Jump to content
News Ticker
  • I am now accepting the following payment methods: Card Payments, Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal
  • Latest News

    Recommended Posts

    • 11 years later...

    Matthew,

    Have you ever seen this badge before, or know anything about it?

    It was shown on an old forum about 25 years ago, I saved the picture but have never seen another.  Unfortunately only the obverse image was shown...

    The eagle & Swaz look a little crude to me.

    Don

    Gau Traditions-Abzichen of the Auslandsorganisation of the NSDAP.jpg

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    Yes, I have. It is my unicorn.

    Believe it or not, it is a Gau Traditionsabzeichen of the AO. The last and only Gau badge most have never heard of.

    SInce the AO of NSDAP was organized as a Gau, with a Gauleiter as its leader, he (Wilhelm Bohle) was also authorized to bestow their Gau badges. The guidelines were the same as they were for other Gaue- recognition of recipients' service to the Party in their Gau (which in this case consisted of many).

    It has been said that three of such badges have been awarded. No source have been given unfortunately. 

    I think it might be higher myself but that is juts my opinion and observation based on what happened to survive.

    I have more pics at the other comp and will post them when I get to work.

    This one shown has surfaced at HH Auction in the early 80's. It sold quickly for what was back then an ungodly sum of close to 10.000 DM and...was never seen again since. Obviously whoever wrote a cheque that day, knew exactly what he/she was buying.

    Many serious collectors and researchers have tried to find it since, all with the same result. Some background info can be found here as written by B. Stump and O. Spronk: https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1978

    Another, incomplete badge was found (its wreath disc missing) that gave us an idea of its construction and its maker (I want to say Lauer but let me check on the other comp). It was auctioned off by Thies a year or two back.

    Funny thing you mentioned the eagle- if you look closely, you will realize it is a piece you have seen many times before but in a slightly larger format. It is actually a railway eagle design with its head turned the other way.

    Handsome badge and a virtual impossibility to find, unfortunately.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    Excellent informtion Matthew, thank you.  I have spent many years wondering about it, glad that I kept the picture now.  I look forward to seeing more pictures if you are willing to share them, thank you.

    And yes, I can see the railroad eagle now that you mention it.

    Been a goos week for me what with the Gau Baden info as well....

    Many thanks again.

    Don

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    Here's the pic of its verso. The article was written by O. Spronk and if memory serves it has been published in one of the issues of Military Advisor.

    index.png

     

     

     

    And here is the badge (most of it, anyways) sold couple of years ago. It shows its three piece construction and it looks like it was put together from leftover parts (bent wire instead of rivets + tinnie hardware instead of the barrel/hinge & catch as seen on the previous one). Whether it was put together by Lauer or someone else is unknown. In fact, chances are it was not made by Lauer, although based on the state of hardware vs badge plate, its aging and plating, I believe it was.

     

    index-5.jpg

    index-4.jpg

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    It's great to finally see what the reverse set up is like, thank you.

    Thank you also for the pictures of the "unfinished" piece.  I see some differences between the eagle & Swaz on these pieces, whilst the Swastika looks more defined on the "unfinished" piece, the eagle's head leaves something to be desired LOL.

    Thank you again for answering a 25 year old question for me.

    Don

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    Create an account or sign in to comment

    You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

    Create an account

    Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

    Register a new account

    Sign in

    Already have an account? Sign in here.

    Sign In Now
    ×
    ×
    • Create New...

    Important Information

    We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.