can anybody ID the patch on this SS Officer?

[Friedrich-Berthold]

I mis spelled his name: it was von Arent.

He nothing particular to do with the Winterhilfswerk.

[zwerge]

Well the word seems to translate to stage designer ?

[Friedrich-Berthold]

von Arent was Hitler's favorite stage designer and then also became a leading figure in the design of apparel. You have seen the decorations for the Tag der deutschen Kunst in 1937, and he designed all of this regalia.

[adlerfan53]

Love these pics. "Welcome to the big bad SS. You are superior to all others. Now put on these goofy pins, take this tin cup and go beg for money from the Fuhrer. Good Luck". Thanks for sharing.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

More on the same theme. The Ullstein people mix up these two images as the same date, but they are plainly not because of the change in the SS cap insignia from one to the next. The sight of all these caps is dizzying.

[vady]

That's funny, 'fan! The herrenvolk reduced to begging handouts.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

These charities were central to the Nazi state and society. The images are from Professor Bytwerk's propaganda archive at Calvin College, an exellent internet resource. Even if the proceeds of the WHW did not necessarily go to the needy, the propaganda value of the actions served the regime's goals of legitimacy in the wake of the world depression. And charity was also a pretext for a smash and grab policy towards those whom the regime deemed to be outside the people's community, too, which hardly needs elucidation in this space or by me.

[vady]

that places it in its proper context.

what an odd place the IIId reich must have been in so many respects. but maybe not unexpected, given violent revolution in the streets of a nation that so coveted Order - and in the '20s got little. and what a stark choice for the people: the unknown quantity - nazis - vs. the known (and feared) - reds. sorry to get off point, forgive the musings....

[Friedrich-Berthold]

I think you see the key point here. If you went along with the program and did not end up on the enemies list (which kept getting added to, of course...because of the extremist nature of AH himself and many of his satraps) things improved from 1933 until 1939 for many people, even if they lost their civil rights. Granted that the 21st century has begun to look like a pretty ugly place, one can only imagine that old totalitarian solutions from the early 20th century will not regain new luster. One does well to think about the regime and society.

The foregoing means no endorsement of the aims of national socialism, surely, granted this is the 60th anniversary of the UN declaration of human rights. My interest in all of this is historical.

But, one should keep in mind that the regime seized upon ideas, traditions, institutions and practices from various sources to add credibility to itself because of the selfsame experience of the Weimar Republic. Redistribution of wealth was one of the means of Nazi legitimacy, however frightening a concept such might be to some who read these lines.

Maybe we should collect space man lunch boxes.

[vady]

>the regime seized upon ideas, traditions, institutions and practices from various sources to add credibility to itself<

just so fb - millions of german army belt buckles proclaimed, "god is with us."

> things improved from 1933 until 1939 for many people, even if they lost their civil rights.<

also correct - the proverbial faustian bargain. an economic miracle it all looked to the average german let alone the much-impressed world... even ah's arch-enemies were forced to ask, "how'd he do that?" maybe there was too much "how" and not enuf "why."