NSKK Reiter Top

  
One of the epitomes of all Third Reich Eagles, this Reiter Top was designed to sit atop the Standartes for the SS and the NSKK. It stands approximately 9 inches high and has an 8 inch wingspan. These were produced in 1935 by the Otto and Carolina Gahr firm who were famous for being the silversmiths to the SS and manufacturer of the SS Honor ring. They were also responsible for other pole tops manufactured during the Third Reich. Some of the original gilt finish of the eagle still remains and shows the extraordinary craftsmanship that went into the design of this piece. The poletop consists of a spout for the horizontal flagpole with an integrated vertical crossbar to hold the bunting. The Eagle and the grommet have remnants of the original gold gilding, with the silver swastika and the oak leaf wreath. At the back of the spout exhibits the maker's mark, "Gahr Munich 1935". This Reiter Top was probably used by the NSKK (The National Socialist Motor Corps) who were a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party that existed from May 1931 to 1945. The primary aim of the NSKK was to educate its members in motoring skills and also to transport German Army troops, supplies and ammunition. From author's collection.

Mildenburg Wooden Carved Eagle

  
For those of you who follow this blog would probably know that my study of eagles are usually centred on pieces that are produced in metal. Very rarely do I acquire or study carved wood pieces as they can be a mine field. Wood pieces are much more difficult to determine its authenticity as anyone can use old recycled pieces of timber to sculpt or computer engrave pieces as a one-off. Only through a careful study of the stylised carving pattern and matching those from known examples or with period photos makes the identification water tight. This piece came from a collector who acquired it from Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, near Hesse, Germany, on the southern slope of the Taunus mountains, part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. I will not show the reverse to protect it. It has an imprint that reads "Mildenburg" on the bare wooden surface. Mildenburg is a town in Bavaria, Germany. This eagle's wingspan measures 24 inches across with the height of the piece measuring 16 inches. After purchase, it was carefully cleaned lightly with a touch of distilled water and using a very soft non-abrasive cloth to remove some dirt. No eagles were harmed in the process. From author's collection.

J. Pabst Eagle

 
This is a recently acquired desk eagle which has one of the most beautiful stylised renditions of the third reich eagle. The eagle shows widespread wings and claws firming clutching the wreath that surrounds the mobile swastika. It comes with a solid black marble base that has a beautiful vein pattern. The eagle is cast in metal with some patination as shown in the photographs. On the reverse at the bottom of the wreath shows the artist's signature J. Pabst - for Josef Pabst who created these pieces and he was a stone mason and sculptor. These pieces are much, much more scarce than the Nuremberg eagle examples. From author's collection.

Some Early Eagles ...

Here's posting a group shot of some early eagles. The 1927 Nuremberg eagle pin with the purple rosette is hard to find, as well as the rest. Thanks for following this blog. It's been a while since we had an update.

Anniversary of Coburg Commemorative Plate

Little is known about this Anniversary of Coburg commemorative plate which says "Gautreffen der Alten Garde der Bayerischen Ostmark in Coburg 1937" that literally translates as "District meeting for the Old Guards in Gau Bayerische Ostmark in 1937", with text depicting the "City of Coburg" in the lower centre and the arms showing an inverted sword and a crest. The city arms were used for Coburg within the state of Bayern from 1934 to 1945, represented with gold and black over the sword, with a swastika in the pommel. The porcelain plate has beautiful inverse details of the text and the Coburg Badge in the centre, with a stunning tea-brown glaze. On the reverse shows the Roseler maker mark stamps with two small holes at the back, presumably for mounting onto the wall. On the back also shows the porcelain code number 8772 which is identical to other known examples. This particular Roesler stamp was used around 1937 that shows an RMR mark encircled by Roesler Feinsteingut Rodach. The symbol of a hedge rose, part of the family crest derived from the name Roesler was chosen as the company mark. The company was official registered on the 24th of July 1894 in the town of Rodach, located between the Bavarian town of Coburg and the Thuringian town of Suhl. The company was originally set up for making and decorating porcelain, stoneware and other fine earthenware. Only two known examples of this plate have been documented, making this third piece an extremely rare and treasured find. From author's collection.

