|
|
|
|
German-American Bund
Page 1
|
||||||||||
|
German Bund Stickpin (Item G-ABUND 1-1; NSD 10-13; PINS 4-20) |
||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION: The German-American Bund organization was formed out of the ”Friends of the New Germany.” This organization was made up of people who were strong in their patriotic Americanism, but also conscious of their Teutonic ancestry and within them strong racial and nationalistic feelings were stirred up when Adolf Hitler was elected chancellor of the German Reich. Just as American Jews now support Israel, these German people supported the National Socialist movement in the Fatherland. The members wore uniforms, sang the Horst Wessel Lied, and flew the swastika flag, but always just below the Stars and Stripes. But because of the strong representation of the Semitic people in the media, the “friends” became out of favor with the American public and Rudolf Hess requested that all German citizens leave the Friends of the New Germany and all the group’s leaders were recalled to Germany. Shortly after that a new replacement organization was formed in March 1936, in Buffalo, New York and called itself the German-American Bund, or Amerikadeutscher Volksbund (AV). The organization chose Munich native Fritz Kuhn as its Bundesleiter. The Bund created recreational camps such as Camp Siegfried in New York, Camp Nordland in New Jersey, Camp Hindenburg in Wisconsin, and Spring Garden Park in Buffalo, NY. They met in Milwaukee and Chicago beer halls and one of our advisors here at Germania often met with some of the former members at the Genesee Park Restaurant in Buffalo. He considered them great, old veterans (often they had served in the U.S. Army after the second dispersal of the AV). They had many great stories to tell and our friend was a police officer in this Queen City of the lakes and spent much of his off-duty time with the Bundists over glasses of imported German beer. One of his best friends was Buffalo fireman, who in his youth, was a member of the Jugenschaft, the equivalent of the Hitler Youth. In the Bund, Franz had won the bronze star in WWII for saving fellow GI’s, but he never fired at a German soldier and would have never considered doing so. He nevertheless remained a staunch believer in German ideals up until he died. The stickpin is in pure silver. It proclaims the message in English: “Your fight is my fight!” and around the border “German-American Bund” is seen. On the back are the initial ‘AV.’ (see earlier our notes on this). Also you can see the phase: “Kampf Jahre 1937.” All Bund equipment except for clothing all badges, flags, youth knives badges, etc This stickpin was something made for one of the major distributors in Ludenshied, the insignia center during the Third Reich. The maker was the jeweler who sold us the entire stock of all the items he still had in his possession 60 years after the war. To see the whole story of how we came into these items see the section “About Our Rings.” This is considered a very rare stickpin and when one turns up here or in German auctions they bring huge prices for such a little item. We are able to offer a very, very, competitive price because of our good fortune at Stuttgart. We offer this prodigiously important piece of history at a fair price. If you will look carefully at the picture of the Bund leaders you can see that George Froboese, the Gaulieter for the Midwest, is wearing such a pin in his overseas hat. He is on the left side of the photo. Otto Willomeit, Ortsgruppenleiter of the District of Chicago, is on the right. National leader Fritz Kuhn is in the center. The uniformed man is unknown to us.
PRICE: $115.00; while the small supply lasts |
|
|
|
Poster Jugendschaft (Item G-ABUND 1-2; YOUTH 6-9) |
|
| DESCRIPTION: Here is a small poster printed in the 1930s in Germany for the Deutscher-American Bund, the youth section, known as the Jugendschaft. Our historical advisor here at Germania has had them for years—50 or so—and received them directly from Bund members he personally knew in Buffalo, NY. Back in the 1950s and 1960s many of them were in the Jugendschaft of the organization. The poster shows the symbol of the Jugendschaft and there is an illustration of a young drummer boy with the traditional “Flame Drum” made popular by the Hitler Youth in Germany. These are 100-percent original posters from the era. They measures 9 x 12 inches. Originally they would have been for posting on walls, trees, etc., with words written under the figure that would announce work details, ceremonial events, marches, hiking, sports activities, etc. This is a rare youth item.
PRICE: $150.00; guaranteed original |
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
3-Dimensional Plaque Depicting a Sturmtrupp Soldier (Item G-ABUND 1-3; WEHR 25-10; KSTATUES 4-5) |
|||||||||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION: This is spectacular!—a beautiful plaque with a World War I Storm Trooper advancing with hand grenade ready to thrust, with four more grenades in his belt (he means business!). The very unusual figure is separate, but adhered to the framing while standing on a plinth that represents the battleground. The figure has the model 16 helmet, gas mask, canteen, entrenching shovel, bread bag, bullet pouch, etc. This figure is probably by a company that made many decorative items for export, because in tiny letters down at the bottom of the plants it says in English “Made in Germany,” but we are fairly sure that this plaque was made for home use. The only other possibility would be that it was for export to various buyers in the German-American Bund in the 1930s. These people bought many knickknacks with patriotic motif. The deep-set special framing is 11 x 16 inches. The silver background is 6 x 10 1/2 inches. The soldier from the top of the helmet to the bottom of the combat boots is 8 inches tall. The material is white metal, or spalter, except for the rifle and that separately fits snugly into his hand and is possibly cast bronze. The entire piece is cleverly put together and is a highly charged ultra-dramatic presentation.
