S.A. Gruppe Westmark

[David North]

What is the correlation between SA Gruppe Westmark (Koblenz) and SA Gruppe Mittelrhein (Koblenz)? Chronological change of name?

This badge is Westmark, Trier 1937.

Regards,

David

[David North]

2

[mametz]

Although quite common hard to find in that condition David, close
to mint
Regards
Mametz

[Br. James]

An interesting question, David. In "Collectors Guide to Storm Troops Insignia" (1985 by David James Fuller), he provides four successive lists of the SA Groups as they existed between the years 1933-37, 1938, 1938-42 and 1942-45. Group Mittelrhein only appears in the 1942-45 list while Group Westmark appears in each of the first three lists but not in the last. Fuller describes Group Westmark as including the "Rhein province and parts of the province of Hessen-Nassau," while Group Mittelrhein includes "parts of the provinces of Hessen-Nassau and Luremburg" -- which may be a typo referring to Luxemburg. This geographic area in the Palatinate has a complex and convoluted history, both before and after the advent of the NSDAP and the Third Reich; it involves both the Saarland and the Rhineland, both of which included Gaue of various names at various times. In my opinion, the key to all this may be found in the person and career of Gauleiter Jakob Sprenger of Hessen-Nassau, who also held the rank of SA-Obergruppenführer from March of 1935 and as such exercised power beyond merely his own Gau. Sprenger would have been the senior SA leader throughout the region, whether it was called Group Westmark or Group Mittelrhein. By war's end SA-Obergruppenführer Sprenger's responsibilities included Reich Defense Commissar for Military District XII, which was the POW Stalag system throughout Rhinish-Hessen, and this gave him certain authority over a number of Gaue in the Palatinate; it also put him in the unenviable position of seeking suicide rather than standing trial as a war criminal because of the harsh treatment of POWs under his "care."

As I said earlier, this is a complex and convoluted region, politically speaking -- I hope these thoughts are of some help to your question.

Br. James

[Erich B.]

On 1. July 1941, group Westmark was renamed Mittelrhein. Prior to this, on 31. March 1941 group Oberrhein was created, which included parts of the free state of Baden and the Elsass. As parts and pieces of territory joined or were joined to the Reich, SA groups were created or redesignated to reflect the changes.
Erich

[David North]

Dear Mametz, Br. James and Erich

Many thanks for this information and which is of great help.

I wonder if there is available an accurate, hard or on line publication that addresses the question that I raised? Something along the lines of the "Idiots Guide" to the identification and recognition of SA Gruppen/Brigaden/Standarten, et al".

Regards,

David