GAULEITER AND SS GENERAL AUGUST EIGRUBER'S SS SWORD, SWORD AWARD DOCUMENT AND PHOTOGRAH ALBUM.

This is a magnificent and historical set of museum quality and importance. The set comprises August Eigrubers SS officers sword (degen). Nickel silver hilt with the SS kulturzeichen stamped on the underside. The silver screw cap is the special SS type that screws into the hilt of the sword and not the tang of the blade which is the correct SS style, the pommel is beautifully engraved with Eigrubers initials, AE. The black wooden grip is in superb condition and it is inlaid with SS runic badge. The blade is plain with out a makers name which is correct for the SS officers swords. The scabbard still retains 98% original black paint, there are a couple of very slight dents to the reverse side but they are very minor and hardly worth mentioning, the upper silver scabbard fitting is stamped on the throat with the SS kulturzeichen and it is also stamped with Eigrubers SS membership number,292778, the lower scabbard fitting is the correct SS style which is held in place with pressure and not with screws. Complete with SS officers sword knot with the SS runes on the stem. SS sword award document, an extremely rare document awarding the
SS sword (degen) to SS Oberfuhrer August Eigruber and dated 9.11.1938 and signed in ink by the Reichfuhrer SS Heinrich Himmler, the document has the correct water mark which can been seen when held to the light. The last item in this set is a superb personal photograph album belonging to Gauleiter and SS Obergrupenfuhrer August Eigruber, the album dates to the early 1940's and contains almost 150 photographs and all very interesting and some with captions and dates, they include Eigruber giving speeches, parades, visiting tank factory and other industry's, meeting the local population, but even more interesting are the photographs of the important people who visited him at Linz, they include, Adolf Hitler 6 unique photographs, Hermann Goring also with 6 unique photographs showing him inspecting the city, Japanese foreign minister, Heinrich Himmler, Conrad Heinlein, various Gauleiters and other high ranking political and military leaders, almost every photograph is of great interest. Gauleiter and SS Obergrupenfuhrer August Eigruber was born on the 16th of April 1907 at Steyr in Austria. He was too young to serve in WW1 and after graduating from school he took up a carrier in precision engineering. In 1922 he joined the local Nazi Youth organisation in Austria and his early political carrier was with the Austrian HJ, in 1928 he joined the NSDAP receiving membership number 83432. He rose steadily in the Austrian NSDAP during this early period holding many party positions. In 1934 he was arrested after the assassination of the Austrian Chancellor Dollfuss and spent some time in prison. In 1935 he was made Gauleiter of Gau Linz in the illegal Austrian NSDAP ( a party position but not an official Austrian government post at that time). After the Austrian Anschluss in 1938 Eiguber was appointed by Adolf Hitler as the official Gauleiter of Gau Oberdonau with headquarters in the city of Linz. On the 25.7.38 Eigruber became an SS member and on the same date he was promoted to SS Standartenfuhrer, in November 1938 he was promoted to SS Oberfuhrer and at the same time he was awarded the SS officers sword by the Reichfuhrer SS Heinrich Himmler, he received steady promotion after this date, on the 21.6.1943 he was promoted to SS Obergrupenfuhrer. It is interesting to note that Eigruber was also an SA General and on the 9.11.43 he was promoted to SA Obergrupenfuhrer. Eigruber was also a member of the Reichstag. In 1941 Eigruber accompanied Himmler on a visit to the Mouthausen Concentration camp which was located near Linz and he apparently visited the camp many times after this visit, he also visited the euthanasia institute at Hartheim several times and which was actually leased by Eigruber to the institute. Adolf Hitler was a frequent visitor to Linz as it was one of his favourite city's and it is where he had spent a good part of his childhood, after the war he planed to open a magnificent art Museum complex in Linz and which he hoped would be the art centre of the world and which would rival any other museum in any country, he even planed to retire to Linz after the war to concentrate on artistic pursuits. In the closing stages of the war Eigruber organised the defence of the Linz district and was planning to turn Linz into a fortress city until his subordinates persuaded him not to do this and to surrender the city to the American army which is what happened on the 5.5.45, but by this time Eigruber had left the city. The Gaultier was captured by American forces on the 11.8.1945. He was eventually put on trial in 1946 and executed soon after for his involvement with the Mauthausen camp. A historically important set. Near mint.

Code: 35767