A cuff title (German: Ärmelstreifen) is a form of insignia placed on the sleeve, near the cuff of German military and paramilitary uniforms, most commonly seen in the Second World War but also seen postwar.
Cuff titles are most commonly associated with units of the Waffen SS but were widely used by other branches of the German military, as well as paramilitary and civilian organizations as well. The Infantry Regiment Großdeutschland (later Großdeutschland Division) was also well known for their use of cuff titles. The Deutsche Afrikakorps was also famous for its cuff title, which formed the genesis of future campaign cuff titles (see below).
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Image of the Latin Script
"Grossdeutschland" cuff title introduced in 1944. From the
GD for CM website, courtesy the webmaster.
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The base portion of a cuff title is made of either wool, cotton, rayon or a cotton/rayon blend, is approximately 4 cm wide and bears a name or symbol that identifies the wearer belonging to a particular unit or past campaign. On cuff titles of which the ribbon was of wool, cotton or blended materials the embroidery of the name or symbol was usually done with rayon or cotton (some wire embroidery was worn on "officer's pattern" titles). These cuff titles were often edged with "Russia braid" (similar to the material used in "waffenfarbe" soutaches on early pattern German field caps). Cuff titles that were made entirely of rayon were machine woven. The name or symbol on the ribbon is not really embroidered, but rather falsely embroidered into the ribbon during its manufacturing. This is known as the Jacquard weaving method. "Bevo" is a common term used by collectors to describe this type of insignia manufactured with this method much the same way that "Kleenex" is used to describe facial tissue. Machine woven cuff titles became more common as the war progressed and newer titles were introduced. Waffen SS cuff titles reflected the colors of the SS, black and silver and were generally black in colour with grey or white lettering.
Lettering could be in Latin, Gothic or Sütterlin style script, as shown on the Grossdeutschland cuff title on the right. Block letters were also used. For other unique uses of devices or script styles, see below.
As worn on Second World War uniforms, the bottom edge of German cuff titles were generally placed at the top of the split seam of a jacket cuff. This is how the measurement of 14.5 cm to 15 cm came about because the split seam of a sleeve of a German enlisted man's field blouse is approximately 14.5 cm. The Germans had no defined measurement in their regulations as to how high the cuff title went, just that it was to be place alongside the cuff's split seam. Wartime, photographic evidence exists of jackets with the cuff title placed lower than 14.5 cm to 15 cm from the cuff edge. This is usually due to a reduced sleeve length. On jackets with a french cuff (turn back cuff), the cuff title was placed above the cuff if it was an Army (Heer), Air force (Luftwaffe), or Navy (Kriegsmarine) uniform, and placed just below the cuff edge on the cuff itself on SS jackets (usually between the edge of the cuff and the seam of the cuff's edge, approximately 1 mm to 1.5 mm).
In the Army (Heer), Air force (Luftwaffe), or Navy (Kriegsmarine), the unit cuff title was worn on the right arm. In the SS, the cuff title was worn on the left arm. All campaign cuff titles were worn on the left arm. For example, someone who was in the army and fought in North Africa and later transferred to Grossdeutschland had an "Afrika" campaign cuff title on their left arm and their "Grossdeutschland" cuff title on their right arm (General Manteuffel's leather coat was an anomaly to this rule). An SS soldier who fought in Crete as a paratrooper and later joined 2nd SS Division "Das Reich" would have both of his cuff titles on the left arm. In this case you would usually see the unit cuff title placed below the campaign cuff title because the chances are that the individual received his jacket with his unit cuff title before hand and then had his campaign cuff title placed after the fact, but this isn't always 100% the case.
More than one title could be worn if the soldier was entitled. General Manteuffel wore the "Afrika" campaign cuff title over his "Grossdeutschland" cuff title during the period he commanded that division. Unit cuff titles were not granted as a mark of prior service in the same manner that divisional patches were and continues to be worn on the right sleeve of US Army uniforms. However, members who were prescribed to wear a unit cuff title who were also military policemen, combat correspondents, or members of the Führerhauptquartier (Hitler's headquarters) could wear both their unit's cuff title and their cuff title of their specialty service. An example of this would be a military policeman in the 17th SS Division "Götz von Berlichingen" would or could wear both this "SS-Feldgendarmerie" (SS Military Police) cuff title and his "Götz von Berlichingen" cuff title. In this specific case, they both would be worn on his left arm.
There are several hundred patterns of cuff titles known to have been used; some units had several unique patterns. Among the more interesting designs were:
Cuff titles worn by the Waffen SS or Heer were considered a special honour. The history of the Grossdeutschland Division by Helmuth Spaeter describes an instance in which the motorcycle company of the Infantry Regiment Grossdeutschland was held to account for losing a position; they were forbidden from wearing their cuff titles until they had earned the privilege back by success in a later battle.
When Waffen SS divisions failed to perform satisfactorily near Vienna in April 1945, Adolf Hitler ordered the units involved to remove their cuff titles as a punishment. SS-Oberstgruppenführer Sepp Dietrich was enraged, and reportedly sent his own back to Berlin in a night vase.
Soldiers in training were usually presented the cuff title only on completion of that training, and the award of the title was seen as a rite of passage. This rite is described in the controversial book The Forgotten Soldier.
The East German military continued the tradition of cuff titles, most notably worn by Border Guards, and Guard Regiments named after famous German communists.
The West German Bundesluftwaffe (Federal German Air Force) continued the tradition of awarding cuff titles to its Traditionsverbände such as: "Jagdgeschwader Mölders", "Jagdgeschwader Steinhoff", "Jagdgeschwader Richthofen" and "Jagdgeschwader Boelke", which were named after famous fighter pilots of the First and Second World War.
The German Army (Bundeswehr) continues to wear some distinctive cuff titles today. The first, used by German Army Aviation Corps is a stylized silver grey "wing" on a black band with silver piping on the top and bottom edges. The second for its Armoured Training Battalion (and School) which is a silver grey embroidered "Panzerlehrbrigade 9" in Gothic script. The third for its Wachbataillon which is a silver grey embroidered "Wachbataillon" in Gothic script on a black band with silver piping on the top and bottom edges.
As the uniforms in the film Starship Troopers echo WWII German uniforms, the Fleet officers in the film wore cuff bands with the name of their ship on them.
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