Service tunic as personal property. Cloth of field-gray gabardine, complete with all insignia. Metal thread hand-embroidered breast eagle on dark green cloth backing, collar tabs and sleeve chevrons in metal thread woven execution, shoulder boards for sewing in, branch color golden yellow. On the chest loops for 1 pin badge and for a ribbon bar. Interior with green silk lining, side slit for wearing the saber. Sleeve length 62 cm, chest circumference 80 cm, length 65 cm. Moth damage on collar and left cuff, condition 3.
Together with the matching visor cap. High saddle form, complete with cap eagle, oak leaf wreath in aluminum, metal cockade with ventilation mesh. Between eagle and oak leaf wreath the attached Schwedt tradition eagle (gilding is faded), branch color golden yellow. Interior sweatband with blind embossing “Erel Stirnschutz DRGM”, pistachio green silk lining, celluloid diamond with manufacturer “Erel Sonderklasse Privat”, a few minimal moth damages below the cap cord, head size approx. 55. Condition 2-.

Wehrpass issued on 11.8.1936, with photo, mustered as obligated service member to Ers.-Res. I, enlisted on 17.10.1936 with 4./Kav.Rgt.6, further units: Aufkl.Abt.33, Pz.Aufkl-Erst.u.Ausb.Abt.4., Pz. Aufkl.Abt. 115, training as radio operator, awards: Wound Badge in Black, Iron Cross II. Class, Assault Badge in Silver, Medal for the Italian-German Campaign in Africa, participated in numerous combat actions, see pages 32, 33, 47, 48, French campaign, from 9.4.1941 in Africa, Fortress Tobruk, Marsa Matruh, Al Alamein. Fallen 3.12.1943 in the Cassino area, Italy, used condition.

Certificate of ownership for the Afrika cuff title, 2/Panzer Aufkl.Abt. 33, issued on 25.8.1943, signed by the Leutnant. The document was folded once in the middle. Condition 2. Book: Mein Kampf - Wedding edition, dedicated to Mr. Ewald Kuhhirte and Mrs. Pflanz, dated 6. August 1940, condition 2. Portrait photo of the Oberfeldwebel with his wife, dimensions: 28.2 x 21.3 cm. Memorial sheet for Oberfeldwebel Ewald Kuhirte, dated 2.September 1944. Letter from Wehrmeldeamt Bielefeld, regarding the notification of the fallen Oberfeldwebel, dated 13. September 1944. Death certificate of Mr. Kuhhirte, service time certificate, dated 3.3.1956, field post addressed to Mrs. Luise Kuhhirte.

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Estate of the later fallen Oberfeldwebel “Kuhirte” in Kav.Rgt 6 and finally with 4./Pz.Auf.Abt.115, participated in battles: Tobruk, Al Alamein and Monte Cassino

This extraordinary uniform estate documents the military career and fate of Oberfeldwebel Ewald Kuhhirte, who served in the German cavalry and later in armored reconnaissance units between 1936 and 1943. The collection comprises his Waffenrock (dress tunic), Schirmmütze (visor cap), Wehrpass (military service book), Besitzzeugnis (possession certificate) for the Afrika cuffband, as well as personal documents, offering profound insight into the transformation of German cavalry during the Second World War.

Kuhhirte entered the 4th Squadron of Cavalry Regiment 6 on 17 October 1936, garrisoned in Darmstadt. The regiment represented the traditional mounted arm, but was disbanded during the 1939 mobilization. From Cavalry Regiment 6 emerged reconnaissance battalions (Aufklärungsabteilungen) 33, 34, 36, and 179, with Kuhhirte being transferred to Aufkl.Abt.33. This restructuring reflected the Wehrmacht's strategic reorientation, recognizing that motorized and armored reconnaissance units were superior to traditional cavalry formations.

The golden yellow Waffenfarbe (branch color) on Kuhhirte's uniform originally designated cavalry, but was also worn by tank units formed from cavalry and some reconnaissance units. The Waffenrock, introduced in 1935 as formal dress uniform, displays the characteristic dark-green Swedish cuffs and was used for formal occasions, parades, and official ceremonies. The visor cap bears the pinned Schwedter Traditionsadler (Schwedt tradition eagle), commemorating an 1812 incident when Brandenburg Dragoons riding bareback repelled a French cavalry attack. This badge was authorized for Cavalry Regiment 6 and its successor units.

Kuhhirte's military career took a dramatic turn when he was deployed to North Africa on 9 April 1941 with Aufkl.Abt.33, which was part of the 15th Panzer Division. He participated in the fighting around the fortress of Tobruk, at Marsa Matruh, and at El Alamein. The Battle of El Alamein in October 1942 ended with a decisive Allied victory. Aufkl.Abt.33 was lost in Tunisia in May 1943, and survivors returned to Europe.

For his participation in the North African campaign, Kuhhirte received the Afrika cuffband, worn on the lower left sleeve. This cuffband was instituted on 15 January 1943 per Allgemeine Heeresmitteilungen No. 60, dated 27 January 1943. Initially it required a minimum of two months service in North Africa (from the July 1941 “Afrikakorps” version), but criteria were modified on 7 July 1943 to require four months service with Heeresgruppe Afrika. A further modification on 1 July 1944 included those awarded the Iron Cross, German Cross in Gold, or Honor Roll entry. Approximately 100,000 men served in the North Africa campaign eligible for the Afrika cuffband.

After returning from Africa, the unit was reformed as Panzer-Aufklärungsabteilung 115 on 15 October 1943 in Münster from the remnants of Aufkl.Abt.33 lost in Africa. The unit was deployed to Italy and later fought on the Western Front at Lunéville and in the Ardennes, before finally being separated from its parent division to fight in Pomerania at Stargard with the 402nd Infantry Division in 1945.

Kuhhirte himself did not witness these later deployments. He was killed in action on 3 December 1943 near Monte Cassino in Italy. His Wehrpass documents his awards: the Wound Badge in Black, the Iron Cross II Class, the Assault Badge in Silver, and the Italian-German Africa Campaign Medal. The death notification reached his widow Luise through the Wehrmeldeamt Bielefeld on 13 September 1944.

The collection also includes a Mein Kampf Hochzeitsausgabe (wedding edition) dated 6 August 1940, addressed to Herr Ewald Kuhhirte and Frau Pflanz. This program was instituted in 1935 by Franz Eher Nachf. publishers in Munich and provided free copies to marrying couples. In 1933 alone, 1.5 million copies of Mein Kampf were sold. The manufacturer of the visor cap, Erel, is marked “Erel Sonderklasse Privat” on the celluloid triangle inside. The Afrika cuffband was among Nazi-era decorations re-authorized for wear by the Federal Republic of Germany in 1957, as it did not bear the swastika symbol.