Dutch Waffen-SS Portrait Picture 'Gerardus Mooijman'

In a very good condition a stunning original portrait picture of Gerardus Mooijman.
The portrait picture comes in a size of approx 10x15cm and is nicely 'NSB Fotodienst' marked on the reverse side.
A very hard to find original wartime picture of the first Dutch Knight's Cross Recipient.

Gerardus Leonardus Mooyman (23 September 1923 – 21 June 1987) was a Dutch volunteer in the Waffen-SS.

Mooyman was born in Apeldoorn, Netherlands. He grew up in a very pro-German household. His father was a small time retailer whose business suffered greatly during the Great Depression, resulting in his joining of the NSB in hope of a better future.

Mooyman spent his youth hearing stories about the truimphs of Hitler and Nazi Germany and even admiring their victories across Europe. His father wanted him to work in the family business but he preferred a military career, so in 1941 he volunteered to serve in the 4th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Brigade Netherlands, and was sent to the Eastern Front as an anti-tank gun commander.

In the battle at Lake Ladoga he destroyed 13 tanks, for this action he was the first non-German to be awardrd the Knight's Cross. By the end of his service on the front he was credited with destroying 23 Soviet tanks.

As the first non-German to be awarded the Knight's Cross, Nazi propaganda widely published his story in newspapers and magazines. He was congratulated personally by Himmler and had to attend dozens of receptions, parties and parades. He was illustrated as an example to the Dutch youth.

By the end of the war, Mooyman rose to the rank of SS-Unstersturmführer (Second Lieutenant). He was arrested at Bodegraven in March 1946, put on trial in 1947 and charged with active military collaboration for his service in the Waffen-SS. He was sentenced to 6 years in prison.

Mooyman did not carry on any political activities in his later years, being somewhat disillusioned by post-war Netherlands her loss of empire...

Code: 83422