A photo, measuring 103x147mm, mint condition, of Sylvester Stadler. He signed it in blue ink. Interestingly, all his signatures, including this one, say “Silvester”, yet every source lists his first name as “Sylvester”. The photo shows him wearing the Oak Leaves, but not the Swords, and his rank at the time is Obersturmbannführer.
Footnote: Sylvester Stadler (1910–1995) was a highly decorated SS officer, winning a Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords, as well as a Close Combat Clasp in Gold (on December 12, 1943). At the end of the war Stadler’s rank was Brigadeführer and Major General of the Waffen-SS. Stadler received the Knight’s Cross for repelling an incursion of the Red Army during the Third Battle of Kharkov in early 1943. He received the Oak Leaves for his actions during the Battle of Kursk in August 1943. The Swords were awarded to him just days before the end of the war. It is unknown for which action. He commanded the 2nd Battalion of the SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment 4 “Der Führer”, part of the 2nd SS Panzer Division “Das Reich”, which he went on to command after that, being one of the youngest divisional commanders in the German military at the time. Since July 1944 Stadler commanded the 9th SS Panzer Division “Hohenstaufen”. Stadler saw action in France, the Balkans, and Russia. He fought in Normandy, defending the infamous Hill 112, in the Falaise pocket, during Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands, and took part in the Ardennes offensive. During the war he was wounded at least three times.