Totenkopf is the German word for the skull and crossbones and death's head symbols. 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. Brunswick
Totenkopf badge worn by the Brunswick Leibbataillon ("Life-Guard Battalion") at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. In 1809 during the War of the Fifth Coalition, Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel raised a force of volunteers to fight Napoleon Bonaparte, who had conquered the Duke's lands. German Empire
The skull continued to be used by 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. Weimar Republic
A Garford-Putilov Armoured Car used by the Freikorps in 1919, with a Totenkopf painted on the side. The Totenkopf was used in Germany throughout the inter-war period, most prominently by the Freikorps.
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.
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. 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.
Zachary Ward
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Anthony Parker
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Daniel Gray
does anyone give good sources of info in Prussian origins of the badge?
Zachary Gray
It was also used by regular storm troopers in WW1
Aiden Bailey
Good posts user
Brayden Nguyen
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Jaxon Bennett
the symbol isn't prussian, it was adopted. in prussian military it meant, pardon will not be given, nor taken.
Ian Nelson
>tfw there are people (mostly americans and brits) who think the germans used the skull just to be scary
Christian Harris
>normies being interested in """forbidden history""" nazis bad goy, that is all you need to know. trust (((((me)))))
Nolan Turner
probably was its origin
Jack Foster
whos?
Chase Long
>it was adopted WAA WAAA Cry some more, Petrovic.
Isaac Hall
heritage not hate
Owen Collins
check out how the typical german changed from early XX century, now is like an APE:
This is the cover. Those were the only two plates with the Totenkompf I could find. I was looking at the government buildings and uniforms of Asian communist countries like Vietnam, and it stuck me how much they are LARPing as Prussians. The buildings and uniforms are copies of a design over 100 years old from across the world. It would be like our army wearing kimonos.
anyway, If you don't know about Frederik the Great and the influence Prussian education has had on the modern world and society this guy is great and has a good short video on it