The Coburg Badge (Coburger Abzeichen): A History

Another photographic rendition of the Coburg Badge (Coburger Abzeichen). It was the highest party award since its inception in 1932 and held in greater esteem than the Blood Order itself. This is a rare award as only 436 names were entered on the official party roll of recipients who were entitled to the badge.

Hitler was invited with his party to the city of Coburg to hold a 'German Day' on 10 October 1922. This was a folk festival to encourage German rural life. Although the city was Marxist controlled, the event would provide a political platform to publicise the party with media attention. When they arrived, the Marxist citizens began to become rowdy and it led to a fight. In a turn of events, some of the crowd began to join Hitler's party and soon they won over the townsfolk. That evening Hitler addressed a meeting in the town hall attended by the Duke and Duchess of Coburg who later become active Nazis.

By now, Hitler's first decisive victory had become a Nazi folklore. Only the ardent and most staunch followers would have the answer if asked 'But were you at Coburg?' From author's collection.

credits: C. Alisby / image below from book cover of Kampf um Coburg

What Every Political Collector Should Have ...

These awards were given official recognition as a decoration of the party in a decree made by Hitler on 1935. These are followed by a second list of civil permitted badges of the party and its associates, reinforcing that of the earlier decree 1934. The Three of a Kind amongst some of the awards - The NSDAP Reichparteitag at Nurnberg in 1933; the Parteitag at Nurnberg in 1929; and the SA Treffen at Braunschweig in 1931. From author's collection.
 
The 4th Party Congress, known as the "Day of Composure", was held on August 2, 1929. The propaganda film Der Nürnberger Parteitag der NSDAP was made at this rally.

The 1931 SA Braunschweig Treffen badge was originally designed as a day badge sold at the actual event. Hitler audaciously brought a larger contingent of SA to the event than was anticipated and dominated the event. As a commemoration, the badge was elevated to a 'traditions' award after 1933

The 5th Party Congress was held in Nuremberg, August 30 – September 3, 1933. It was called the "Rally of Victory" (Reichsparteitag des Sieges). The term "victory" relates to the Nazi seizure of power and the victory over the Weimar Republic. Hitler announced that from now on all Rallies would take place in Nuremberg.

Credits: C. Alisby / C. Gottlieb

Luftwaffe Desk Eagle

A beautifully well-sculpted silver-plated Luftwaffe desk eagle, mounted onto a granite base, showing the inscription of "Führer befiehl - wir folgen"; literally translated as "The Führer commands - We follow". The top surface shows the dedication to "Our outgoing Sergeant in the grateful remembrance of the 14th Panzer Division Company IR 326". This large, heavy desk piece measuring a width of 43cm and a height of 27cm would most likely be given as a token of appreciation. From author’s collection.

The Coburg Badge

 

 
The Coburg Badge (Coburger Abzeichen) was recognised as the first national award of the NSDAP, and later as the top NSDAP award in the party. Hitler ordered the Coburg Badge to be struck on October 14, 1932 to commemorate the event that took place ten years earlier. It was to honour the 800-strong army of SA stormtroopers and a band who had travelled with Hitler by train to Coburg for a rally. Over there, they pitched street battles with the police and the communists but eventually gained an upper hand and they celebrated with a victory. This day was known as the Deutscher Tag in Coburg (German Day in Coburg). 

The badge was designed by Hitler himself based on a sketch. It measured 40mm wide and 54mm high, cast out of bronze and hand finished. The design features sword facing downwards across the face of a swastika and surrounded by an oval wreath MIT HITLER IN COBURG 1922-1932 (With Hitler in Coburg 1922-1932). On the top of the badge shows the Coburg Castle and its surrounding landscape. Next to the badge is a commemorative plaque for a winner during an event held between 17-19 October 1941 at Coburg. The plaque is extremely well made with a highly detailed brass engraving of the Coburg badge, under the watchful eye of a German eagle, standing in front of an Iron Cross. The wood plate measures 17.5cm x 11.8cm and with the manufacturer’s name, Lauer Nürnberg stamped on the bottom. From author’s collection.

