Original German WWII USGI Bring Back SS-Branded Wooden Calendar Board Found in Dachau - Lieutenant Louis L. Franconi

Original Item. One-of-a-Kind. This is a wonderful piece of USGI Bring Back German WWII Militaria! Here we have a very nice lacquered wood German WWII Wehrmacht (Armed Forces) Calendar Board, missing the date cards and mount but well-marked on the reverse side with capture information, and a branding near the top reading:

SS-V.T.
REICH

This would denote issue to the SS, namely the SS-Verfügungstruppe. The inscription below this reads:

I got this in the year of 1945
In the German prison name “Dachua”
In Munchen “Germany” July 30-45
Louis Franconi

Franconi, Louis, ASN 11073086

There are some obvious misspellings but this inscription is entirely period and does confirm that the soldier, Louis Lucino Franconi, captured this piece at the Dachau camp on July 30th, 1945. We were unable to find what unit Franconi served with, but the serial number written at the bottom matches the Franconi we found.

The piece measures 9 ½ x 13 ⅜”. It is made from plywood with a decorative figured wood top veneer, with a brown outside border, and a large NSDAP Reichsadler (National Eagle) at top. It is possible that the eagle is in fact inlaid wood, but we are not sure. The back of the board has a small hanging hook for a nail.

Louis Lucino Franconi was born on September 16th, 1921 in Torrington, Connecticut. He lived in Torrington while in the service, and was working at Hendey Machine Co. at the time of the draft. He was rather tall, standing at 6’1”. He enlisted in the Army on July 24th, 1942 and traveled overseas, serving in France and Germany. He captured this piece at Dachau on July 30th, 1945. He returned home and passed away on August 3rd, 1982 at the age of 60.

This is an outstanding piece with solid provenance as having been taken from Dachau. Ready for further research and display.