(C) Mourning the Ancient

[Above: This is the earliest picture of National Socialists with a dog that I've found. This is from Coburg, 1922.]

[Above: Same as above, but wider view (the man on the left has been cut off of the one above.]

[Above: Another early shot of National Socialist fighters. Note that the same dog and handler are in this picture as the one above.]

[Above: This one is my absolute favorite! Wow. A beautiful image.]

[Above: This one is another favorite of mine... Courtesy of the Bundesarchiv.]

[Above: Another favorite...]

[Above: A Waffen-SS man and a very cold dog!]

[Above: Two soldiers of the 6th Waffen-SS Division Nord bandage the paw of an injured dog, Russia, 1944.]

[Above: The commander of the 5th Waffen-SS Panzer Division Wiking, Standartenführer Johannes-Rudolf Mühlenkamp with a fox terrier in Kovel, September 1944.]

[Above: SS officer Karl Hoecker with his beloved dog 'Favorite'.]

[Above: SS officer Karl Hoecker's dog 'Favorite'.]

[Above: A Norwegian Waffen-SS volunteer. Courtesy of the Bundesarchiv.]

[Above: A German Shepherd pigeon carrier looks on while his handlers prepare a message.]

[Above: Note the Doberman in the background.]

[Above: A pack of vicious battle dogs out on patrol. They're so beastly and wild the handlers can barely contain them!]

[Above: Wow, an impressive photo of a Knight's Cross holder. This handsome devil also has Oakleaves. His name is Major Joachim Müncheberg (1918 – 1943). He was a spectacular Luftwaffe fighter ace credited with shooting down 135 enemy aircraft including 46 Supermarine Spitfire fighters. He succumbed to battle wounds, on March 23, 1943. He was awarded the Iron Cross First & Second Class, the German Cross in Gold, the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. And check out the smiling dog on the right!]

[Above: Another shot of Major Joachim Müncheberg and his smiling dog]

[Above: And another of Major Joachim Müncheberg (and his wife).]

[Above: Sorry I had to put up one more shot of Major Joachim Müncheberg]

[Above: Major Hans Philipp photographed in March 1943 with Minke, a dog belonging to the Jagdgeschwader 54 Grünherz fighter wing. During this period Philipp gained more than 200 aerial victories and was recipient of Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords.]

[Above: Major Kurt Bühligen, Geschwaderkommodore of the Jagdgeschwader 2 'Richthofen', photographed here in the summer of 1944. He is credited with 112 aerial victories, all claimed on the Western Front and North Africa, and was awarded the Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords.]

[Above: 'Two good Comrades']

[Above: Three of the most famous and capable men of the war: Kurt 'Panzer' Meyer, Fritz Witt and Max Wünsche.
Note the German Shepherd stretching in the background. France, 1944. Courtesy of the Bundesarchiv.]

[Above: Fritz Witt wearing the Knight's Cross and Oakleaves.]

[Above: Fritz Witt.]

[Above: Fritz Witt and Hubert Meyer.]

[Above: 'Now remember... no more cigarettes and schnapps after midnight!']

[Above: A proud Hitler Youth boy and his German Shepherd.]

[Above: Major Georg-Peter Schorsch Eder (March 8, 1921 - March 11, 1986) was a German fighter ace who flew 572 combat missions claiming 78 enemy aircraft shot down. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves.]

[Above: France, June 1940.]

[Above: Arthur Hoffmann, Obermaschinist of U-245.]

[Above: SS-Brigadeführer Wilhelm Mohnke (March 15, 1911 – August 6, 2001) and two dogs. Check out the patch of an eagle head and SS runes on his jacket. Mohnke was one of the original one hundred and twenty members of the SS-Staff Guard (Stabswache) 'Berlin' formed in March 1933. He joined the National Socialist Party in September 1931.]

[Above: Generalmajor Horst Viktor von Usedom (March 9, 1906 – October 14, 1970) was the highly decorated commander of the 12th Panzer Division. He was a recipient of the coveted Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves.]