Weimar Period Red Cross Buckle Examples

[Ben Evans]

Btt

[HERVEPARIS]

Very interesting topic concerning rare and almost unknown buckles of the interwar period

Using the heraldic colour system commonly used by engravers and other artists, the first buckle shown on number 5 thread is:

silver cross (plain) on a red field (vertical lines)

the second buckle of the same thread ASB should be a blue cross (horizontal lines) witk a swastika superimposed

On thread number 6, the Feuerwehr Sanitater buckle shows a red cross (vertical lines) on a golden field (small dots)

On thread number 28, the ASB buckle struck in one piece shows a red cross with a swastika superimposed, so it is different of the buckle of the number 5 thread, excepted if there is a mistake made by the solderer who did not make the difference between a cross with vertical or horizontal lines

A lot of work and research is still to be done on these lovely buckles

[Kurt D]

Using the heraldic colour system commonly used by engravers and other artists
On thread number 6, the Feuerwehr Sanitater buckle shows a red cross (vertical lines) on a golden field (small dots)

On thread number 28, the ASB buckle struck in one piece shows a red cross with a swastika superimposed, so it is different of the buckle of the number 5 thread, excepted if there is a mistake made by the solderer who did not make the difference between a cross with vertical or horizontal lines

A lot of work and research is still to be done on these lovely buckles

Thank you very much for your remarks. Excellent point about the heraldic rendering of colours, this absolutely makes sense. In this light, it does seem more than probable that the roundel of #28 was soldered on the wrong way round: The ASB was a "para-/medical" organisation and as such a variation on the Red Cross design seems more plausible than a "blue cross". Nothing to worry about prima facie of course, as the buckle looks like it was converted from an Imperial Saxon one judging from the box, and the practice of recycling old buckles is well-documented for the period. You're absolutely right on the need for (a lot of) further reserach on these buckles. For instance, I always took it as a given that the "unicolour" (i.e., heraldically silver) Tatzenkreuz ("iron cross") design was just a design variation on the Feuerwehr-Sanitäter as documented in the S&L catalogue (my buckle, #6). Now I'm starting to wonder.

Kind regards
Kurt