Reichsparteitag 1939 Tinnie?

[Luftwaffe 1941]

I came across this neat little tinnie the other day while at an antique shop. The price was fair so I decided to buy it. After getting home and researching it a bit I found the history to be a bit interesting.

This tinnie was made in preparation for the Nuremberg Rally of 1939. This particular rally was given the name "Reichsparteitag des Friedens" or in English The Rally of Peace. The theme of the rally was meant to demonstrate the German desire of peace, both to the German people and foreign nations. Ironically… the rally was called off due to the German invasion of Poland.

Here’s my question "And my apologies if this comes off as a stupid question" when were these tinnies given out?? I would expect these to be given out during the rally itself, but as we know the rally never took place. Would these have been given out before hand to create excitement/anticipation for the upcoming event? If they were never handed out officially I can only assume these would have been acquired by U.S. GIs capturing new/old stock of these at the tail end of the war.

I’m leaning towards these being distributed via WHW prior to the planned rally to help build anticipation for the upcoming rally. But I’m curious to know what you guys have to think about this.

Sorry again if this seems like a pretty idiotic question, but I’ve been wondering about this since I bought the tinnie.

[Rakkasan187]

Jarret,

A very good question that you asked... Nothing stupid about it..

The quick simple answer: Fund raising. The fledgling NSDAP Party needed funds to run. These tinnies that were produced were used at each of the events and it was not uncommon to see excess tinnies from previous events being sold at newer events.. Drop a few Pfennigs or Reichsmarks into a donation can and you could get the tinnie you wanted. One reason why so many organizations with the party had their own tinnies, HJ, DJ, NSBO, District (Kreis) badges, NSKK, SA, SS and many other organizations made tinnies to support the party. So even though the event did not occur the badges would still have been made available for distribution.

So I dug into the depths of my reference library and found some information about the history of the "Tinnie" for you and others to read.

This came from one of the first series of Tinnie books that were printed by a gentleman by the name of Ron Manion. A long time ago in a far away land, Mr. Manion had a store known as "The Fox Hole" His business later exploded into Manion's International Auction House.

If you can find copies of these 3 books they are informative. Although the prices quoted are 40 plus years old the images are black and white but are still a valuable reference for anyone interested in TR era tinnies and day badges..

Smitty

[Rakkasan187]

Here are the 3 volumes of the 3 volume set..

Smitty

[Luftwaffe 1941]

Smitty, thank you so much for taking the time to share all of this with me.

I actually have an old Manion's catalogue from 2001 sitting on my bookshelf. I had no idea they produced a collectors guide for tinnies though. You answered my question and shared with me some tremendous knowledge. I can't thank you enough for all of this! I now have a better understanding of this particular example, and tinnies in general.

[Rakkasan187]

Jarret,

I am happy to help you and the other members here on the forum.. The only way we learn is by parting knowledge and experience on to other's interested in the hobby...

The Manion's catalogs can be a great source of information and photos.. Some of the information is inaccurate but the photos have helped over the years. The first Manion's catalogs did not have too many photos and they were not the best quality but as Ron Manion's business expanded he was obligated to provide better images. I looked forward to getting my Auction catalogs in the mail. I have several hundred US Auction catalogs as well as German Auction Catalogs from Mansions and a few Foreign and Other Countries Catalogs (Japan, Commonwealth, Middle East categories). Ron also branched out into US antiques and collectibles and had a catalog for non-military items (Coca Cola, Western Wear, 50's toys, tin toys etc.).

Although Manion's is now closed many collectors still held onto Ron's Catalogs and the reference books (price guides) he published were in some cases the first of their kind. He had a price guide on TR headgear, helmets, cuff titles, US knives, Tinnies and a few others.. They were called Manion's Market Reports. You can still find these for sale on Ebay and other places.

The Tinnie Books are in my opinion a good investment but there are others out there if you are interested in collecting Tinnies. You can find what reference books I have for tinnies in the reference library section here.

Third Reich Tinnies/conference and event badges/WHW, HJ, SS, NSDAP, May Day, Gau Tag, ect.


Hope this helps,,

best regards, stay safe

Smitty