Armband collection

[john31]

Lol good responce, I liked that.

[Aldo]

I'm assuming that the armband beside the HJ example is supposed to be Luftschutz....that is a fantasy piece. Never existed. The G.R. 'band as mentioned is not German and I have never seen the "M" armband either. I've never seen that type of lettering used either on that "M" 'band. The others appear OK - but closer, more intimate pics are a must.

Cheers!

Rob

I found two armbands with an M listed and described as a Werkluftschutz Senior Messenger and Messenger Armband with the following descriptions: The following armbands were l liberated from the BMW, (Bavarian Motor Works), plant in the city of Allach, Germany, which was A Sub-Camp of the Dachau Concentration Camp and just outside Munich . The armbands are all Werkluftschutz / Luftschutz related and are associated with air raid protection for the plant. By the end of the war there were About 20,000 workers at the Allach BMW plant, including thousands of forced laborers from German over-run countries, 3000 Allied Prisoners of War and over 5000 concentration camp inmates, many from nearby Dachau. The Allach BMW plant produced and tested aircraft engines and conducted rocket research there throughout the war. Allach is also the town where the SS Allach porcelain factory was located.
Just thought they were interesting as I never seen them before either, as to their authenticity, who knows. makes a good story anyhow.

[pjm]

I was trying to post yesterday but got distracted. Meantime, the "M" armband post came in.

I've seen "M" armbands along the way but never paid much attention to them since its purpose was unknown.

There's a printed NSBO version that appears on occasion. However, the embroidered NSBO armband is fairly scarce. I sold one last year and regret it. It also was stamped but I'd have to dig up a photo I had of it to see if the stamp was like the one on the example here. My recollection is that it had an early NSDAP eagle stamp with the NSBO Ortsgruppe town name rather than the NSBO insignia. It was from a textile producing town. In any case, it's a valuable band by comparison in the US $250-300 range. I sold mine for $300.

The GR band could be German but, based on the contruction, WW1 or Weimar era. Unfortunately, so many groups - government, military, sports, political parties, Freikorps, etc. - used armbands that it will be tough to research it, whatever it may be - Gemeide-Rat, or? Black and red are the Wurttemburg state colors so there may be a connection there.

The Luftschutz armband with the star burst is an attractive piece and certainly worth $100-150. The printed Volksturm and the Veteran's armbands tend to be priced around $50 each.

Overall, it doesn't sound like a bad deal if the main pieces are original.

[pjm]

Googled Luftschutz "M" Armbinde and found this:

Wackerhagen trag die Armbinde des Luftschutzhauswarts; einige von den Hausfeuerwehrleuten waren im Arbeitsanzug angetreten, Ilse
Wackerhagen, unsere zweite Laienhelferin, in de schmucken weißen Tracht der Laienhelferinnen und der weißen Haube mit dem Abzeichen des Reichsluftschutzbundes, Lotte Hurtig und Karlchen Flink
hatten selbstverständlich ihre BDM- bzw. Jungwolf-Uniform angezogen und führten zum ersten mal
stolze ihre blaue Armbinde mit den weißen „M“ als Zeichen ihrer Melderwürde vor.

It refers to HJ members proudly wearing their blue armbands with the white "M" for "Melder." Apparently, this was a Luftschutz messenger armband.

Also found this http://www.dasreich.co.uk/39_018.htm as further support of the identification. The grouping includes a document identifying the HJ member as a messenger during air raid alarms when wearing the armband,

It also may imply that the printed Luftschutz winged swastika armband could be another version of it.

GR could also be Grenz-Regiment. The Austrian army had them and in the post-war turmoil in Germany there were numerous home guards and Freikorps units created - it's conceiveable that the Grenz-Regiment name could have been used as well.

[pjm]

Here's my NSBO armband (it has the stamp as I recalled it) and a image of the HJ grouping with the Melder armband.

The fact that there are several armbands directly related to each other could imply
this grouping was originally from a single source, like a veteran's estate. There's a cetain logic to the constellation of examples. Three Luftschutz types along with the Hitler Youth, Volkssturm and political, etc could have been picked up in one household or in batches - one find location was perhaps a Luftschutz office and the GI took a variety of insignia. Various scenarios are possible and maybe the seller can provide some information about the provenance of the group. That may provide some clues as to the GR armband's significance.

Of course, it could just be a random grouping assembled over time by a collector.

[pjm]

BTW, in my post above the post-war turmoil I'm refering to is, of course, after WW1.

Here's post from another forum with a rather extensive list of Freikorps units but with English designations. Axis History Forum • View topic - Freikorps structure

On closer study perhaps there's something that can fit GR.

[pjm]

Just for info, Weitze has two blue Luftschutz armbands. One with woven (like the M version here) "O" for Ordnungs- und Sperrdienst at Euro 75 and another with applied "F" for "Fernsprecher," E 80.

He also has a printed NSBO at E 185.

I searched his site for "Armbinde" hoping to find something to help identify the "GR" armband and that turned up the above as well as a brilliant Allgemeine SS musician's tunic for Standarte 95 for E 8500 but that's another topic.

[mike41]

The Luftschutz armband with the wings is a fantasy item,the Luftschutz ( that's how I have seen them described on dealer sites)armband with the (M) has a chance.Keep in mind that ALL printed armbands are a minefield.
As well as the ones with stamps on them.Usually you must have one in hand to make a determination on originality.Just my opinion.