Uniforms of Associations of Retired BW members

[Gordon Craig]

It occured to me recently that we have been concentrating almost exclusively on the BW. As a BRD Forum we need to broaden our scope. I have noticed in the past that forums that focus too much on one specific erea aften stagnate once theose who have things to post have done so. One reason the DDR Forum has been so successful is that it covers almost anything of interest in the DDR. My interest covers a lot of uniformed orgaizations in the BRD and it time I satrted to post pictures of some of them. But lets not limit the forum to uniforms, lets see some medals and other articles of interest.
I would like to start this thread on an area I know relatively little about and that is on uniforms worn by BW veterans organizations. First up is a
Kyffhäusermütze. The top of the cap appears to be made of rough wool. The cap band is of a different material with a woven design in it. The chin strap is platic and the chin strap buttons are black, pebbled, metal. The visor is made of a light fibre material covered in plastic on its' top. The sweat band is made of leather. You will notice a distinct similarity to previous visor caps worn by this organization. This is really the only item in this category that I have to post. I hope someone else can add to the thread.

Regards,

Gordon

[Gordon Craig]

A side view clearly showing the woven design in the cap band.

[Gordon Craig]

The interior of the cap showing the sweat shield.

[SprogCollector]

TR-versions for comparison. I suspect the first one is the later version as it shares a similar cap badge -- albeit with hackenkreuz

[SprogCollector]

When I was stationed in Germany, I think the Kyffhäuser also wore a double-breasted blue blazer. I recall some had cuff titles and arm shields -- likely related to the organization.

[Gordon Craig]

Sprogcollector,

That would be consistant with their previous practice. I'll ahve to see if I can do some research and find some post war pictures of them in uniform. There must be some out their somewhere.

Regards,

Gordon

[SprogCollector]

I was reading through old posts and found this thread. I'm curious if the Kyffhäuser organization still exists? I had long believed that this organization was setup for war veterans -- similar to the VFW in the US -- as opposed to one for former servicemembers who may, or may not, have served during wartime?

It started me wondering if the cap Gordon posted was something only worn by WW2 veterans or if this is truly a hat for BW veterans only?

I remember occassionally seeing these caps in wear back in the 1980s. I presumed they were WW2 vets wearing them but never really gave it much thought. On my recent trips to Germany, I don't recall seeing anyone wearing them -- again making me wonder if these slowly disappeared as the WW2 vets have passed into history?

Along the same line, I'm wondering if we'll see a resurgence due to the numbers of BW members serving in Afghanistan, etc?

Chris

[Gordon Craig]

Chris,

Thanks for bringing up this thread again. I had forgotten that I had started it. I hope that some of our ex BW members can answer your question as to who joins the Kyffhäuserbund these days. I have added several visors and some uniforms from this organization since I started this post but I am a long way from home until next week so can not post any of them at the moment. One thing I can say is the the current Kyffhäuserbund seems to concentrate as more of a shooting club than a pure veterans association. A number of BW veterans associations exist which are composed of ex members of a specific BW battalion etc. Looking forward to some answers to your questions. I am sure that they will be interesting.

Regards,

Gordon

[Proud Kraut]

There is no "official" relation between the Kyffhäuserbund and the Bundeswehr. The association was founded again 1952 by WW I and II veterans. Referring to their website many retired Bw soldiers join the K. I may be wrong but as far as I have heard, the K. merged into a kind of shooting club more and more.
http://www.kyffhaeuserbundev.de/

The official reserve organisation of the Bundeswehr ist the "Verband der Reservisten der Bundeswehr e.V. (Reservistenverband)"

http://www.reservistenverband.de/

Hope this helps

[SprogCollector]

Thanks for the informative reply. I was aware that there was no official relationship between the BW and the K. The US-based VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) has a similar function.

Based on what's described, it would appear the Kyffhäuserbund still has a form of veterans organization within its structure -- Deutscher Soldatenbund und Kameradenvereinigung e.V.

[Collectinsteve]

Is this what all the 57er stick pins and de-Nazified full sized awards were intended for?

Any pictures of Kyffhäuser in full uniform?

As to Gordon's original (2009!) point of broadening what's covered in this forum, I think he deserves a round of applause. It only takes a quick glance at the first page of this Forum to see a very broad range of BRD related topics. Which is absolutely a good thing!

Steve

[chiffonnier]

I display the old and new together.
That also works very well with forest,hunting and shooting organisations.
Kees

[chiffonnier]

Some veteran organisations visors .
Sorry that the camera flash took away some details from the cap badges.
All the best,
Kees

[Gordon Craig]

I display the old and new together.
That also works very well with forest,hunting and shooting organisations.
Kees

Kees,

Interesting comparison of the wartime and postwar badges etc. I have some questions. What do the pins with the five crosses on them represent as far as the Kyffhäuserbund goes? Also, the cuffbands seem to stand for different areas of the Kyffhäuserbund. Are they wartime or postwar?

Regards,

Gordon

[chiffonnier]

Gordon;
The cuffbands are wartime and I remember I found the one from Fulda Werra in a pocket of a dark blue or black civilian diner jacket.
All badges are more or less related to veteran associations.
The ones with the 5 crosses are for dead war veterans buried abroad.
Volksbond Deutscher Kriegsgräber Fürsorge.
Also an organisation still going and founded in 1919.
Not related to the Kyfhauser organisation,but these pins happen to be in there because the subject has some relation.
http://www.volksbund.de/en/volksbund.html
Mixing related badges from all periods creates some better volume and makes the cheaper postwar ones look more expensive.
Gotto be creative in collecting.
All the best,
Kees