Photo ID of Political? VIP needed

[Richard]

At first I thought this might be Hess as the facial features are somewhat alike when you look at the photo with the car, but he seems to be wearing what I thought was an SS cap. However the eagle on the cap is incorrect for SS as it is too large and in more of a political eagle's shape. Unfortunately both photos are somewhat blurry and must have been taken by someone with unsteady hands. I tried to enlarge the car pennant in hopes someone may recognize it as well, but is is pretty hard to make out. Both photos appear have the date 1932 on the back and a word that I can't make out. The group photo shows a fairly high ranking Luftwaffe officer making me wonder whether the 1932 date is actually 1937 with a base on the leg of the 7. I can't make out the collar tabs on the coat of the man at the far left, but they appear to be political leader's tabs. In the photo with the car, there can be seen an SA man behind it and the man directly behind the VIP in the photo has a uniform with which I am not familiar. Any ID of any of these folks would be greatly appreciated as these are a mystery to me. Thanks for any help.
Richard V

[Rick Research]

I'd say you were right to begin with and that IS indeed Hess. He is climbing out of a car (a zippy sports Mercedes?) with a "G(au) L(eiter)" pennant on it.

In your second shot and the tab cropped just above the blurry ? place name, that is a Reichsleiter tab-- centered Party eagle amid wreath.

I can't, certainly at this end of the day, read the fuzzy squiggles either. I can see where you'd think--as I would have-- that was "1932" but it must be "1937" from, as you say, the Luftwaffe uniform.

All the rest is waaaaaaaay too blurry for me.

[Richard]

Thanks very much for the info Rick. You are a fountain of info, as usual. The only thing that made me doubt my first opinion of Hess was that he seemed to have quite a nose. I never noticed that on other Hess photos before. It is impossible from the photos to see if he has the characteristic Hess unibrow. Unfortunately the pics are fuzzy and no matter what I try they can't be made better. I appreciate the info on the Reichsleiter tab. That one was difficult for me to make out. I also did not pick up on the GL on the car pennant. Now that you mention it, that seems to be what the letters are. What type of device would he have below the eagle on his cap? At first I thought it was an SS skull device, but the huge eagle indicated this cap was not SS. I cannot, even under magnification, make out the word before the date on the reverse of he photos. I'm glad to see you agree with the 1937 date even though it looks like 1932. No way that the LW uniform in these pics could be from 1932. The LW officer appears to have tons of decorations on his left breast, but I think that this is a photo problem (scratches, dirt on film). Even under magnification, nothing seems very identifiable. Besides, in 1937, what could he have?
Richard V

[Erich B.]

Hess pictures

Rick beat me to it. Yes, it's definitely Hess. He has the early NSDAP cockade (red enameled with a swastika in black enamel in the center) which is correct for pre 1939 PL caps.
Erich

Thanks very much for the info Rick. You are a fountain of info, as usual. The only thing that made me doubt my first opinion of Hess was that he seemed to have quite a nose. I never noticed that on other Hess photos before. It is impossible from the photos to see if he has the characteristic Hess unibrow. Unfortunately the pics are fuzzy and no matter what I try they can't be made better. I appreciate the info on the Reichsleiter tab. That one was difficult for me to make out. I also did not pick up on the GL on the car pennant. Now that you mention it, that seems to be what the letters are. What type of device would he have below the eagle on his cap? At first I thought it was an SS skull device, but the huge eagle indicated this cap was not SS. I cannot, even under magnification, make out the word before the date on the reverse of he photos. I'm glad to see you agree with the 1937 date even though it looks like 1932. No way that the LW uniform in these pics could be from 1932. The LW officer appears to have tons of decorations on his left breast, but I think that this is a photo problem (scratches, dirt on film). Even under magnification, nothing seems very identifiable. Besides, in 1937, what could he have?
Richard V

[Richard]

Hi Erich, thanks for the affirmation. I guess I should trust my first instincts. It was the profile shot showing that somewhat bulbous nose that threw me. I suppose I've never seen a good profile shot before. Thanks again for the info!
Richard V