circa 1938. Large business card printed with “Karl Schulz M.D.R.” and the coat of arms of Karl Schulz with SS runes and death's head, condition 2.

Karl Schulz (born February 7, 1905 in Bochum-Weitmar; died February 2, 1989 in Bad Berleburg) was a German politician (NSDAP). After completing school, Schulz participated in the Kapp Putsch in March 1920 with the Marine-Brigade Ehrhardt. Schulz was also a member of the Organisation Consul.

On September 11, 1923, Schulz joined the NSDAP. In 1924, Schulz entered the service of the Schutzpolizei. One year later, he participated in the founding of the NSDAP local chapter in Hamm as part of the NSDAP's re-establishment and became an SA-Führer there. In 1927, he took over leadership of the NSDAP local chapter in Iserlohn. Later he became a member of the Sturmabteilung (SA), in which he became Sturmführer in Dortmund in 1929. In 1927, Schulz was disciplinarily transferred by the police administration to Iserlohn for unknown reasons. There he participated in building up the NSDAP local chapter and was local chapter leader until 1929. On January 1, 1929, he was appointed SA-Sturmführer. In the same year, he was again disciplinarily transferred, this time to Derne.

After joining the SS (No. 15,838) on November 6, 1931 as SS-Anwärter, Schulz was promoted several times: January 12, 1932 SS-Mann, January 12, 1932 SS-Truppführer, March 24, 1932 SS-Sturmführer, August 24, 1932 SS-Sturmhauptführer. During this rise in the SS, Schulz was dismissed from the Schutzpolizei on June 30, 1932 — preceded by a leave of absence during high treason proceedings brought against him. On April 20, 1933, Schulz became SS-Sturmbannführer, on November 9, 1933 SS-Obersturmbannführer. From August 16, 1933 until March 1, 1934, he was Commander (acting) of SS-Standarte 19 “Westfalen-Nord” (Gelsenkirchen-Rotthausen).

Schulz was a deputy in the National Socialist Reichstag from November 1933 until March 1936.

From March 1, 1934 until April 4, 1934, he was Commander (acting) of SS-Standarte 56 “Franken” (Bamberg) and from April 4 until June 29, 1934 Commander at the SS-Führerschule Gelsenkirchen. On June 29, 1934, Schulz was placed on leave from SS service and on February 12, 1935, he received a formal reprimand from Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler for “indebtedness, embezzlement and insubordination.”

From 1935 to 1939, Schulz was full-time Gau inspector of the Gauleitung Westfalen-Nord of the NSDAP (Münster). On July 29, 1935, Schulz submitted a request for discharge from the SS to preempt an expulsion, which was granted on August 5, 1935. From June 1, 1936 until August 8, 1940, Schulz worked as honorary leader of the Westfalen-Nordwest district group of the Reichsluftschutzbund, finally there as Luftschutz-Oberführer.

After two years, Schulz was readmitted to the Allgemeine SS on May 1, 1937 with his old membership number No. 15,838 and his old rank as SS-Obersturmbannführer. From January 25 until September 1, 1938, Schulz was honorary sports officer of SS-Abschnitt XVII. In early 1938, he was named in a list for the election to the Reichstag. His rank at that time was SS-Oberführer.

From 1939, he worked full-time in the Hauptamt Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle, 1940–1944 Operations Commander and Deputy Director of the Einsatzstab Litzmannstadt (Ghetto Litzmannstadt) of the Hauptamt Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle. In July 1941, he was called up to the SS-Kavallerie-Ersatz-Abteilung as SS-Reiter d.R. of the Waffen-SS, seconded to the Hauptamt Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle. On November 23, 1942, called up to the Waffen-SS as SS-Schütze d.R., appointed on December 1, 1942 as SS-Unterscharführer d.R. of the Waffen-SS, December 10, 1942 Platoon Leader and Company Troop Leader in the 2nd Company of SS-Polizei-Grenadier-Regiment 2. Another investigation for attempted fraud was dropped on April 23, 1943. Until November 1943, he was assigned to the 7th Base Company of SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Ausbildungs- und Ersatz-Bataillon 4, after which he was transferred to the Headquarters Company of the Waffen-SS at the Hauptamt Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle.