PRICE: $1,985.00; it will be your treasured centerpiece |
|
||||
|
Woman’s Pendant with Enameled Swastika and Oak Leak (Item G-ABUND 1-4; NSD 14-10) |
||||
| DESCRIPTION: This beautiful little pendant is a “jeweler’s gem.” This was according to the son of Herr Franz Schnell, the jeweler extraordinaire. This is a piece made for export to America in the 1930s. Members of the German-American Bund, of course, included wives and they were organized as well as the men. See the great website by Scott Freeland, German American Bund: Purpose, Organization, and Historical Facts. There you’ll see a great explanation of the groups and various pieces such as flags, letter openers, pictures of leaders and enlisted personnel, etc. See also our stickpin information above. This pendant is constructed wonderfully. It suspends from a hand-finished oak leaf in silver, which is the jump ring or suspension appurtenance to the swastika. The swastika is finished on both sides. This was quite a trick and only Herr Schnell was able to come up with this amazing innovation. Think about it! It would be almost impossible to do this and have both sides of the swastika facing in the same direction if done in any other way than the way he did it. A regular orthodox jeweler would have been satisfied to simply allow only one side to be enameled, but Herr Schnell knew from normal wearing the piece would flip over from time to time and his creation would be as beautiful on one side as the other. The piece about 3/4 inch wide and from the top of the oak-leaf device to the bottom of the swastika it measures almost an inch and a half. This is a spectacular yet elegant bauble from the NS era.
PRICE: $245.00 |
|
||||||
|
German-American Bund Stickpin in Silver (Item G-ABUND 1-5; PINS 5-22) |
||||||
| DESCRIPTION: This is an extremely rare silver stickpin created in the workshop of Herr Franz Schnell. You can read about him at About Our Rings and Silver Insignia. This is a stickpin of the German-American Bund, an organization of people of German extraction who organized into what temporarily became America’s largest and most well-known ethnic organization in the 1930s. The membership nationwide was between 50 and 60 thousand. You can lean more about the this organization at German American Bund: Purpose, Organization, and Historical Facts. Mr. Scott Freeland has prepared a great website and many pictures of Bund articles and rallies, leaders, flags, etc. He also gives a great analysis of the inner workings of the Bund organization. We knew many members of the organization in their later years. They were to a man patriotic Americans proud of their linage to the German fatherland. They were men of high character and ethics. The pin is in genuine ‘800’ silver and is so marked on the back. It measures about 3/4 inch high. It shows the swastika rising in rays to the sun culminating in ‘AV’ for “Auslands Verein.” This meant organization of Germans living outside of Germany. It’s a beautifully designed insignia and a very rare historically important item. There were letter openers, porcelain pieces, flags, rings, etc., that bore this logo. When they show up they usually bring huge prices, but since we were fortunate enough to purchase the Stuttgart lot, we can offer this important insignia at a very reasonable price.
PRICE: $135.00 |
|
||
|
Volksbund für das Deutschtum in Ausland (Item G-ABUND 1-6; PINS 6-5) |
||
| DESCRIPTION: The Society for Germans Living Abroad was headquartered in Berlin. Its purpose was to represent Germany’s interests, to defend its NS image, and to cultivate friends for the Fatherland. It was originally founded in 1917, and then it went by the name “Deutsches Auslands Institute” in Stuttgart. It represented from its inception, a response to the increasing “Volkish” concern of many Germans for their brothers outside the Reich. After the success of the National Socialists in 1933, the DAI increased its importance. In 1934, a leadership shakeup was carried out which brought the agency more closely into line with NS intentions and agenda. It was at this time that the new organizational name was changed to the VDA. In the United States, the VDA effort assumed major significance because of the activities of the German-American Bund. The basic purpose of the Ausland organization and the VDA was the cultural, social, and economic care of all German nationals in foreign countries regardless of whether they were party members or American Bund members. The VDA organization in this sense was to be a bridge between Germans abroad and the home country. Its purpose was to foster and maintain love for and establish ties with the distant home country and to keep alive understanding for the modern agenda of the “new Germany.” The German abroad throughout his dignified, upright bearing was to make himself popular in the land of his adoption and thus act as the best representative of his Fatherland. The lapel pin is about the size of an American dime and is beautifully enameled and designed with the VDA initials in black on silver. In the center is a floral design that looks like a palm tree. On the back is the name of the manufacturer Hoffstätter Bonn with “Ges. Gesch.” This is an extremely rare Third Reich pin.
