NSDAP party badge in gold, original?

[belgrano]

Dear Friend, i need your opinions of this badge, original or fake?. Thanks in advance

[ErichS]

Fake

[Wim Vangossum]

Bad repro.


Regards, Wim



Freedom is not for Free

[Br. James]

I agree: a bad repro. Hope you haven't purchased this piece!

Br. James

[Silesien]

It is exactly that old fake that used to be sold by Delta International, Lafayette, CA.

[laurentarthur]

Yes bad copy sorry

Congrats,
L.A

[ErichS]

It is exactly that old fake that used to be sold by Delta International, Lafayette, CA.

And yet they are still out there fooling collectors. Go figure.....

[ErichS]

And yet they are still out there fooling collectors. Go figure.....

Hate to keep preaching here but with Stephen's imformative site along with all the originals posted on this forum, these nasty fakes shouldn't even be posted for opinions here. Do your homework guys!

[Bob Hritz]

This is how a 1930's period original should look.

Bob Hritz

[ErichS]

I agree, very nice Bob!

[sjl]

Here's a couple of the honour versions: http://pages.interlog.com/~sjl/GPB/ahaward.html

Stephen

[Br. James]

Dear friends,

I need to say a word on behalf of toleration here. None of us would argue against the sentiment found in Erich's note -- "Hate to keep preaching here but with Stephen's informative site along with all the originals posted on this forum, these nasty fakes shouldn't even be posted for opinions here. Do your homework guys!" And yet, even with Stephen's comprehensive website delivering authoritative and helpful information on most any question concerning the GPB, collectors and enquirers -- new and long-time -- still come to WAF for assistance. That's what we're here for... I like to think that we're a college of historians and collectors with vast experience and willingness to express that knowledge when questions arise, and in a friendly and collegial fashion. I would hate to think that questions that I have raised in the past...at least some of which surely must have been raised during the years prior to my joining WAF...might have been dismissed out of hand, for just that reason. None of us can know in detail all that has been discussed and clarified in previous notes and on other forums; indeed, I am often surprised to see how often a question will arise within a thread and someone else will answer it almost immediately, only to see that question again arise within the same thread, and perhaps only a day or two later!! Obviously not all of us critically reads and absorbs every word in everyone else's comments!! So I speak on behalf of the toleration that is truly helpful to the new (to us) collector and student of NSDAP and Third Reich history. If my first notes were greeted with "We've already answered that question a hundred times!", I doubt that I would still be regularly dropping in on WAF today.

Br. James

[Br. James]

I was just visiting Stephen's fine website -- http://pages.interlog.com/~sjl/GPB/ahaward.html -- and was surprised to see a photo of a small Deschler GPB bearing a seven-digit number -- 5773545 -- and the description of this badge which tells of an early Austrian Party Member named Alfred Fuchs who joined the German Party after the Anschluss and, for his long and loyal service to the Austrian Party, received a GPB bearing that number! Perhaps others also know of this unique situation, but it comes as news to me! I then went to Klaus Patzwall's book on the subject of the Honorary GPB and found Herr Fuchs listed there as holding NSDAP #5773545, and also with the date of his reception of the Honorary GPB as 22.12.1938. Before I read Stephen's note and saw the photo of this unique badge, I would have assumed that Herr Fuchs would have received his GPB set bearing the inscription of "A.H. 22.12.1938," but is that true?! Did he receive TWO sets of badges, one with the date and the other with his number? And what are the implications for other recipients of the Honorary GPB -- did Konrad Henlein or Hans Lammers or Franz Seldte or the various military types who were also awarded the Honorary GPB also receive their badge sets bearing their high Party numbers or the date of award...??

Br. James

[sjl]

Thanks for the kind words about my GPB website. It is in bad need of updating with a lot of new and interesting info and new and improved fakes. Sadly, not enough hours in the day.

I can only assume the Alfred Fuchs badge in the 5,000,000 range was a special request or custom stamped replacement. I think I have some notes buried somewhere. I'll have a look. It knocked me out when I first saw it.

Cheers,

Stephen

[Br. James]

You're very welcome, Stephen -- I'm sure your website has been as much a mainstay for many others interested in this obscure and esoteric subject as it has been and continues to be for me! For myself, I have referred to your site many times over the years and regard it as much a fundamental reference tool as Mike Miller's Axis Biographical Research website. You are owed quite a debt from our researcher and collector community.

As to the unique badge awarded to Alfred Fuchs, I'm sure you're right that his was created as a "special request," though I have to wonder who he was to warrant the granting of such a really over-the-top request?! And again, can we really be sure that every other person receiving the Honorary GPB received the AH dated version and not one bearing his NSDAP number -- no matter how high the number? The mere existence of a badge with a number over 100000 seems to make a lie out of the standard that the first 100,000 Party Members with unbroken membership would be entitled to receive the badge...! To my knowledge, being an early member of the Austrian Party didn't give Eduard Frauenfeld a specially-created Honorary GPB, and Frauenfeld was prominent in the Austrian Party and then the German Party throughout its existence. Indeed, I don't know that he ever actually joined the German Party; Patzwall lists him as receiving the Honorary Badge in 1943, though without providing his NSDAP number. And there is a whole host of high-ranking NSDAP Members who apparently received the AH dated Honorary version of the GPB...and yet Herr Fuchs got one with his NSDAP Membership number just like all those whose memberships were recorded among the first 100,000.

In looking over the Patwall list of Honorary GPB recipients, he names 18 men who received that award on 22.12.1938. Since there were larger groups of Honorary awards made on 30.1.1938 and on 30.1.1939 -- the standard date for such awards -- one wonders why this particular group of persons were chosen to receive their GPBs on this odd date. The most significant event happening on December 22, 1938 that I could find was the Winter Solstice that year! None of the 18 recipients were listed with any NSDAP rank or position, and one ("Generalmajor Reinhard") had no Party Membership Number listed. Most of the rest had quite high numbers, in the millions like Fuchs' number, though one -- Wilhelm Jung -- held NSDAP Membership Number 26491, which he had assumedly failed to maintain during the Kampfzeit since his number was apparently not eligible to receive the standard badge. Perhaps most of these people were businessmen who only joined the Party when the future became clear to them? Truly an interesting subject!

Br. James