Originally starting life as the "Stabswache" (Staff Guard) a small hand-picked crew of Sturmabteilung men tasked as Hitler's bodyguards, the Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler was essentially the nucleus for both the Schutzstaffel as a whole and for the Waffen-SS. These men played a critical role in Weimar-era German politics; while the SA was the blunt instrument of the party against outside forces, the Leibstandarte was Hitler's personal weapon against any opposition within the National Socalists. This became very literal in 1934 during the Night of the Long Knives, with the Leibstandarte spearheading the purge of the SA. This purge eliminated the last major source of dissention inside the party, and cemented the SS as the chief physical and political muscle of the party. In addition to serving as honor guard and parade unit, the unit also deployed independently of the Wehrmacht for the reoccupation of Saarland, after which they would receive the Heer-style "feldgrau" uniform that would be a later Waffen-SS standard as the organization formed. Later, as a component of the Waffen-SS, they participated in the Austrian Anschluss, the invasion of Poland and France, and action in the Soviet Union, Italy, and the Western Front, including the Ardennes Offensive. In the end, the unit as among the last defenders of Berlin, holding out until after Hitler committed suicide. The overall construction of the tunic and trousers in this lot is feldgrau wool, with the tunic featuring silver ribbon trim around the collar and shoulder boards. No specific information was provided regarding the wearer, but the following can be determined from the decorations: he was an SS-Unterscharfuehrer (Junior Section Leader, comparable to a Heer Unteroffizier), a member of the party prior to 30 January 1933, had received the General Assault Badge and the Hitler Youth Proficiency Badge, and earned a 2nd Class Iron Cross. In total the decorations suggest a man who joined the party young, likely via the Hitler Youth, and then moved on to the SS proper upon adulthood. The buttons are silver painted, with a later style unpleated four-pocket arrangement and a well aged Iron Cross ribbon in the 2nd buttonhole. Rank insignia consists of a pair of black felt shoulder boards in the late 1939 "pointed SS" format with white waffenfarbe trim and embroidered "AH" monograms, a white embroidered "SS" right collar tab and a single metal pip on the otherwise blank left tab; the pip brads are driven through the collar, suggestive of field alteration, The left and right upper sleeves bear the Waffen-SS eagle and the SS "Old Fighters" Chevron, respectively, and the lower left sleeve bears the silver embroidered "Adolf Hitler" cuff title. The interior is lined in gray rayon, with a set of suspension straps (sans hooks) in the front. The trousers are in the "riding breech" style, with white cloth lining about the waist and a set of blue twill foot stirrups at the bottom. This set can be seen on page 144 of Cook & Bender's book "Liebstandarte SS Adolf Hitler".