Robin Lumsden

Stefan. That's all there is, I'm afraid. It's a small picture.

The bottom line is......the Grand Cross ranked higher than the RKs and all their add-ons, no matter how they were earned.

No problem Taff. It's a pleasure to help out a GENUINE guy.

Taff. CALL OFF THE SEARCH! I have found what you are looking for. Here is Alfred Rosenberg's Reichsleiter's ID card, signed by Bormann. It shows clearly that Rosenberg's NSDAP number was 18. So far as I'm concerned, that is incontravertible proof that the badge you have belonged to Rosenberg. Rosenberg was one of the oldest of the Old Guard........for a purist collector of these badges, I think your badge could only be beaten by someone coming up with Hitler's......and that ain't going to happen. Congratulations Taff. You've got one of the most desirable GPBs in the world. No exaggeration.

Here's Fred with his larger GPB...........

As confirmed above, Rosenberg was never in the SS. This was always a bone of contention with Himmler, as Rosenberg proved a continual thorn in the side of the SS while Reich Minister for the Occupied Eastern Territories. In short, the SS wanted to work the eastern population to death, while Rosenberg wanted to keep them fit enough to serve the armaments industry/war production for the long haul. Himmler offered Rosenberg an SS General's rank on several occasions (keeping in mind that all SS men owed a personal allegiance to Himmler), but Rosenberg told him to 'get stuffed'. He thereby maintained his independence from the SS, which was no mean feat in the east. Himmler's race chief in Russia, SS-Gruf. Hofmann, said at one point that 'The East would belong to the SS'. Rosenberg prevented that.

Jerome. Many thanks! If you ever need anything from me, just ask. Personally, I think that the painting has been copied from the postcard photo with the Duke of Brunswick's face put in! Cheers and thanks again. Robin.

No problem. That is simply the best GPB I have seen........including all these 'AH' etc. types. That thing just screams at you. Unfortunately, I don't know who '18' related to. Julius Schaub's badge was numbered '81' and sold back in 1982 for ?1300. Obviously, that was almost 25 years ago. If that IS Rosenberg's badge, it's worth a small fortune. I have no doubt that someone here will know the answer.......perhaps 'Gold Party Badge Guy' who is a specialist in this area.

Jerome. That's great! Many thanks indeed.

Robert. In English, a 'freebooter' is another name for a pirate. This DJ/HJ unit appear to have called themselves 'The Pirates'.......simple as that. Quite a number of DJ and HJ units used skulls on their pennants.

That is one SUPERB badge!

I agree. It's very plain and simple. But otherwise the construction, size, leather strap placements, etc. etc. all point to it being such a panel. There are plenty Imperial experts over here......but it's still a bit of a mystery.

This is the nearest you'll get to an original Nazi balloon badge........

and again......

Having just come across the attached kettle drum panels for Panzer Regiment 7, I'm now pretty sure in my own mind that the thing that started this thread is a part of a LHR1 drum panel cover after all.

You made my day!

Sorry, but that's a copy. Originals were in steel, with a few in zinc. Fakes are usually in brass or cast zinc.

Mystery solved! Rick was right (as usual). The photo shows the actor Willi Fritsch as he appeared in the 1937 film 'Menschen Ohne Vaterland', which was about the Freikorps. He played Oberleutnant Maltzach, of the Baltic FK. Here he is on a publicity cigarette card............

Paul. Just to clarify. In my opinion the TKs are real. I just doubt whether they originally belonged to those tabs.

I tend to agree with the post above. Here's the back of the army tab Paul, as requested......

Here's an HG man with unpiped tabs, mid-war.

Here's another......from the army.

Paul. I'll leave the time-span of the waffenfarbe etc. to others more knowledgeable about Luftwaffe items. What I can tell you is that the skulls are original, but late. That type was never seen before 1944. So if the piping was discontinued early on, the skulls could have been added later. Do the skulls look worn/pitted to you.......a bit more worn than the tabs? Here's the only HG tab I have, for comparison.........the skulls on earlier LW tabs should be more like this. Standard army type.

We had the Andrews Sisters..........or was it the Beverly Sisters. They had the Himmler Brothers. That Barber Shop singing just made these SA tuffies crumble.

The bottom line is......Himmler subdued the SA through sheer fear and terror. Let's face it. Who would argue with this guy........