Germany, Third Reich. A Rare Signed New Years Greeting from Wilhelm Grimm, 20 July Plot Purge Victim

(Glückwunschkarte mit Unterschrift). A rare New Years greeting signed by Reichsleiter and SS-Gruppenführer Wilhelm Grimm, featuring a brief typewritten dedication completing with Grimm’s handwritten signature, issued from Munich in his capacity as an Associate Judges of the Oberstes Parteigericht (Supreme Party Court), measuring 17.5 cm (w) x 11.5 cm (h), a scarce signature in extremely fine condition.

Footnote: A long-time member of the NSDAP, Wilhelm Grimm held a variety of high-level administrative positions as a Political Leader through the 1920s and early 1930s, before being made an Associate Judge of the NSDAP Supreme Party Court. He was elected to the Reichstag in March 1933, before attaining the rank of Reichsleiter on 3 June of the same year. Grimm also joined the SS on 18 October 1933, seeing rapid promotions which culminated in the rank of Gruppenführer on 27 January 1934. He served on the personal staff of Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler from April 1936, and later saw brief military service on the Eastern Front during the Second World War. According to documents revealed in 2019, Grimm was executed on 21 July 1944 as part of the reprisals resulting from the failed plot of Claus von Stauffenberg the previous day, with his fate covered up as a car accident in order to maintain morale and the image of the SS.