Totenkopf

This article is about the military symbol. For other, see Totenkopf (disambiguation).
August von Mackensen, German field marshal in hussar full dress prior to 1914, with the Totenkopf on his fur busby

Totenkopf (i.e. skull, literally dead's head) is the German word for the skull and crossbones and death's head symbols. The Totenkopf symbol is an old international symbol for death, the defiance of death, danger, or the dead, as well as piracy. It consists usually of the human skull with or without the mandible and often includes two crossed long-bones (femurs), most often depicted with the crossbones being behind some part of the skull.

It is commonly associated with 19th- and 20th-century German military use.

Etymology

Toten-Kopf translates literally to "dead's head", meaning exactly "dead person's head". Semantically, it refers to a skull, literally a Schädel. As a term, Totenkopf connotes the human skull as a symbol, typically one with crossed thigh bones as part of a grouping.

Contemporary German language meaning of the word Totenkopf has not changed for at least two centuries. For example, the German poet Clemens Brentano (b. 1778 – d. 1842) wrote in the story "Baron Hüpfenstich":
"Lauter Totenbeine und Totenköpfe, die standen oben herum ..."[1] (i.e. "A lot of bones and skulls, they were placed above ...").

The common translation of "Totenkopf" as death's head is incorrect; it would be Todeskopf, but no such word is in use. The English term death squad is called Todesschwadron, not Totenschwadron. It would be a logical fallacy to conclude that usage varies only because of the German naming of the Death's-head Hawkmoth, which is called Skull Hawkmoth (Totenkopfschwärmer) in German, in the same way that it would be a fallacy to conclude that the German word Nachtkerze (i.e. night candle) would mean Willowherb, just because the Willowherb Hawkmoth (Proserpinus proserpina) is called Night Candle Hawkmoth (Nachtkerzenschwärmer, Proserpinus proserpina) in German.

German military

Prussia

Hussar from Husaren-Regiment Nr.5 (von Ruesch) in 1744 with the Totenkopf on the mirliton (ger. Flügelmütze)

Use of the Totenkopf as a military emblem began under Frederick the Great, who formed a regiment of Hussar cavalry in the Prussian army commanded by Colonel von Ruesch, the Husaren-Regiment Nr. 5 (von Ruesch). It adopted a black uniform with a Totenkopf emblazoned on the front of its mirlitons and wore it on the field in the War of Austrian Succession and in the Seven Years' War.

The Totenkopf remained a part of the uniform when the regiment was reformed into Leib-Husaren Regiments Nr.1 and Nr.2 in 1808. When Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, was killed in battle during the Napoleonic Wars, his troops changed their uniform colors to black or apple green, with a Totenkopf on their shakos in mourning their dead leader. Other sources claim that the "Black Brunswickers" were so equipped while Friedrich Wilhelm of Brunswick lived, as a sign of revenge on the French.[2]

The skull continued to be used throughout the Prussian and Brunswick Armed forces until 1918, and some of the stormtroopers that led the last German offensives on the Western Front in 1918 used skull badges.[3]

Luftstreitkräfte fighter pilots Georg von Hantelmann[4] and Kurt Adolf Monnington[5] are just two of a number of Central Powers military pilots who used the Totenkopf as their personal aircraft insignia.

Weimar Republic

The Totenkopf was used in Germany throughout the inter-war period, most prominently by the Freikorps. In 1933, it was in use by the regimental staff and the 1st, 5th, and 11th squadrons of the Reichswehr's 5th Cavalry Regiment as a continuation of a tradition from the Kaiserreich.

Third Reich

The second version of the SS-Totenkopf; used from 1934 to 1945
Junkers Ju 88 of Kampfgeschwader 54 (KG 54) in France, November 1940
German Panzer totenkopf

In the early days of the NSDAP, Julius Schreck, the leader of the Stabswache (Adolf Hitler's bodyguard unit), resurrected the use of the Totenkopf as the unit's insignia. This unit grew into the Schutzstaffel (SS), which continued to use the Totenkopf as insignia throughout its history. According to a writing by Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler the Totenkopf had the following meaning:

The Skull is the reminder that you shall always be willing to put your self at stake for the life of the whole community.[6]

The Totenkopf was also used as the unit insignia of the Panzer forces of the German Heer (Army), and also by the Panzer units of the Luftwaffe, including those of the elite Fallschirm-Panzer Division 1 Hermann Göring.[7]

Both the 3rd SS Panzer Division of the Waffen-SS, and the World War II era Luftwaffe's 54th Bomber Wing Kampfgeschwader 54 were given the unit name "Totenkopf", and used a strikingly similar-looking graphic skull-crossbones insignia as the SS units of the same name. The 3rd SS Panzer Division also had skull patches on their uniform collars instead of the SS sieg rune.

Non-German military

A French Hussard de la mort (1792)
Spanish Carlist flag (1838)
The "death's head" was the insignia of Polish Death Hussar Divisions, 1920 (Polish–Soviet War)
Stylized Totenkopf on shoulder sleeve insignia of the United States Air Force 400th Missile Squadron uniform sometime between 1995 and 2005

Commercial

Other uses

In the United States, the skull & crossbones symbol has often been used to indicate a poisonous substance.

See also

Bibliography

References

  1. Clemens Brentano: Baron Hüpfenstich - Chapter 2 (Projekt Gutenberg-DE)
  2. Osprey Publishing - The Black Brunswickers
  3. First World War - Willmott, H. P.; Dorling Kindersley, 2003, Page 252
  4. Georg von Hantelmann & Kurt Wüsthoff's Fokker D.VII, Jasta 15
  5. van Wyngarden, Greg (2011). Osprey Elite Aviation Units #40: Jasta 18 - The Red Noses. Oxford UK: Osprey Publishing. pp. 85–86, 97. ISBN 978-1-84908-335-5.
  6. Heinrich Himmler: "Der Totenkopf ist die Mahnung, jederzeit bereit zu sein, das Leben unseres Ichs einzusetzen für das Leben der Gesamtheit."
  7. Angolia, John R., and Adolf Schlicht, Uniforms and Traditions of the Luftwaffe Volume 2, R. James Bender Publishing, San Jose, CA, 1997. ISBN 0-912138-71-8.
  8. QRL Regimental Association
  9. (French) http://pagesperso-orange.fr/minismodels/figurines/hussards_de_la_mort/hussards_de_la_mort.htm
  10. "New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center - Welcome".
  11. http://www.thecraft.com/craft_skull.html
  12. "craft internationallogo - Google Search".
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