Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice example of a German Pre-WWII NSDAP Propaganda Medal, made to commemorate the 21 March 1933 re-opening of the Reichstag following the Reichstag fire, shortly after that month's German federal election. A large ceremony was held involving Reichskanzler Adolf H and Reichspräsident Paul von Hindenburg, with an iconic photo taken of the two shaking hands.

The fire at the Reichstag building, home of the German parliament in Berlin, on Monday, 27 February 1933 was a pivotal moment for the NSDAP movement to seize power, as it was used to fuel more Anti-Communist sentiment by alleging that it was part of a large plan. Most evidence pointed to it being the work of a lone arsonist, Marinus van der Lubbe, with some even claiming it was a "false flag" event. The NSDAP was able to use the event to get Hindenburg to give more emergency powers to the chancellor. It was a huge propaganda event utilized throughout the seizure of power.

The medal itself measures 36mm in diameter with a thickness of 3mm, and is stamped on the side by maker BAYER. HAUPTMÜNZAMT, or the Bavarian State Mint, a known maker of these medals. The original designer of the medal was Karl Xaver Goetz, based in Munich, who designed many such medals during the WWI and WWII periods. This example looks to be made from gilt brass, making it very attractive. The front of the medal shows the famous image of Adolf H and Hindenburg shaking hands, surrounded by the following inscription:-

ADOLF H***ER · PAUL VON HINDENBURG

The reverse shows the Potsdam Garrison Church with a dove carrying a swas (hook cross) above, meant to indicate that the NSDAP was bringing peace to the country by securing it against the communists. Surrounding the church is the following inscription:-

DER TAG VON POTSDAM 21. MÄRZ 1933

This translates to "Potsdam Day 21 March 1933". The date and location was chosen to pay homage to the opening of the Imperial German Reichstag in Potsdam, 21 March 1871.

Condition is very good, showing only some light oxidation spotting on both sides. A very interesting piece of Third Reich propaganda material!

NSDAP Party

The NSDAP, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of N**ism. Its precursor, the German Workers' Party (Deutsche Arbeiterpartei; DAP), existed from 1919 to 1920. The Party emerged from the extremist German nationalist, racist and populist Freikorps paramilitary culture, which fought against the communist uprisings in post–World War I Germany. The party was created to draw workers away from communism and into völkisch nationalism. Initially, N**i political strategy focused on anti–big business, anti‑bourgeois, and anti‑capitalist rhetoric. This was later downplayed to gain the support of business leaders, and in the 1930s the party's main focus shifted to antisemitic and anti‑Marxist themes.

Ad**f Hi**er, the party's leader since 1921, was appointed Chancellor of Germany by President Paul von Hindenburg on 30 January 1933. Hitl** rapidly established a totalitarian regime known as the Third Reich. Following the defeat of the Third Reich at the end of World War II in Europe, the party was "declared to be illegal" by the Allied powers, who carried out denazification in the years after the war both in Germany and in territories occupied by NSDAP forces. The use of any symbols associated with the party is now outlawed in many European countries, including Germany and Austria.