After 1945
After the war, Schulz was a member of the SRP (Sozialistische Reichspartei) until its prohibition in 1952.

Schulz died on February 2, 1989 in Bad Berleburg.

445947

€ 450,00

Allgemeine SS: Business Card of SS-Oberführer Karl Schulz, Member of the Reichstag

This visiting card of SS-Oberführer Karl Schulz from around 1938 represents a remarkable document of the National Socialist functional elite. The card displays not only the name and function of its bearer as a Member of the Reichstag (M.d.R.), but also a personal coat of arms featuring SS runes and a death's head – symbols that represented the ideological orientation and elitist aspirations of the SS.

Visiting cards in the Nazi era served not merely for social representation, but were also expressions of power, rank, and political affiliation. High-ranking SS officers in particular had such cards printed with elaborate coats of arms and insignia to emphasize their position within the National Socialist hierarchy. The use of personal heraldry was widespread among the SS leadership and was intended to suggest a pseudo-aristocratic tradition.

Karl Schulz (1905-1989) embodied the type of early NSDAP activist who emerged from the Freikorps movement. His participation in the Kapp Putsch of 1920 with the Marine Brigade Ehrhardt and his membership in Organisation Consul – a right-wing terrorist organization of the Weimar era – shaped his subsequent political career. His early party entry on September 11, 1923, even before the Hitler Putsch, demonstrates his deep roots in the early NSDAP movement.

Schulz's career was marked by notable contradictions. As a police officer, he was repeatedly transferred as punishment, apparently due to his National Socialist activities. In 1932, he was dismissed from the Schutzpolizei (Protection Police) during high treason proceedings – a fate shared by many Nazi activists in the final phase of the Weimar Republic. After the seizure of power in 1933, this apparent blemish transformed into evidence of special merit.

His rise in the SS was meteoric: from admission as an SS candidate in November 1931 (membership number 15,838), he rose to SS-Obersturmbannführer within two years. This rapid promotion was typical of the early consolidation phase of the SS after 1933, when the organization expanded massively and placed loyal party veterans in leadership positions.

Notably, however, Schulz's career was overshadowed by several scandals. On February 12, 1935, he received a formal reprimand from Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler for “indebtedness, embezzlement, and insubordination.” This led to his expulsion from the SS in 1935 – an unusual occurrence for such a high-ranking functionary. His readmission in 1937 with his old membership number and rank suggests influential patrons.

The visiting card dates from 1938, a time when Schulz held the rank of SS-Oberführer and again served as a Reichstag deputy. By this time, the Reichstag had long since lost any parliamentary function and served only as an organ of acclamation for Hitler's policies. Nevertheless, membership remained prestigious and came with material privileges.

The personal coat of arms depicted on the card with SS runes and death's head demonstrates the self-presentation of the SS elite. The death's head had been the official symbol of the SS-Totenkopfverbände since 1934 and was later adopted by other SS units. The SS runes (two Sig runes) were the organization's primary symbol and represented the SS's pseudo-Germanic ideology.

Schulz's later work in the Hauptamt Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle (Main Office for Ethnic German Affairs) from 1939 and his role as deputy leader of the operational staff in the Litzmannstadt Ghetto (Łódź) from 1940-1944 point to his involvement in Germanization policies and the persecution of the Jewish population. The Litzmannstadt Ghetto was one of the largest in occupied Poland, and the Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle played a central role in settling ethnic Germans in conquered territories.

After 1945, Schulz was a member of the Socialist Reich Party (SRP), banned in 1952, a right-wing extremist successor organization to the NSDAP. This demonstrates that he did not abandon his National Socialist convictions even after the regime's collapse.

This visiting card is thus more than merely a piece of printed paper. It documents the self-presentation of an NS functionary at the height of his career and provides insight into the representational culture of the SS elite in the Third Reich.