Ritterkreuzträger with Beards

In the German military during the Second World War, facial hair was strictly regulated across the Wehrmacht, with the Heer, Luftwaffe, and Waffen-SS generally requiring soldiers and officers to remain clean-shaven or to wear only a small, neatly trimmed moustache that did not extend beyond the corners of the mouth, a standard rooted in the need for a proper seal on gas masks, maintenance of a disciplined martial appearance, and the practical demands of hygiene in barracks and on the march; these rules were formally outlined in service regulations and were enforced rigorously in rear areas and during inspections, though they were frequently relaxed under prolonged field conditions, particularly on the Eastern Front during the harsh winters of 1941–1943, where limited access to hot water, soap, and razors, combined with the extreme cold that made shaving painful or impractical, led many ordinary soldiers, Gebirgsjäger mountain troops, and even some officers such as Generalmajor Theodor Scherer during the 105-day Cholm Pocket siege to grow full beards or heavy stubble as a matter of necessity rather than preference. In the Kriegsmarine the approach was more permissive, especially among U-boat crews, who routinely grew thick, full beards during extended Atlantic or Arctic patrols because fresh water was rationed primarily for drinking and cooking, shaving was considered a wasteful luxury in the cramped, damp conditions of a Type VII or Type IX boat, and the resulting facial hair became an unofficial badge of endurance and camaraderie that was almost invariably shaved off upon return to port in order to restore the regulation clean-shaven or lightly moustached appearance expected of sailors and officers ashore; surface-ship personnel followed stricter standards closer to those of the army, though longer deployments could still produce temporary beards. Overall, while photographs occasionally capture bearded German troops in isolated combat zones or after prolonged encirclements, the overwhelming visual record of the period shows clean-shaven faces as the norm for the vast majority of soldiers, airmen, and naval personnel, reflecting both institutional discipline and the technological requirements of modern warfare.

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HEER


Generalleutnant Theodor Scherer (1889-1951) was born on 17 September 1889 in Höchstädt an der Donau, Bavaria, and began his military career on 14 July 1908 as a Fahnenjunker in the 12. Infanterie-Regiment „Prinz Arnulf“ of the Bayerische Armee, receiving his commission as Leutnant in 1910; during the First World War he served on the Western Front, was captured by the British in July 1916 during the Battle of the Somme, later interned in the Netherlands, and released after the armistice, thereafter leaving the army on 30 August 1920 under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles and joining the Bavarian Landespolizei, rising to Oberstleutnant der Polizei by 1935 before re-entering the Wehrmacht that November in the same rank and serving as Bataillonskommandeur and later Kommandeur of Infanterie-Regiment 56, then as Oberst and Kommandeur of Infanterie-Regiment 507 during the Western campaign of 1940, where he led an assault across the Marne and earned the Spange to both classes of the Eisernes Kreuz. Promoted to Generalmajor in November 1940, he briefly commanded Adolf Hitler’s headquarters at the OKH in Zossen from March to September 1941 before assuming command of the 281. Sicherungs-Division on 1 October 1941 for rear-area security duties against partisans in the occupied Soviet Union; in January 1942, when Soviet forces and partisans attacked and encircled German units at Kholm (Cholm), Scherer took charge of the ad-hoc Kampfgruppe Scherer, initially some 3,500 men drawn from elements of his division, police companies, and other stragglers that later grew to around 5,000–6,000, organizing improvised defenses without heavy artillery or adequate supplies amid severe winter conditions, repeatedly repelling superior Soviet assaults, coordinating limited aerial resupply and wounded evacuations, and holding the pocket for 105 days until relief forces linked up on 5 May 1942. For his leadership during the first month of the siege he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 20 February 1942 as Generalmajor and Kommandeur of the 281. Sicherungs-Division, and following the successful relief he received the Eichenlaub (92nd award) on 5 May 1942, along with a mention in the Wehrmachtbericht and the newly created Cholmschild for the survivors; subsequently promoted to Generalleutnant on 1 November 1942, he commanded the 34. Infanterie-Division and then the 83. Infanterie-Division (which suffered heavy losses at Velikiye Luki), later served as Inspekteur des Küstenschutzes for the Eastern Front, and at the war’s end directed field-gendarmerie units in the Elbe sector before entering captivity, dying in a car accident near Ludwigsburg on 17 May 1951.

Source :
https://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2011/06/album-foto-jenggot-dan-cambang-nazi.html
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=5192