Looking for the unit emblem (233. Panzer-Division)

[Kurt Hansen]

I am looking for the unit emblem of 233. (Reserve-) Panzer-Division and/or Panzer-Division "Holstein". I can only find this: http://www.balsi.de/Weltkrieg/Einheiten ... 233-PD.gif

[schwarzermai]

https://www.booklooker.de/B%C3%BCcher/S ... gKN3fD_BwE

Hello Kurt, maybe there is a unit emblem in the divisional history by Stoves
(none on the cover)



Uwe

[Christian Ankerstjerne]

Stoves' book has only a brief description of 233. Reserve-Panzer-Division's history, and no unit emblem. None of the photographs from the unit in my collection has any emblem other than their tactical numbers.

[Kurt Hansen]

I remember finding the emblem in a (probably French?) Book back in the early 90's, but all my material has been lost, so I have no title, author or anything else.

I redraw it, but none of my contacts from that time have a copy.

[Sid Guttridge]

Hi Kurt,

I have only found the same thing. It looks like the proverbial bear with a sore head!

Is there any reason to think this is not accurate?

Cheers,

Sid.

[Christian Ankerstjerne]

Is there any reason to think this is not accurate?

The main reason why I am skeptical is that I have never actually seen the insignia in use, despite having seen more than 100 photographs from 233. Reserve-Panzer-Division. I have seen one photograph that does have some sort of insignia, but it's not clear enough to see what it shows. The insignia Kurt linked to is very similar to that of the coat of arms of Berlin, as well as that of 293. and 309. Infanterie-Division. 233. Panzer-Division did originate from Wehrkreis III, so one possibility it that a single vehicle commander chose it as a personal emblem.

A better question would be what evidence there is to support that the division did have an emblem.

[Sid Guttridge]

Hi Christian,

That was near to another question I had considered:

Is there any evidence that Ersatzheer Reserve Divisions necessarily had divisional insignia?

They were essentially administrative organizations over widely dispersed training units well behind the lines. Their manpower was mostly transitory and not expected to act operationally together, so formation esprit de corps was less of an issue. This never changed for 233rd Panzer Division.

I saw a Mark Felton video on Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JX298Aoxdus) that followed the post-war use of ex-German armour by German troops in Denmark clearing mines for the Allies. They came from 233rd Panzer Division. I couldn't pick out any insignia but the markings were badly painted over, so perhaps someone with better eyesight could pick something out.

I guess this was the last German-manned panzer unit of the era.

One of the tanks is still on display in Denmark.

Cheers,

Sid.

[Christian Ankerstjerne]

I don't recall them having insignia, but they are not a very well-described chapter of the war. The archival indexes I have seen reveal very rudimentary information, so I suspect their history has largely been lost.

Many of the photographs I've seen are from prior to the German surrender, where many of their tanks were plain dark yellow. Any insignia would have stuck out against this background.

I know some of the people who restored the surviving Pz III Ausf. N and Sd Kfz 251. At least the Pz Kpfw III still had the original paint. I don't recall them having mentioned any insignia. The Pz Kpfw III Ausf. N is currently in storage, while tge 251 is handles by a volunteer group.

[DougW60]

I debated with myself if I should post this because I cannot verify where I found the image. In my files from 2013, I had the following unit symbols but without any references to their validity.

233. Res.Pz.Div. is the 2nd from the right.

Again, nothing I can verify.

[Kurt Hansen]

Wauw, that's amazing. Thank you very much. Sad that you don't remember the source, but it's the same problem with my memory

[Christian Ankerstjerne]

That's still just the same drawing, only in a different color. I would be very excited if there was some actual evidence of such an emblem having existed, but so far, I have seen no evidence in any photographs or period documents.