A mint, new-old stock, set of Second War Turkistan Legion EM volunteer’s (Freiwilliger) shoulder straps; introduced in May of 1943; extremely similar but non-matching; wide straps (similar in width and appearance to old Russian style shoulder straps); constructed of dark green “Flaschengrün” wool, with light blue/baby blue Waffenfarbe piping to indicate Turkestan Legion; single 10 mm wide silver aluminum tresse indicating NCO rank; ; with tongue attached to the underside of the board; lined with brownish cotton; measuring 110 mm x 59 mm; mint and unissued condition.
Footnote: The Turkestan Legion (Turkistanische Legion) was the name for the military units composed of Turk peoples who fought in the German Army during the Second War. Most of these troops were Red Army POWs who found common causes with other Turk, Caucasian, Cossack, and Crimean, collaborationism with the Axis powers. Its establishment was spearheaded by Nuri KIlligil, a Turkish theorist of Pan-Turkism, which sought to separate territories inhabited by Turk peoples from their countries, to eventually unite them under Turkish rule. Although Turkic peoples had been perceived initially as “racially inferior”, this attitude officially changed in Autumn 1941, when the Nazis attempted to harness the anti-Russian sentiment of the Turkic peoples in Russia for political gain. The first"Turkistan Legion" was mobilized in May 1942, originally consisting of only one battalion but having been expanded to 16 battalions and 16,000 soldiers by 1943. Under the Wehrmacht's command, these units were mobilized exclusively on the Western front, isolating them from the Red Army, on the war fronts of France and north Italy. The battalions of the Turkistani Legion formed part of the 162nd Infantry Division and saw much action in Axis-occupied Yugoslavia (especially modern-day Croatia) and Italy. Much of the Turkestan Legion was ultimately imprisoned by British forces and repatriated into Russia, where they would face prison terms from the Soviet government for having collaborated with the Nazis.