1940 Organizationsbuch der NSDAP

[tgn]

How many different ones are there? Did they come out each year? When was the first one printed - and the last?

Tom

[Jeff Clark]

1st in this format came out in 1936,
3 volumes came out in 1937
1938
1940
1943
There was supposedly a 45 version planned, but have only seen that in draft form

[tgn]

Thanks Jeff.

Are the three 1937 volumes different in content, or just different printings?

Tom

[Jeff Clark]

I think the main reason there were 3 volumes in 1937 is that Hess decided the PL eagle should face the opposite way and Hitler decided he wanted it back the other way (actually, Hitler probably changed his mind because Hess would not have done it in the 1st place without a Hitler decision).
There were a few other minor revisions which mostly stemmed from Ley, as Reich Organizational Leader being at odds with Hess, Deputy Fuhrer and leader of PO.
Ley fought a losing battle for control over the Political Leaders which Hess, then Bormann ultimately won. He published these Org Books as the ROL, but many ignored what was printed within.
Ley published these to exert his authority, but without a united backing from the Hess/Bormann faction, a lot of what was contained within, was not always followed. That is why period photos are always the best source to consider on what was and wasn't worn during the period. A lot of things are dismiss now as bad because they do not conform to the "regulations", so I think collectors always need to consider the item and not what the Org book says. They are good tools, but not the end all, be all, many in this hobby make them out to be.

At the time, the Gaueliter's were very powerful and many chose to ignore Ley's rules altogether. Gauleiter's remained very powerful in their areas, but during the war, a lot of their power shifted to the Kreisleiters.
For the most part, the Top Politcial Leaders did whatever they wanted and stayed on the good side of Hess/Bormann.
Ley continued to dream up new rules, and thankfully new uniforms, because the pre-39 are not so easy on the eyes as the final pattern.