PRICE: SOLD |
|
||
|
DAWA Stickpin of the Deutsche American Bund (Item G-ABUND 1-7; PINS 6-6) |
||
| DESCRIPTION: This is the smallest and the rarest of all National Socialist-inspired insignia in the form of a stickpin. It is the official badge of the German-American Businessmen's Association, founded in New York by said businessmen to counter the Jewish-led boycott of German-made goods. DAWA sought to discourage shopping in Jewish-owned stores and to promote shopping in German-owned stores. Establishments supporting DAWA carried the DAWA insignia in their windows and were listed in a directory. Individuals were encouraged to wear DAWA lapel pins. In April 1934, Dr. Francis Just and Reverend Carl Krepper organized in Essex County a DAWA branch. By the end of the month DAWA stickers appeared in the work in Irvington businesses. By August the German-American alliance had published numerous directories in New Jersey and New York. The organization made it clear that the Jewish-led boycott harmed America because Germany was one of America's best trade partners. The pin that was worn by the members bore no swastika because even Jewish people who still loved the German Fatherland actually supported the DAWA. It was a necessary tactic in the minds of many Germans as well as other Americans who thought that the Jews were angling to get America into a war with Germany by insidious means! Where have we heard this recently? Something similar at least! The pin is truly tiny; perhaps a quarter of an inch in diameter. It has the German eagle in black enamel finish with the initials DAWA in white across the face and red sunrays below. We cannot overemphasize the historical importance and rarity of this pin. It was given by an old member of the Buffalo, New York Bund to one of our staff.
PRICE: SOLD |
|
||
|
Swastika Stickpin of Arnold Leese’s Imperial Fascist League (Item G-ABUND 1-8) |
||
| DESCRIPTION: This is a swastika stickpin in blue enamel; blue signifying loyalty! Arnold Spencer Leese, 1877-1956, was a fascist politician and anti-Semite born in Lytham, Lancashire, England. He was so hysterical in his anti-Jewish outreach that he even accused rival fascists such as Sir Oswald Mosley of the British Union of Fascists of being soft on “the chosen ones.” He was one of the last fascist leaders to be interned in the UK at the beginning of WWII. He edited his own magazine, Gothic Ripples. This stationary-style swastika, similar to the NS mobile swastika, was used by Leese and his followers. The back of the stickpin has the word “sterling” and the pin is in fact enameled on fine silver.
PRICE: $85.00; rare |
|
|||||||||
|
German Bund Ring (Item G-ABUND 1-9) |
|||||||||
| DESCRIPTION: This is a beautiful silver ring that has designed by Herr Franz Schnell, the man whose entire jewelry shop we managed to buy at the Stuttgart show a few years ago. See About Our Rings and Silver Insignia. As far as is known, Herr Schnell was the only maker for the insignia who produced such material in silver. His son told us that Franz had a relative in the U.S. who was a member of the Bund, who no doubt was the man who promoted the order for rings and silver lapel pins. We don’t know if the items were ever shipped to the U.S., however, and would appreciate it if someone could shed some light on that aspect. These pieces of fine jewelry bear the ‘A.V’ for ‘Auslands Verein’ that stood for Germans living abroad. More information about the Bund can be seen at Item G-BUND 1-1. On this page the ring has a black enameled top with the ‘AV’ symbol and on both the sides it has the American federal eagle with uplifted wings. Bund members retained a love for the land of their birth or heritage, but were supportive and patriotic to their adopted land, as well. Although the Bund was the largest and most famous of all right-wing organizations it was the least understood and most maligned by distorted media coverage by yellow-rag journalists who in that time were already honing up for the lies and garbage spewed by the same types that exist today such as O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, and Glen Beck, masters of prevarication and baiting technique. A good source of background on the German-American Bund can be found by searching “German American Bund, purpose, organization, and historical facts.” This will give you a good background on the Bund and its agendas. You can also see some great pictures of historic events and articles of ceremony and fraternity. The site is run by Scott Freeland in Texas. Also, look at the other Bund items on our page. The ring is certainly rare and whether the members of the organization ever did wear them is unknown to us. We do know that this jeweler produced a number of them, but it just may be that the enemies of the Bund and of the German or German-American people may have prevailed in destroying the organization before shipment could have been accomplished. Schnell’s son seemed to indicate that the pins both in brass and silver were sent to New York, but he did not know about the rings. We only know that the intention to supply them was certainly on the agenda. They are beautifully designed and the swastika above the column of light emanating from the ‘AV’ designation looks like it’s in the third-dimensional form (a very unusual artistic effect). The ring is die struck in ‘835’ silver and is so stamped inside the shank. The enamel is of the finest jet-black quality. Naturally the rings are in mint condition; one of the nicest looking NS rings and with very important historical value as well.
PRICE: 395.00 |
Page One |
Please refer to item designator in parentheses in all correspondence.
Please E-mail for any additional information you may need.If you prefer, contact 'Germania' at PO Box 68, Lakemont, GA 30552
or call at 706.782.1668.
Please! do not call during the wee hours of the morning. The best time for calling us is between 10 and 11 am and between 9 and 11 pm eastern time.