SA and NSDAP Armbands

[kyles bullets]

Just got both of these yesterday. Got them at an auction about 45 minutes from my house and it was worth the trip. The entire auction was from a persons collection and was guaranteeing authenticity. I went there and there was so much great stuff but I only had $100 dollars to spend and came home with these. The 1 looks to be SA because it looks to be home made and the other is NSDAP. Got both of them for a steal price of $90! Enjoy.....
This is the SA one. It is many pieces. Correct me if I'm wrong and the light spot on the first picture is light from where my shadow wasn't casting.

[kyles bullets]

here is the NSDAP one...... It is one piece.

[petopoint]

Armbands

Hi Kyle, the first multi-piece armband in cotton looks to be of the Homemade variety that very well could be period made. Both are generally referred to as NSDAP armbands. Second looks late-war silk screened or printed on cotton.
You can also verify these and future cloth purchases with a Black light. They should not glow, unless they've been washed or kept with later post war mfg. materials.
Congrats and happy hunting.
Pete

[kyles bullets]

Thanks for the correction on the 1st one. Just looked very similar to some SA types made. Also, thanks for the reply. I will test them with my black light in a few minutes

[kyles bullets]

Just checked where the parts of the armband meet and there is no glowing.

[sgstandard]

Sa

There is no difference between the standard SA brassard, and the NSDAP brassard. So they could be either SA OR NSDAP. The one in the 1st pic is probably ok, but I've NEVER seen the white field so distorted. The 3-piece brassards are often not perfect, but this one is pretty far from that. These things were hand-made, but it's still pretty poor. Not saying it's not authentic, mind you. It's just that the distorted white field really stands out.

[kyles bullets]

I honestly like the strange white circle because it shows that it is hand made and it is different than most others. It is a pretty small size. It might be a child made armband for supporters of the party in the mid 1930's. We might just not know...

[Mainemilitaria]

At $90.00 (+ commissions) you probably paid about "retail" for both these....Both are common and both are not the "best" examples of thier types, but if you didn't have them they are certianly worth "picking up". They "appear" to be originals.

Swastika Armbands were worn by nearly everyone who didn't have "another" Armband or sleeve eagle who were party affiliated....from SA & NSKK members, RAD & DAF members, R.Kriegersbund members, some Volksstrum units, etc., etc,.....as well as "every" indivigual NSDAP member for wear with "civilian clothes".....generally speaking, only the very early (1919 - 1929) members wore "homemade" armbands....after that quality became standardized. (always with exceptions!).

Without an "issue stamp" there's noway to tell what organization a "Swastika" Armband was used by.....
John G.

[Br. James]

One further word to Sgstandard's note below. During the Kämpfzeit there were some uniquely-striped brassards worn by high-ranking members such as Göring and a few Gauleiters, but in the main there was no difference between the SA and the PL brassard of that period. Then Reichsleiter Robert Ley rolled out the major uniform revision of 1939 that created a whole series of PL armbands which designated the rank of the wearer -- this had previously been designated by collar patches which, from 1939 onward, designated the job description pay grade of the wearer -- so from '39 onward the SA brassard remained the plain design while the PL corps wore very ornate armbands. The ongoing exception to this was Hitler himself, who wore the plain NSDAP brassard up until he changed to his wartime kit which included a gilt eagle on the upper left sleeve and he never wore any brassard after that. In fact, I don't believe that Ley ever developed a PL brassard for the rank of Führer or of Deputy Führer; the highest they went was that of the Reichsleiter.

Br. James

[RonR]

Here is a SA Reserve II armband was introduced in 1933 and only worn until 1935, when the Reserve insignia was simplified and standard armband was worn.


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[RonR]

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[sgstandard]

Armband

Lovely example. I've also seen the grey stripes woven into the material.

[kyles bullets]

Thanks for all the information on the armbands. I thought that they were worth a little more but I'm keeping them for a long time so it doesn't matter anyway to me. They are nice until I can get some more money for a better one. Ron, your armband is interesting. Haven't seen one like your but don't really look for armbands much anyway. It reminds me of a ss armband except the stripe position and color is different. Thanks for sharing.....

[RonR]

Kyle,

You are sure right....


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[Br. James]

I wish I could say that I trusted that the home-made brassard below was original to the period, but I can't quite get there. While the sewing construction of the swastika on that piece -- how it's formed and folded to be sewn onto the white disc -- is correct to the period, the proportions are skewed as to the relationship between the swaz to the disc and the placement of the disc onto the red band. The proportional relationship of the swaz within the disk -- the width of the swaz itself and the distance from the edge of the disc to the tip of each arm of the swaz -- was rigorously set by the Party, and by the ascent of the NSDAP to power in 1933 the matter of proportion was already set. Back in the early and even mid-1920s, when Altekämpfers made their own armbands and flags at home, one saw a wide variety of proportionate sizes and shapes to these symbols when worn or displayed in public, but by the late 1920s when the Party felt it had a fairly firm financial base and that the heady myth of taking real power might soon become a reality, standardization rushed in from all directions. This apparently home-made armband would have been easily obtainable through whatever organization the purchaser belonged to, and it would have been professionally manufactured. The fact that the disc on this piece has been so obviously and so amateurishly fitted to the red band remains troubling to me, and also hard to imagine that someone might have worn it during a uniformed march or massed demonstration.

Br. James