I recently acquired a small lot from a WWII veteran who died in 2012. Among the items were three enamel NSDAP Party pins, two miniature NSDAP Party pins made by Deschler, and this rare pin for Swiss supporters of the NSDAP. The enamel badge reads Nat.Soz. Eidgenossen (National Socialist Comrade by Oath) and B.S.G., the abbreviation for the Bund der Schweizer in Grossdeutschland. I found this information about the B.S.G. on the Internet:
The BUND DER SCHWEIZER IN GROSSDEUTSCHLAND (BSG), or League of the Swiss in Greater Germany, explains all by its title, again calling for the very closest collaboration with the Third Reich. Franz Burri, half-German, half-Swiss, born of a working-class family in Luzern in 1901, and a press agent and Nazi propagandist, founded the BSG in 1941, and later helped found two other fascist organizations, the NSSB and the BSBidS, both of which will be discussed later. He made frequent trips to the Third Reich in the 1930s and moved there during World War II. Although he had pretensions of a career in the SS, Heydrich himself later rejected his application for membership. Franz Burri and his organizations were subsidized directly by various Reich ministries. A brash man, known for his crude language and Jew-baiting, he liked to pose in his brown Nazi uniform (see photo in the sections on Illustrations). The BSG was later directed by Burris close friend, Benno Schaeppi, in Zürich, 1941-44, with little effective opposition by the Federal Council. Zürich was to remain the centre of the extreme right-wing throughout the war.
You can also read about Franz Burri here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Burri
It's interesting that this pin is German made. As you can see, it has RZM number M1/13, which is the RZM number for L. Christian Lauer in Nürnberg. I searched the Internet and I could not find a single example of this Swiss pin. I'm curious if anyone has such a pin or has ever seen one offered.
Barry
The BUND DER SCHWEIZER IN GROSSDEUTSCHLAND (BSG), or League of the Swiss in Greater Germany, explains all by its title, again calling for the very closest collaboration with the Third Reich. Franz Burri, half-German, half-Swiss, born of a working-class family in Luzern in 1901, and a press agent and Nazi propagandist, founded the BSG in 1941, and later helped found two other fascist organizations, the NSSB and the BSBidS, both of which will be discussed later. He made frequent trips to the Third Reich in the 1930s and moved there during World War II. Although he had pretensions of a career in the SS, Heydrich himself later rejected his application for membership. Franz Burri and his organizations were subsidized directly by various Reich ministries. A brash man, known for his crude language and Jew-baiting, he liked to pose in his brown Nazi uniform (see photo in the sections on Illustrations). The BSG was later directed by Burris close friend, Benno Schaeppi, in Zürich, 1941-44, with little effective opposition by the Federal Council. Zürich was to remain the centre of the extreme right-wing throughout the war.
You can also read about Franz Burri here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Burri
It's interesting that this pin is German made. As you can see, it has RZM number M1/13, which is the RZM number for L. Christian Lauer in Nürnberg. I searched the Internet and I could not find a single example of this Swiss pin. I'm curious if anyone has such a pin or has ever seen one offered.
Barry
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