Above. large early Art Deco styled Aluminium Nazi wall eagle.
The Nazis were obsessed with imagery; this was all part of the creation and promotion of their cult. In order to place their stamp on the state, they went to great efforts in order to make sure that whereever you were in Germany, you would be reminded of who was running the state. Every official building in Germany (and later the greater Reich), was identified as such by displaying the symbols of the Party. This is actually not as extreme as one would first assume; there would after all be an outcry if the national flag was not to be seen flying from important buildings around the globe. Where this was raised to a higher level was the inclusion of as such things as the wall eagles, along with the sheer proliferation of the practice. These were produced in a variety of styles and materials; the example shown above is made from aluminium and is one of the earlier examples of the styles, being Art Deco. Examples of these can still be seen around Germany and Austria; although they are of the more difficult to remove masonry types, great care has been made to de-Nazify them by the removal of the swastika.
The Nazis were obsessed with imagery; this was all part of the creation and promotion of their cult. In order to place their stamp on the state, they went to great efforts in order to make sure that whereever you were in Germany, you would be reminded of who was running the state. Every official building in Germany (and later the greater Reich), was identified as such by displaying the symbols of the Party. This is actually not as extreme as one would first assume; there would after all be an outcry if the national flag was not to be seen flying from important buildings around the globe. Where this was raised to a higher level was the inclusion of as such things as the wall eagles, along with the sheer proliferation of the practice. These were produced in a variety of styles and materials; the example shown above is made from aluminium and is one of the earlier examples of the styles, being Art Deco. Examples of these can still be seen around Germany and Austria; although they are of the more difficult to remove masonry types, great care has been made to de-Nazify them by the removal of the swastika.
The flag shown is that of the Nazi Party which was adopted as the national flag after the Nazis came to power in 1933. These were produced in multiple sizes for many applications. Units in the field would drape them over the roofs and bonnets of transport in order to avoid being attacked by their own air force; they were to be seen flying from mastheads and windows and, as the example we have here, hung (with others) from wires stretched high above the streets.
This flag hanging there in 1945 when a GI decided that it would make an interesting souvenir, so, as soldiers have done since the dawn of conflict, he appropriated the item. It went on to lie in the bottom of a closet at his home until a house clearance firm was engaged to liquidate the contents prior to the property being sold after his death and it was from here that we acquired this item for the collection.
Nazi flags were cut up by French civilians in 1944 and 45 to make tricouleurs with which to greet liberating troops.
An original colour plate from a Nazi book 'Deutschland Erwache' (Germany Awake) depicting an SA man involved in a bierkeller brawl.
German Sturmabteilung (SA) kepi and original issue box from the early 1930s. The SA were the original paramilitary wing of the Nazi party (NSDAP (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei) and were often referred to as the 'Brown Shirts' after the colour of their uniforms. Their main assignments were providing protection for Nazi rallies and assemblies, disrupting the meetings of the opposing parties, fighting against the paramilitary units of the opposing parties such as the Communists.
SA Sports Badge in Bronze
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