BACKGROUND: On May 27TH 1942 SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich, head of the RSHA, Reichssicherungshauptamt, (Central Security Department), and Reichs Protector of Bohemia and Moravia was the victim of an assassination attempt in Prague and died a week later as a result. In early June 1942 personnel of the SS-Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 6, of the 6.SS-Gebirgs-Division "Nord", were bestowed a commemorative honor cufftitle, "Reinhard Heydrich", in remembrance. Of Note: The SS-Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 6. was redesignated SS-Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 11 in October 1943 and personnel continued the right to wear the cufftitle. Originally the cufftitles for EM/NCO’s were manufactured in the RZM pattern with machine embroidered script until the machine woven "BeVo" pattern was introduced in 1943. Of Note: The RZM, Reichzeugmeisterei, (National Equipment Quartermaster), was official founded in June 1934 in Munich by the NSDAP, Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, (National Socialist German Worker’s Party), as a Reich Hauptamt, (State Central Office), and was based on the earlier SA Quartermaster’s Department. The functions of the RZM were not only to procure and distribute items to Party formations, but also to approve chosen designs and to act as a quality control supervisor to ensure items manufactured for the Party met required specification and were standardized. Starting in late 1934 items manufactured for the SS came under the quality control of the RZM and were marked by a cloth RZM/SS approval tag. The dimensions and design of these cloth tags was altered in 1935 and this second pattern tag remained in use until early 1938, when it was replaced by a paper tag. In 1943 the Waffen-SS assumed full control over their uniform item production and no longer fell under the authority of the RZM.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Private purchase field-grey wool/rayon blend construction M36 pattern field blouse with a lay down, blue/green badge cloth collar, features a vertical, six button front closure with a double hook and eye positioned at the forward neckline. Superb original collar tabs (SS-Untersturmfuhrer), sewn shoulder boards. Superb hand embroidered officer’s eagle. Textbook Edelweiss. Rare flat wire Reinhard Heydrich cufftitle. Awards loops for three breast badges and one award ribbon. The field blouse has four, pleated, front pockets with scalloped button down flaps. Nice complete liner. Buttons look to be all original stitching. The field blouse is roughly size 34" chest. Superb tunic!