socialistische Beweging) was the equivalent of the National Socialist Party in Holland. It's leader was Anton Mussert who helped form the Party in 1931. Anton Mussert faced some opposition from fellow NSB member and Parliamentary member, Meinoud Marinus Rost van Tonningen, who wanted the Party to be even more like the German National Socialists. Mussert was executed by firing squad in 1946. Rost van Tonningen died in 1945 (apparently a suicide after he was captured), but his wife, Florentine Rost van Tonningen, kept up the promotion of her husband's ideology until her death in 2007. She was nicknamed "The Black Widow" and was the target of many Police raids, arson and rock attacks on her home. She kept in close contact with other prominent ex-National Socialists such as Paula Hitler (Adolf Hitler's sister) and Gudrun Himmler (Himmler's daughter) among others. The W.A. (Weerbaarheidsafdeling) was the para military arm of the NSB and wore a black uniform similar to the Italian Fascists. Their insignia was a vertical "Wolf Hook" rune on a red and black background. The NSB, W.A. and it's other military arm, the Dutch SS, contributed a large number of troops to the Waffen-SS, mostly to the 5. SS Panzer Division "Wiking". Some members of the NSB's youth organisation also joined the 12. SS Panzer Division "Hitlerjugend".
	"Storm SS" Dutch Newspaper	An unusual but very creative caricature poster for the Dutch SS newspaper "Storm SS". The caricature shows the SS newspaper flying through the window from a storm outside, and Churchill hugging Stalin in terror. American President Franklin D Roosevelt is grimacing in the picture on the wall. The headline on the newspaper reads "Soviet - Church Union". The small clawed animal (a mole) on the floor with the white cross appears to represent the Church and I assume the bloody axe means they were about to chop it up; and the newspaper is exposing their actions. Storm SS was about a 4 page newspaper - hence the 11 cent price. The artist is Pieter Pouwels, a Dutch National Socialist who drew many anti-semetic drawings for Storm-SS. The image to the left shows period poster columns with this poster on the right..
	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. Fakes of this poster are everywhere. The fakes are always on glossy paper and some have white text and white SS Runes instead of the creamy color of an original. The paper should always be matte - NEVER glossy. Beware and examine these closely before you make a purchase - if in doubt do not buy it.
	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. These appear to have been done for France - I have never seen one with German text - yet.. It features in the period photo at left. Note the relection of the flash from the base of the poster. These are one of the few Third Reich posters printed with a glossy finish. 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. In fact there are a number of versions with French text at the bottom. Personally I would only buy the blank one as so far there is no proof any of the posters with text actually had the text part before 1945.

Political Posters
	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.
		NEW Norwegian "Smashed" Anti-Communist poster
		NEW Norwegian "No" Anti-Communist poster


	Waffen-SS POSTCARDS

	Day of the German SS Police Special Commemorative Set Co1941	One of 4 special commemorative postcards along with a special envelope, issued for the German SS Police in 1941. See the following postcards for the others in this pack. This shows an SD man in black Allgemeine SS uniform, and an eagle streaking past at high speed, it is quite a powerful image. There are a number of posters and postcards produced celebrating the Day of the German Police - SS and regular Police - for various years.
	Day of the German SS Police	NEW
	Day of the German SS Police	NEW
	Day of the German SS Police	NEW
	Day of the German SS Police	NEW This is the special commemorative Police / SS envelope the above postcards came in.

