UBB.threads

It a particularly rare to be able to find a good photo of an SS NCO/enlisted man even if one happens to exist. It was a particular style during that time to have a studio portrait taken against a dark background (they must not have heard of Mathew Brady's recommendation in the 1850s to use a light background). Considering that they also often wear dark clothing like their black Allgemeine uniform and that we are working from microfilm, the photos often end up in very low contrast and unreproducible. Fortunately for Braunsperger, his photo for his NSDAP membership filecard was still attached (only about 30-40% are still there since there was a concerted effort to hide identities of members at war's end) and it could be reproduced. The icing to this cake is that he was also wearing his SS uniform- again a rarity to uncover. It is exciting to also connect a face with the artifact. As a side bar, I recently identified a SS dagger where I found a photo of the SS Mann in uniform actually wearing it! That is the first time for that one.

Ross Kelbaugh
www.ssdaggers.com