Berliner Zinnfiguren/Books & Media/Second Hand Books/The World Wars products

Veltze, K.: Les Parachutistes Allemands. Uniformes et équipements 1936-1945. Band 3 65,00 €

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 07:00:08 +0200

This final volume brings the three-volume work *German Paratroopers: Clothing and Equipment 1936?1945* to a close. This time, the focus is on all the topics that could not be covered in the two previous volumes. First, the history of the paratroopers between 1936 and 1945 is traced using more than 45 uniform mannequins, well over half of which were assembled especially for this volume. They illustrate the appearance of the paratroopers from the early days of the "General Göring" Regiment right through to the unconditional surrender of the Wehrmacht. In addition to the Luftwaffe paratroopers, who have been the main focus so far, there were also a few thousand paratroopers from the Army and the Waffen-SS, who are covered in a separate chapter. Alongside rare uniform items, numerous documents and many previously unpublished photographs are featured. A further chapter, spanning over 100 pages, is devoted to the specific insignia of the paratroopers ? parachutist badges, sleeve stripes and unit-specific insignia ? as well as their typical decorations and the accompanying certificates. Volume 3 also examines military service cards and pay books, as well as other Wehrmacht personnel documents, which were also or predominantly kept by members of the paratrooper units; their identification tags are also covered here. Representing the approximately 250,000 men who served in paratrooper units between 1936 and 1945, a separate chapter traces the military careers of a total of 20 soldiers, non-commissioned officers and officers based on their personal archives. Finally, a variety of items are presented which, although somehow connected with the German paratroopers, did not fit thematically into any of the other chapters. This volume contains over 350 contemporary photographs, of which a good 200 have remained unpublished until now.

Table of contents: Chapter 1: Combat missions; Chapter 2: The Army?s paratroopers. The Waffen-SS paratroopers; Chapter 3: Paratrooper badges, sleeve stripes, unit-specific insignia, decorations and certificates; Chapter 4: Identification tags and personal documents; Chapter 5: Paratrooper estates; Chapter 6: Mess hall merchandise, printed matter, etc.

Afiero, Massimiliano: 13. Waffen-Gebirgs-Division der SS "Handschar" (kroatische Nr. 1) 25,00 €

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 07:00:09 +0200

The SS "Handschar" division was founded to recruit mainly Bosnian-Muslim volunteers and was organised as a mountain infantry division. Ultimately, however, it also included Croatian-Catholic volunteers as well as numerous German and ethnic German Yugoslav officers. Members of the division took the oath both to Adolf Hitler and to Ante Pavelic, the head of the Croatian government. It was the first SS division with non-Germanic members, although Himmler even managed to find a Gothic origin for the Bosnians. The division was first sent to France for training, where there was also an attempted insurrection, and then to Germany. After returning to the Balkans, the division operated mainly in the so-called security zone in north-east Bosnia between the Sava, Bosna, Drina and Spreca rivers. It was deployed for a short time in the Syrmia region north of the Sava before moving to north-east Bosnia. At the end of 1944, the division was moved to the Zagreb area. Then, in the following months, the last remnants of the "Handschar" fought against Red Army units and Bulgarian troops in southern Hungary, fought a series of defensive battles and then retreated towards the Austrian border. Most of the Bosnian elements that still followed the division tried to return to Bosnia by any means possible. The rest of the division retreated westwards instead, hoping to surrender to the Allied forces. The history of the division is accompanied by numerous testimonies, documents from the time, extracts from official communications, the division's war diary and hundreds of photos and maps. The book also includes a (brief) history of the 23rd Waffen Mountain Division of the SS "Kama".

Nebolsin, Igor: Stalin's Favorite. The Combat History of the 2nd Guards Tank Army from Kursk to Berlin. Volume 1: January 1943-June 1944 35,00 €

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 07:00:09 +0200

A very detailed chronicle of the operations of the Soviet 2nd Guards Armoured Army. The work presents in great detail this large Soviet unit in the battles in the front line near Kursk in 1943 up to the capture of Berlin in April/May 1945. This first volume covers the period from January 1943, when the 2nd Guards Armoured Army was formed, to June 1944, when the unit was deployed in Romania.

Chiussi, Tommaso: Zollgrenzschutz. Border Guards on the Frontier of the Reich, Hauptzollamt Villach, 1941-1945 25,00 €

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 07:00:09 +0200

After the occupation of the Balkans at the beginning of the Second World War, the Axis powers constantly struggled to control the region. The partisan presence was considerable, and although the various fragmented guerrilla groups spent much energy fighting amongst themselves, they still posed a threat to German/Italian control. The Germans and Italians were heavily engaged with the Allies on several fronts, so control forces were sparsely distributed. Therefore, much of the responsibility for combating a ruthless and in some cases highly militarised resistance contingent fell to non-military police units.

One example of such a unit is the customs border guard of the main customs office in Villach. Villach lies on the border between Austria (then part of Greater Germany), Italy and Slovenia. It is the gateway to the Julian Alps and was the border between the Greater German Reich and the Balkans during the Second World War. The Italian author Tommaso Chiussi has compiled the history of the unit through meticulous original research in German, Austrian, Italian and Slovenian archives. The work is accompanied by more than 90 photos, most of which are previously unpublished.