	Leibstandarte SS "Adolf Hitler" Postcard "Also You for the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler"	Many Third Reich posters were also used on postcards, leaflets, recruiting booklets etc and Anton's designs were no exception. This design was used to attract recruits to the 1. SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte "Adolf Hitler", It has at least three different versions; one in French and another with more general text for a Waffen-SS recruiting version also in German. There appears to be quite a few fake posters of this series that are reproductions of the postcard versions. One simple way to tell is the posters always have the printers information on the bottom. The postcards have it on the back.
		NEW
		NEW
		NEW
	Waffen-SS Postcard "Entry for Volunteering at 17 Years"	NEW A well known design by Hans Schweitzer who signed his artwork under the name of Mjölnir - which was the name of Thor's Hammer. Schweitzer was a favorite of Dr. Joseph Goebbels, although there was little or no connection between the SS and Goebbels as far as I am aware. Schweitzer did very little work for the SS - most his work was general type propaganda but this design has become a Waffen-SS classic much sought after by collectors. The various posters I have seen with this design, all have had a different recruiting office address listed. Two Dutch versions of this design exists as well, one looks significantly different from the German versions both in color and some design features. Below is a list of the recruiting offices - the ones in red I have identified on original posters. Potentially there was a poster issued for every office. I am still looking for an original poster of this if someone has one for sale. I Nordost (I) Königsherg i. Pr., Kastanienallee 26/28Kastanienallee 26/28 II Ostsee (II) Stettin, Friedrich-Karl.Str. 3 III Spree (III) Berlin NW 40, Wilsnacker Str. 3 IV Elbe (IV) Dresden A 20, Tiergartenstr. 46 V Südwest (V) Stuttgart O, Gerokstr. 7 VI West (VI) Düsseldorf, Graf-Recke-Str. 72 VII Süd (VII) München 27, Pienzenauer Str. 15 VIII Südost (VM) Breslau 18, Eichenallee 5 IX Fulda-Werra (IX) Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe, Löwenburgstr. 10 X Nordsee (X) Hamburg 13, Mittelweg 38 XI Mitte (XI) Braunschweig, Wolfenbüttler Str. 13 XII Rhein (XII) Wiesbaden, Bahnhofstr. 46 XIII Main (XIII) Nürnberg 23, Wielandstr. 6 XVII Donau (XVII) Wien IX/66, Lichtensteinstr. 49 Außenstelle Böhmen und Mähren Prag IV, Czerninpalais XVIII Alpenland (XVIII) Salzburg-Aigen-Glas, Gylenstormstr. 8 XX Weichsel (XX) Gotenhafen, Adolf-Hitler-Platz 10-12 XXI Warthe (XXI) Posen, Königsring 22 sowie Gen.-Gouv. Tel. 20 25 und 30 25.

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

Anyway if you get bored, you can skip the text and just look at the photos.

SS-Haupsturmfuhrer Professor Ottomar Anton (15 December 1895 - 7 November 1976)

Ottomar Anton was one of the most prolific Waffen-SS poster designers during the Third Reich. Many of his Waffen-SS posters were done in a patriotic style with Waffen-SS men, or potential recruits, gazing off into the distance.

All the posters below are from my own collection.

Click the photos below to view the close-ups.

