Original Items: Only One Lot of 2 Available. The "armband system" was instituted by the NSDAP Party in 1939 at the same time that the political leadership ranks were expanded into their final form. The purpose of the armband system was to denote positional titles within the NSDAP Party in contrast to a party member's political rank.

There were three groupings of armbands, classified as "operational", "administrative", and "command". The operational armbands were used by Party political leaders on the local and county levels and were worn by those Party leaders directly engaged in implementing Party policies to the public. During World War II, this was most often associated with food rationing, war relief efforts, and civil defense.

The administrative armbands were worn by office staff across all levels of the party, although mostly were used by the regional staff of the Gauleiters. The third, and least common of the armbands, were the command armbands worn by the Deputy Gauleiters, Gauleiters, and Reichsleiters.

The Party armbands were intended for immediate implementation upon the outbreak of World War II in 1939, although it was not until 1943 that the system was in total effect. Even then, photographic evidence reveals it was not uncommon for some political leaders to simply wear the pre-1939 bare swas armband, with some photographs as late as 1945 revealing political leaders failing to wear the appropriate NSDAP positional armband.

The Armbands In This Lot:

- Deutsche Wehrmacht Embroidered Armband: The yellow Deutsche Wehrmacht armband was worn by uniformed German personnel, who were attached to the Armed Forces during WWII. Often, these were worn by men of the Reichsarbeitsdienst and Reichsbahn who were operating with the German Army in the occupied countries. It has a textbook BeVO woven insignia, and measures 14" x 3 7/8", with the ends sewn together in the back. It does not have any depot stamps, and shows a bit of light staining and fraying on the edges.

- Hilfs=Krankenträger (Stretcher Bearer) Embroidered Armband: This is a lovely example of a 1st pattern armband. It is made out of an off-white cotton base that has a black machine embroidered cotton inscription. The obverse reads: "Hilfs-Krankentrager" (Stretcher Bearers) in black, which is surrounded by a black rectangular border and all lies on the white base. Measures 14 3/4" x 4", and is sewn together in the back. It shows some light staining, but no damage.

This is a lovely lot of armbands. Comes more than ready for display.