The photo is a whooping size 19" x 25" (compare with the 6 3/8" x 8 3/8" SIPo foto).
The photo is a whooping size 19" x 25" (compare with the 6 3/8" x 8 3/8" SIPo foto).
Wonderful image. Wim Saris can decipher it, as he is very expert in NSDAP uniforms.by Marcus Vaughn
Wonderful things. Bravo.
Your NSDAP man is wearing a party uniform ca. 1933, I think, in the very dark brown textile of that time.
I included images of the cloth sample book of that era somewhere here.
He also might have just left Austria for the Reich, where many of these people went once Dolfuss outlawed the NSDAP after March 1933.
- - ------- - -
and maybe they gave him an SS buckle since nothing else was at hand....who knows?
Wonderful image.
Both Austrian decorations are the Eisernes Verdienstkreuz am Kriegsband [Iron Merit Cross on the War Ribbon], one mit der Krone [with the Crown], the other one in the basic grade.
See post # 15 of this thread for an example of the latter:
https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/imper...tml#post637535
Bravo, Andreas!
Friedrich-Berthold,
What can I say other than a heartfelt THANK YOU, for your interest, appreciation and the guide to further studies. This period of NS history is so overlooked, that many collectors are completely unaware of this rich and complex time. I have read several other threads concerning the Austrian Legion of SA and SS authored by you and Andreas, and they are first rate and extremely informative. The links you have provided should keep me occupied through the holidays and I greatly look forward to digging in.
Thank you again for the kind and friendly guidance.
I will be posting soon, some ephemera relating to the pre-NS time with the Alldeuscher Verband and Schonerer Gruppe and how they helped set the stage for National Socialism.
I had to look up the terms "revanchism" and "irredentism" and I agree with you that they are most relevant in the world today as they were before the Second World War. Probably the catalyst of most the conflicts in history.
Thank you also for providing tailor's samples of official cloth color, what a great piece of primary source "material"
I think you are correct in your assumption that the PL fellow had probably just left Austria for Germany, and as uniforms were not extremely easy to obtain in many cases, perhaps the belt buckle was his only identifying label showing his new membership in the SS Austrian Legion.
I am just really pleased that there are members here that find this period as fascinating as I do.
One last thing, I am forever creeping over to the SS Forum to see what goodies you've posted of your black regalia. I am amazed at the pieces in your SS treasury and the depth of your scholarly approach on the subjects. I never tire of gazing at what has to be one of the finest collections of Allgemeine-SS uniforms and headgear on the planet!
Andreas,
Thank you kindly for the identification of the Austrian awards, and the link to the thread. Nice to see what one looks like in a color photograph. Is the award with the "crown" a much desired medal? Were these awarded for bravery then? Thanks again!
Great photo with posts 30 and 32. He is anyway not a Gauleiter, otherwise he would have worn a rosette in the
middle of the swastika, when the stripes are in silver. He might be a Gau-Geschäftsführer, Gau-Amtsleiter
or an Amtswalter from the Landesleitung. He has to do with the NSBO!
Another possibility is that he is a person assigned to the Reichstag, Nationalrat , Bundesrat or Landtag, when
the stripes are golden. But as he is not wearing such diamond upon his left upper arm, one can exclude that. Or the
photo is taken before summer 1932. This is what I can see and check from an order about insignia from
"Das Dienstbuch der NSDAP Österreichs Hitlebewegung", dated March 1932 and "Entwurf der
Dienst-Vorschrift der PO" from July 15, 1932. With the last the diamonds were introduced!
The person is a political leader, wearing the early dark-brown uniform. It is a pity one cannot see the front
of his kepi. The worn strap or cords could have told about a rank and eventually a better date!! Why he is
wearing an SS buckle is not clear too me. This item was introduced in about early 1932 (according to the
Verordnungsblatt der Obersten SA-Führung from Janauary 26, 1932). The photo must have been
made between early 1932 or the course of that year up to early summer of that year.
My knowledge of Austrian decorations is very limited, so I will gladly stand corrected here, but as I understand it, the Eisernes Verdienstkreuz was a wartime extension of the Zivil-Verdienstkreuz [Civil Merit Cross] and awarded for meritorious service.
If it was to recognize bravery, it was awarded mit Schwertern ["with Swords"; these were worn on the ribbon].
The grade without the crown was for enlisted ranks only and is more common than the grade with the crown, but as far as I know, the latter is not rare, either.
(I cannot comment on actual award numbers.)
Hello Marcus..this is a great contribution of many unseen artifacts from a tumultuous time in Austria. My jaw was on the floor..viewing some of these things. Well done. There is still much more to uncover about this NS party in Austria. Great pieces of history....and much more so..of scary behind the scenes actions.
The knowledge of HPL2008 and Friedrich Berthold and Wim Saris opens many doors into this early early movement than no other forum has accomplished. Well Done Gentlemen. Great Thread
It is not the size of a Collection in History that matters......Its the size of your Passion for it!!
One never knows what tree roots push to the surface of what laid buried before the tree was planted - Larry C
“The farther back you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.” - Winston Churchill
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