Waffen-SS Estonian Recruiting Poster

Waffen-SS French Recruiting Poster




	SS Propaganda This section is quite long in comparison to others, where I have mostly let the photos do the talking. This is because there is very little information on many of the artists and their work - especially Ottomar Anton. I notice a lot of my text from this page is being copied verbatim on other websites - which is fine; but a link or credit would be appreciated as I don't get paid for this. Anyway if you get bored, you can skip the text and just look at the photos. A Warning to Collectors: I often get asked to authenticate Third Reich posters. There are many reproductions on the market. Some are very poor copies, some are complete fantasy items, some are printed from postcards and some are very good copies of the original poster. If you are contemplating spending thousands of dollars on a poster and you have little or no knowledge about posters, and it's not from a recognized dealer, please have someone check it for you, before you spend your money. It's never a pleasant experience to find you have a very expensive fake in your collection. It's definitely not pleasant for me to have to tell you. Below is a link to a section on fantasy and reproduction posters as a quick guide to pointing out at least some of these for those readers who are interested. Some of the Movie Poster dealers already have this feature to assist their customers FAKE POSTERS - CLICK HERE . The 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 Waffen-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 poster designs might have disappeared forever due to their fragile construction. A very large number of posters were produced to attract foreign recruits to the Waffen-SS. Many unique posters were designed specifically for these countries, and quite a number of German posters were adapted for this purpose as well, usually by localising the language. Quite often poster designs were made into postcards, recruiting booklets and other printed items. While I have tended to focus on Ottomar Anton, I have to give credit to some of the other well known Third Reich artists who did propaganda for the Waffen-SS. These are the most notable I am aware of - if you can suggest some otthers I would be happy to add them to the list. All of their Waffen-SS posters are very rare and are hardly ever seen on the market: Gino Boccasile - a very gifted artist from Italy, who was an Untersturmfuhrer in the Waffen-SS. He was imprisoned for a short period after the war, but still went on to have a successful career as a graphic artist. After the war he did posters for many different consumer products and even some very racy, sexy covers for the French mens magazine "Paris Tabou". He died in 1952. See Gino Boccasile's posters here: http://www.galleria.thule-italia.com/ Hans Schweitzer - a German artist who signed his posters and other artwork with the name "Mjölnir" which is the name of Thor's Hammer. He was a favorite artist of Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels. He basically did one poster for the Waffen-SS that is highly sought after. He was another artist who went on to success, after the war, in graphic arts. Harald Damsleth - he did a number of outstanding posters for Waffen-SS recruiting in Norway. He was imprisoned for several years after being tried for treason at the end of the war, but he too had a successful graphics art career. He died in 1971. Check out his posters at these websites: http://www.frontkjemper.com/index_files/art.htm http://www.galleria.thule-italia.com/ Finn Wigfors - he was born in Sweden but lived most of his life in Norway. He is best known for doing perhaps the very last Waffen-SS poster of the war. He was another artist that spent time in prison after the war due to his association with the Third Reich. See his artwork here: http://www.galleria.thule-italia.com/ SS-Haupsturmfuhrer Professor Ottomar Anton (15 December 1895 - 7 November 1976) Ottomar Anton was one of the most prolific Waffen-SS poster designers during the Third Reich. Many of his Waffen-SS posters were done in a patriotic style with Waffen-SS men, or potential recruits, gazing off into the distance. Before the war he designed literally hundreds of travel posters for the large German cruise ship companies "Hamburg-Amerika" Line (HAPAG) the "Deutsche Afrika" Line, and some for the British "Cunard" and "White Star" Lines 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). He also did some posters for a few beer and cigarette companies such as the famous Eygyptian cigarette company "Kyriazi". 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. He also did a couple of posters for sailing events for the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, which are quite rare, and some political posters such as the "Das Buch" poster pictured below. SS Rank A small recruiting brochure produced by the SS-Hauptamp (SS Head Office) identifies Anton as having the rank of SS-Hauptsturmführer d.R. Waffen-SS (the SS Reserve. Also see below about this brochure). His SS Number is 283804. A number of web sources state him as being Hermann Goering's favorite artist. As there is very little information on Anton I cannot confirm this. He does not appear to have done any artwork for the Luftwaffe before or during the war. If anyone has any further information please feel free to contact me. Signature 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. Post War Work 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. Politics aside, Anton was truly a master of his trade. Burial Place Anton is buried at the Ohlsdorf garden cemetery in Hamburg. This cemetery appears to be mostly for the citizens of some accomplishment (polticians, movie and theater stars, doctors, professors etc). I have provided a link below to the page where Anton is listed, which shows the location of his burial plot. Ohlsdorf Cemetery Listing For Ottomar Anton Finally we have a photo of Anton's burial place - but still no photos of the man himself. If anyone can help out with a photo of Ottomar Anton it would be much appreciated. I have exhausted every source I have except going to Hamburg myself.......... Here are a few original samples of Anton's other work: 1. A rarely seen HAPAG travel