WWII Hermann Goring Reichsmarschall Blue Service Uniform

Fantastically rare (we are only aware of two existing examples) dove grey blue service tunic and trousers for Reichsmarschall Hermann Goring, which we believe is original World War Two period. The uniform has experienced a fair amount of wear and is very sweat stained on the inside. The uniform is, unsurprisingly, a very large size and there are stress marks on the button holes and pockets consistent with tight areas seen on photos of him in uniform (see photo after his capture).

The uniform is very well tailored by a Viennese tailor called Tiller, residing in the centre of Vienna. This tailor was known to have made uniforms during the war, but closed down after 1945. The buttons are also made by a Salzburg maker and this Austrian made uniform would seem to have been made when Hermann Goring retired to his castle in Mauterndorf, after falling out of favour with Hitler.

The shoulder eagles are not identical, but are symmetrical and appear to have been cast in silver and then gilded. The gilding has come off with polishing and can only be seen on the sides of the wings, batons and necks of the eagles. They are held on to the heavy gold bullion shoulder boards by three large rectangular section prongs. This at first does not appear of sufficient quality for Hermann Goring, but Hermann Historica recently sold a couple of pairs of his shoulder boards from the Goring family which more or less match them exactly. The pairs sold for between £15000 to £20000 each.

The collar patches are finely embroidered in gold bullion on white woollen material. All the gold bullion is quite tarnished with age and it is only bright in areas that have been protected from the light and air.

The eagle on the breast is also gold bullion embroidered on white backing. The shoulderboards are presently on back to front, (i.e. eagles facing backwards) and the quality of the stitching is also fairly poor in white thread. It would appear that they have been taken off at some point and sewn back wrongly.There are 2 loops under the breast eagle, possibly for alternatively fixing a metal eagle.

We purchased this uniform from Hermann Historica several years ago and it had been in a private museum in Switzerland. The uniform was bought as a copy and had a well made modern Reichsmarshall peak cap, and original general's belt that had had the leather cut and extended with an extra piece to obtain the girth of the uniform. Also included was a copy dagger and a pilot observer's badge with diamonds. It was only when we received it that we begun to have suspicions that the jacket and trousers with the braces were original. It is not unheard of for museums not to be aware of what they have, or for that matter, larger auction houses to dismiss items because the lot contains obvious fakes with it. Either way, we have been exhibiting the uniform for 10 years and nearly every expert that has seen it has concurred that it is original and that we were incredibly fortunate to end up with it. The pilot observer's badge with diamonds also turned out to be a jeweller's copy and that was sold separately a few years back. We would also like to categorically state that the uniform is not artificially aged, nor is it a period Luftwaffe general's uniform that has been embellished to the rank of Reichsmarschall of the Luftwaffe.

We welcome any information or opinions relating to this uniform.