Again, I don't have sources with me, but...
I was under the impression that it was actually Hitler who
ordered the SS men to remove their badges and medals. Apparently, Hitler was infuriated at the failure of Spriong Awakening. In his anger, he decided that the soldiers of the SS had failed him (we all know how much Hitler too inot account the actual conditions his soldiers experienced
). Thus he ordered them to remove all their badges as punishment.
Do we already have a thread specifically for Spring Awakening? Methinks maybe we could start one... an interesting operation to study, no doubt about that.