poster - printed around 1930. This poster has the the older "O. Anton Hamburg" signature. Contrasting with a lot of Anton's work, it features a warm, golden sun soaked sky reflecting off the water. HAPAG regularly had cruises to warm climates in the Mediterranean, Carribean, Middle East and South America. The ship is done in a nice art deco style typical of Anton and also has the City of Hamburg's Coat of Arms on the bow of the ship. The ship has two stacks, and might have been drawn from the "St Louis" or the "Milwaukee" ships which saw service in the Carribean. (my collection) The majority of the Hamburg-Amerika Line's ships were sunk in the war (some were given/taken as reparation to Allied countries) but the fleet has since been rebuilt and is now merged with the Lloyds shipping company as "HAPAG-Lloyds"one of the world's largest shipping companies. However, I don't believe they do many pleasure cruises these days, as it's mostly a freight company. 2. A HAPAG 1930 travel poster advertising a cruise to the islands in the Atlantic (in French). This poster also has the word Hamburg below Anton's signature. This actually is an updated version of an earlier poster which was done in less of an Art Deco style. Anton added a few elements (such as the basket of oranges) changed the ship to be at anchor (it was moving in the earlier version) and smoothed out the graphics to make it a much nicer image Click the thumbnail to see the two versions side by side. (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. Probably the most spectacular of the Zeppelin posters (although Jupp Wiertz did some good ones too) This comes in English, German and Spanish versions. Usually this poster has a Tri-Color flag and Swastika but an auction in 2011 had a variation with dual Swastikas that sold for $4,000. A variation with an American Airlines overprint sold for $6,000 back in 2009. (my collection) 5. One of two known posters used for the sailing competition at the 1936 Olympic Games. This poster was originally done for the Yatch Club in Kiel and was simply changed for the Olympics with different text and the Olympic Rings added. Photo courtesy of the "Stadtmuseum - Warleberger Hof" in Kiel, Germany. 6. A powerful and striking 1938 political poster advertising Mein Kampf (without mentioning the title). Translates roughly to: "The Book. The power source of the Nation." This poster has gold leaf applied to the background and highlights on the eagle's beak and feathers which is quite unusual. I cannot recall gold leaf being used on any other Third Reich poster but I have seen it on one HAPAG travel poster. This photo does not do the poster justice by a long way. (my collection) 7. A post war 1950's poster for the 4711 Cologne company. I have not been able to find any Anton posters past the 1950's and I believe he retired from commercial work in this period. 8. A 1930's poster for "Kyriazi" brand cigarettes. Kyriazi was a world famous Egyptian tobacco brand in the early part of the 1900's and they set up a factory in Hamburg in 1925. This probably accounts for Anton producing posters for them. This is quite an unusal size at 176cm long by 83cm wide and I believe quite a rare poster as well. Kyriazi memorbilia is highly sought after by collectors. 9. 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) 10. The cover of German magazine "Stern" for August 2006 showing Anton's famous Waffen-SS poster. 11. The next four photos are connected to show Anton's close association with the Waffen-SS and his SS rank. This is Anton's "Dich Ruft Die Waffen-SS" poster which is sort of a German version of the famous US "I Want You" poster. I believe only a few of these have survived the war. (my collection) 12. This is a period photo showing two SS Officers examining various posters (this photo is most likely from the SS Head Office). The French version of Anton's "Dich Ruft Die Waffen-SS" is on the wall behind them. 13. This small recruiting brochure, produced by the SS-Hauptamp, has the artwork from Anton's "Dich Ruft Die Waffen-SS" on the cover. 14. The credits page from the recruiting brochure identifying Anton as an SS-Haupsturmfuhrer. 15 &16. These are two original oil paintings by Anton. I discovered these in February 2013 and they currently reside in the US Army's collection of Third Reich war booty at Carlisle Barracks in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The paintings are large in size with the ski trooper painting measuring at 90 x 60 inches and painted in oil. These are part of a huge number of Third Reich paintings and other artworks still held by the US Army. Unfortunately they are not for public display and even researchers are rarely allowed to see them. If the US Army is afraid of fueling political movements by hanging onto these items they are quite mistaken. The amount of original Third Reich militaria in the market is simply enorrmous. It would be nice if the US Government at least allowed these artworks to be displayed from time to time. Some have also deteriorated quite badly from improper storage. These photos are courtesy of the Texas Tech University and the negatives were taken by Richard Schroeder and information collected by Billy I. Ross Others are some random Anton posters just to fill in the space. The poster at #17 features the Steam Ship "St Louis" which became infamous when it took 937 Jewish refugees from Hamburg to Cuba in July 1939. Cuba then refused to let them disembark. The USA and Canada also refused to take the Jews and the ship was forced to return to Europe. #19 is another rare Anton Waffen-SS poster. Translates roughly as "Called to Fight - Guardians of Peace". Fakes of this poster are quite common. # 20 The HAPAG Steamship "Patria". Not the same "Patria" ship sunk in Haifa harbor in Palestine full of Jewish refugees. For some reason unknown to me this poster regularly sells between $1500 and $2000. Maybe the Swastika flag on the bow ups the price on it......(my collection). #21 A "Collection of Fairytales" book illustrated completely by Anton in 1922. A whimsical childrens book with dozens of illustrations to match. Anton would have been about 26 years old when he did this..As soon as I get time I will scan some of the color plates from the book and add them here. (my collection)