Description
On May 25TH 1940 the first Dutch volunteers were assigned to the newly formed “Westland” regiment of the Waffen-SS. In November 1941 the Dutch volunteers were issued a distinctive national sleeve shield to be worn on the upper right sleeve of the uniform. The identifying Dutch sleeve shield underwent four minor variations through-out the war. This example was worn by Dutch personnel serving in 11.SS-Freiwilligen-Panzer-Grenadier-Division “Nordland”, the 23.SS-Freiwilligen-Grenadier-Division “Nederland” (niederlandische Nr.1) and the 34.SS-Freiwilligen-Grenadier-Division “Landstorm Nederland”. This is one of those examples, unissued and with bright vibrant colors. These were produced in Dachau, and would have been liberated in 1945 when the U.S liberated the camp.
