Ein volk Ein reich Ein Fuhrer 1933

[Anders L]

Anyone that know what this is and its value??
Came in a old collection I just got.

[Anders L]

Preuss Staatsmuenze Feinsilber

[Jeff Clark]

Bust of Hitler facing right, the surrounding ring reads, "Unsur Fuhrer Adolf Hitler 1938". Reverse shows dates 30 Januar 1933 16 Marz 1935 12/13 Marz 1938". The dates are surrounded by an oak leaf wreath with the slogan, "Ein Volk Ein Reich Ein Fuhrer". Struck in silver, 36mm. Artist F. Beyer.. C-101 in the Colbert-Hyder book.
About $250 os so....

[Anders L]

Hi Jeff, thank you so much for your great help!
Came in a collection of German and Russian medals and I had never seen this one before.

[Br. James]

Hi Anders,

This is a medallion commemorating the transition of Germany from the Weimar Republic to total National Socialist control in 1933. The four dates on the reverse refer to:
January 30 -- President Paul von Hindenburg announces his choosing Adolf Hitler as his new Reichschancellor
March 5 -- German federal election which demonstrates that the NSDAP is far and above the largest political party in the nation
March 21 -- Ceremony at the Potsdam Garrison Church at which Hindenburg publicly acclaims Hitler as Chancellor
November 12 -- National parliamentary election, with the NSDAP winning 92% of the votes cast

The popular slogan -- One Folk, one Nation, one Leader -- became a matter of fact as demonstrated by these events in 1933.

Br. James

[Gary Symonds]

Br. James:
Please corrrect me if I am historically wrong. The March 1933 election may have shown the NSDAP as the "largest party" in Germany, but it was still only about 43% of the vote. The Party still had to rule as a coaltion with some of the other parties. Of course that was to quickly change.

Thus:
It is not surprising that the NSDAP won 92% of the vote in November 1933. That was because in July 1933 the NSDAP became the only legal party in the nation. A sham election. Not too much competiton.

[Br. James]

Hi Gary,

You are certainly correct! As we know, the medallion in discussion was produced in support of the NSDAP, so one must always take it's point of view into consideration! A very important date missing from the four on the medallion was March 23, 1933 -- just two days after the ceremony at the Potsdam Garrison Church -- when the Reichstag easily passed what was to be known as 'the Enabling Act' which essentially gave the Reichschancellor and his Cabinet the authority to establish legislation in the form of decrees of its own volition, without even consulting the Reichstag, let alone presenting bills to be voted upon. This was done in reaction to the well-known Reichstag Fire and its subsequent 'trial,' and it provided Hitler and his government the emergency powers they needed to essentially sidestep and dismiss the Reichstag, Germany's elected parliament. With all of this happening in March, by the time the next federal elections took place in November, no one was surprised at how things turned out!

Br. James