The Coburg Badge

[ErichS]

All good points Andreas but didn't the dues from those who wore the GPB come after 1925 which was after the events of 1922 & 1923?

The bottom line is that all three awards were vastly important to those who were awarded them.

[Br. James]

Dear friends,

I do hate to enter this conversation since I find that I accept a number of the points made about all three of these major awards -- the CB, the BO and the GPB. So here's one thought that I'd like to add to the mix: of the approx. 430 CBs awarded, and of the approx. 1,500 BOs awarded (and here I only consider the First Issue awards, in order to stay on par with the numbered GPB and not to include the AH Honorary GPB since neither of these 'second issue categories' speaks for the original reason for the existence of the BO or the GPB), how many recipients of the CB and the 1st Issue BO were also recipients of the GPB? My point is, as Andreas stated it, that the GPB was an award which directly addressed the perseverance of the holder. Though qualifying for the numbered GPB required having joined the reconstituted NSDAP at some point between the end of February 1925 and the end of 1928, the award itself didn't come about until near the end of 1933, which meant that each of those Alte Kämpfers not only joined the new Party but maintained their membership for perhaps as long as eight years before they heard about this new award. With the CB or the BO, all one had to do was provide proof that you were present for that one weekend event in 1922 or on that Thursday night/Friday morning in early November of 1923.

Since just under 25% of those who originally joined the new NSDAP actually held up their memberships at least until late 1933 and thereby qualified for the GPB, how did the CB membership or the BO membership fare against that percentage? And how many CB and BO holders also held the numbered GPB -- which would indicate perhaps how many of those early event participants valued Party membership highly enough to actually join the NSDAP and remain loyal through the Kämpfzeit? Interesting questions...!!

Cheers,

Br. James

[Jon Fish]

Please lets not forget the 2nd type blood order. One in my collection was awarded to the guy as he was beaten up so badly fighting communists he was in plaster for nearly a year. This happened twice over a period of some years. Some of these guys gave significant personal sacrifices to the cause to be awarded with the BO.

[Br. James]

You're absolutely right, Jon -- I couldn't agree more that many who were recipients of the 2nd type BO were Heroes of the Movement, people who suffered personally for their loyalty, either physically as you describe or by having lost their employment or their housing, or who had dedicated their talents to the furtherance of the NSDAP as a political movement. But they lacked one thing: they weren't present in Munich on November 8/9, 1923. So too with the Honorary AH GPB -- these recipients were either captains of industry or leaders of the standing military or well-placed governmental bureaucrats, or they were major financial supporters of the Movement during the Kämpfzeit, or they were members of one of the variations of the NSDAP as it existed in Austria or other non-German territories. But they too lacked one thing: they couldn't qualify for the numbered GPB because they didn't join the Party early enough...if at all! Even the CB seems to have had a few recipients who did not originally qualify for that stratospheric award -- haven't we read that Franz Schwede was not present in Coburg during the events of October 20-22, 1922, and yet he managed to get his name onto the list of awardees?

My point is that the parameters for all three of these supreme political awards of the NSDAP were eventually expanded far beyond the scope and bounds of the original concept and wound up including people who had nothing to do with the original, highly-specific guidelines for these awards. It seems to me that, in all these cases, there could have been some other award(s) created to honor the service of such individuals, without interfering with already-established decorations and awards. Just my opinion, of course!

Cheers,

Br. James

[der-hase-fee]

And how many CB and BO holders also held the numbered GPB -- which would indicate perhaps how many of those early event participants valued Party membership highly enough to actually join the NSDAP and remain loyal through the Kämpfzeit? Interesting questions...!!

Cheers,

Br. James

That is an interesting question. My humble list of GPB holders contains a total of 85 names of individuals that had all three.

[Br. James]

Thanks, Andreas. So, from the vantage point of your list of GPB tragers -- which is one of the largest I know of -- you find that while just under 25% of the NSDAP members who joined and were assigned membership numbers between 1 and 100,000 actually kept their memberships current and were awarded the GPB when it came into being in late 1933 or at a later date, only about 20% of the recipients of the CB also qualified for the BO and the numbered GPB, and only about 6% of the recipients of the 1st Issue BO also qualified for the CB and the numbered GPB. Interesting figures indeed!

Cheers, my friend,

Br. James

[Bob Hritz]

I have a GPB and Coburg Badge to one receipent. Ernst Bernhard, GPB 3590. He was from Coburg and I do not find him on my Blood Order list. He must have stayed home for that event.

Bob Hritz

[Sepp45]

I didn't see the one of Gauleiter Dr. Otto Hellmuth

[Br. James]

Good information...many thanks, Bob!

Br. James

[Br. James]

Dr. Hellmuth held the GPB and the CB, but not the BO.

Br. James

[ErichS]

And let's not forget about Sister Pia who held both the CB and BO but not the GPB.

Thanks for going through your list Andreas with an interesting sampling.

[Military]

So whereabouts are Sister Pia's BO and CB?

Mil

[Military]

Hi All,

Some members have requested for my badges to be posted on the forum. As shown, there are two first pattern badges but they are different variants. One of them is slightly convoluted and thinner (which I believe comes from the first production run), while the other first pattern is flatter and thicker. The third is a second pattern with a thicker pin and stamped as a 189-marked variant. Colour wise, both first patterns are similar just due to the lighting when I photographed them. The second version seems to have a bronze / copper hue. As we know, there is a fourth variant and I don't have the RZM type. Sorry for the delay as I was abroad. Here are the photos.

Regards,
Mil

[Military]

And photos of the back ...

[chen]

Mil,
Very Nice!