Description
Hermann Kampfer was from Austria and served with various units of Totenkopf from 26 April 1938 to 24 April 1940. His units were in the Zone of the Interior, so he was not deployed in Poland and France in 1939/1940. From 25 April 1940 to 31 October 1941, he was assigned to the SS Infantry Regiment 6 of the 6th SS Mountain Division “Nord”. He was deployed during the conquest of Norway. He then attended the SS Officer’s School in Braunschweig and was promoted to SS-Untersturmführer (SS 2nd Lieutenant) on 21 June 1942. He must have shown a propensity for communications and served as a signal officer with several SS units through 6 October 1944. From 28 May 1943 – 5 October 1944, he served with units of the 8th SS Cavalry Division “Florian Geyer.” The division fought against partisans in the southeastern area of Croatia from 29 December 1943 to 18 March 1944. His last unit was the SS Signal Replacement Battalion in Eichstätt, Germany. His primary roles were Group Leader, Telephonist Leader and Signal Leader. He was also certified as a ski instructor. On 21 June 1944, he was promoted to SS-Obersturmführer (SS 1st Lieutenant). He was awarded the Iron Cross Second Class, Finnish Freedom Medal First Class, Austrian Annexation Medal, General Assault Badge, and the War Merit Cross Second Class with Swords. Kampfer primarily fought on the Eastern Front and because he is not listed on the German War Graves website, he most likely survived the war. The Wehrpaß is a second issue that was opened on 12 January 1944. The best part about second-issue IDs is that they often have a photo of the soldier in military uniform. This photo of Kampfer dates from 1940 when he was an SS-Unterscharführer (SS-Corporal/Junior Squad Leader). Very desirable as he was in the TK. Great photo. LH4304