SS Armband no black stripe

[Adrian Stevenson]

I agree, these are NOT greatcoat armbands. As already stated by Bob they are original, but for an as yet unknown purpose.

I see nothing wrong with the armband originally posted here.

Cheers, Ade.

[Alan M]

Hi all , just trying to learn here Comparing the two closeups posted by Zwerge and NcPaint ( thankyou gents ) there seems to be an obvious difference in the quality of needlework to the finished items - look at the stitching to the edge of the white circle (Zwerges is more regular and rounded , and the angles on the " elbows "of the swas look sharper and not as rounded , and the ends of the arms of the swas stop on the same axis as the adjascent elbow . ) My questions are : have these just slipped through quality control - as i was thinking perhaps the SS tagged
armband would have been of the better quality - or perhaps could these have been contracted out to smaller company`s working as a sort of cottage industry , much as we have today with people working from home etc .

Hi Ade , have you any thoughts as to why the black bands were not attached to these , Bob`s idea that they were for some sort of auxillary units sounds reasonable

cheers Al

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Al, I have no theory of my own. Bob's sounds plausable, but until some kind of documentation comes to light, we can only make educated guesses.

Cheers, Ade.

[adlerfan53]

I have no problem with the one posted first either. Swas doesn't look like somthing is wrong. Before this thread I believed they were "greatcoat" armbands as well. Hope more information comes out on these in the future. To help this particular thread along it would be great if the "red Flags" of the first band were pointed out.

[BOB COLEMAN]

There is no period photographic evidence of this armband ever being worn on a SS overcoat. Further, no written autherization has ever been located authorizing this form of armband for wear by SS men. The black stripes on the armband began usage with thw Stosstruppe to differentiate them from the SA as an elite unit. This was then adopted by the SS for the same reason. We know that the black uniform was seldom worn in the war years. Thus a need for these as a uniform accesory during that time was not required. The majority of the known standard political armbands with the SS RZM tag are the war period models with the paper label. Having a SS RZM tag does not necessarily mean the item was for use in conjunction with a SS uniform. It simply means that the item was being used by the SS for some purpose. As I previously mentioned, It is my belief that the SS issued these armbands to auxillary individuals, possibly civilian workers at SS headquarters. Attached is an image of a SS property stamp affixed to a standard cotton political armband I used to own. I believe this is further evidence of the political armband being issued by an SS office for wear by others.

[BOB COLEMAN]

whos to say these stamps arnt purely fantasy stamps that have been accepted as real since the first people started collecting? and the myth has been passed down ,certainly ones stamped ss on the front of the band seems a little strange, as if the fakers saying, LOOK, THIS IS AN SS BAND.,,jusyt my opinion ofcourse, but id never buy one.

Phil-
With all due respect, your thoughts are pure conjecture. On what evidence do you base your statement regarding this armband and others having fantasy stamps? If someone was working as an auxillary in some form for the SS, it would make perfect sense that the armband would have a visible proof that the individual was working under SS direction. Property stamps were quite common on armbands in period. In 1958, I bought an armband for $1.00 with stamps to both Reichsparteitag 1933 and 1934. I once owned a Luftschutz officer tunic with a property stamp on the political armband from the office from which it was issued. This SS property stamped armband was a direct veteran purchase by myself over 30 years ago. It came out of his cigar box full of insignia, tinnies and badges. I have seen armbands attached to other uniforms with property stamps. Questioning is always important. However, it is just as important to have something to back up the position from which the question arises. It is responsible to identify bad stuff as what it is. However, it is irresponsible to do the same thing to totally original period items.

[Langlais]

Hi people,
Here's another one to add to the debate, I decided to stop collecting German items a while back due to the difficulty in telling the originality but I came across this armband in a local auction. To me it looks right, correct material etc. But the RZM label has an F code? Anyway, I could be totally wrong but I aprreciate any help you may offer.



Cheers
Jon

[j dubbel]

to me the armband is real
only whit a fake rzm tag probably to get more money for it

cheers j

[BOB COLEMAN]

The base material on the armband does not appear to be the proper type of wool. The RZM tag is definitely a fake. Further, the proper code on a SS armband is "D", not "F."

[Friedrich-Berthold]

as a contrast... a real SS Kampfbinde