Feldherrnhalle Martyrs' Souvenir Plaque

 
The Feldherrnhalle Martyrs' Souvenir Plaque would have probably been sold during one of the Anniversaries of 9 November 1923. The plaque, modelled after the Mahnmal in der Feldherrnhalle in Munich. So what happened on that day? On the morning of 9 November 1923, Adolf Hitler and his followers marched to the Feldherrenhalle where a confrontation soon arose with the Bavarian State Police which then became bloody with 16 of Hitler’s men and four policemen killed. After the seizure of power by Hitler in 1933, the Feldherrenhalle became a special place of Nazi propaganda and on the Eastern side, a plaque with the names of the 16 martyrs were honored. The plaque was removed after the war in 1945.  This plaque came with several other postcards from the era. The plaque was cast in an aluminum alloy and affixed using 3 nails onto a black-stained wooden base. From author’s collection.

The Generalluftzeugmeister Badge

The Generalluftzeugmeister (or GL for short) was the civilian Supply and Procurement Service that handled many of the Luftwaffe's technical duties such as testing and requisitioning supplies. The organisation employed a large number of civilians and they were given a distinct cap badge to wear in order to distinguish it from regular units of the Luftwaffe. It was said that before the war, members wore a visor hat with the standard Luftwaffe eagle national emblem, but later the insignia was redesigned specifically for the Generalluftzeugmeister to include a cog wheel encircling the eagle. However, most period photos show that this was also worn as a breast badge where most men would wear the fliegerbluse with red piping. The badge has been found marked and unmarked where the above shows one in aluminium and a later war variant in heavy tombak and with longer prongs. From author’s collection.

Eagles of the National Socialist Motor Corps

The National Socialist Motor Corps (or Nationalsozialistisches Kraftfahrkorps, NSKK for short) was a paramilitary organization that existed from 1931 to 1945. The organisation was headed by Adolf Hühnlein from 1934 and after Hühnlein's death in 1942, Erwin Krauss took over as Korpsführer (Corps Leader). It was initially formed as a motorized corps of the Sturmabteilung (SA) and when its membership grew, it became an independent organization with an aim to educate members in motoring skills such as the operation and maintenance of high performance motorcycles and automobiles. From 1935 onward, the NSKK also provided training for Panzer crews of the German Army. The NSKK eagle insignias pictured above were used on the first pattern motorcyclists' crash helmets, or on automobile radiator grilles. These were very well made, showing excellent details to the feathers and details. In particular, those eagles mounted onto automobiles tend to be made in cast aluminium or an alloy, whereas those for helmets tend to be struck hollow in aluminum. A second pattern styled insignia for crash helmets, and a smaller insignia for visor caps exist. From author's own collection.

The RMBO Eagle for Eastern Territories

The Reichsministerium für die besetzeten Ostgebiete, or RMBO for short, was the Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories created by Adolf Hitler on July 1941. The organisation was headed by Alfred Rosenberg to control the vast areas captured by the Germans in Eastern Europe and Russia. Rosenberg had presented Hitler with his plan for the organization of the conquered Eastern territories, suggesting the establishment of new administrative districts, to replace the previously Soviet-controlled territories with new Reichskommissariats to include Ostland (Baltic countries and Belarus), Ukraine (Ukraine and nearby territories), Kaukasus (Caucasus area), Moskau (Moscow metropolitan area and the rest of near Russia areas).
 

The RMBO was a civil ministry-styled government and was not part of the NSDAP Party branch. It was created by the German civil authorities as an administrative unit of the Grossdeutsches Reich. The governing people were largely party functionaries and senior SS, but it was also staffed by foreign office people because of its ambiguous status of being a German "colony" or administrative district without being part of Germany proper. It was planned to become part of Germany itself following the war and "Germanization" of the population. This also meant that these territories were not under the purvey of the Reichszeugmeisterei (RZM) being the national material control office of Third Reich Germany. There has been numerous discussions about such artefacts from Eastern territories where it should never have come under the RZM and thus objects marked as such have not been recognised by collectors to be original. It was also known that an American company, WW2 Products Ltd., based in St. Louis, manufactured reproductions of these metal RMBO eagles that have a RZM marking on the reverse. The RMBO eagle below has been identified as a late-war visor cap insignia that does not have RZM markings on the reverse. An identical RMBO eagle can also be found today at the Army Museum in Paris (musee de l'armee), at the Contemporary department, the Two World Wars 1871-1945 section (Les deux guerres mondiales 1871 - 1945). From author's own collection. source: Wikipedia / WAF