Original Item: Only One Available. This is a lovely Pre WWII German Veteran's Association Flag Pole Finial or Topper (Fahnenstange Endstück). As the name implies, these were attached to the top of flag poles, as an additional indication of the affiliation.

This topper is made from brass, which was then gilt / gold painted and had the insignia highlighted with black and silver paint. It measures 9 3/8 inches in overall height, and is just under 3 3/4 inches wide. The brass socket on the bottom removes from the threaded steel rod on the end of the insignia, and would be left attached to the end of the flag pole with a screw in the beveled hole in the side. This would prevent damage to the more delicate topper when in storage.

The design of this topper is a spearhead-shaped frame which has the 1914 Iron Cross 2nd Class in the center on both sides. There were various different Veteran's groups during the Weimar and early NSDAP periods, and this could have been used by several of them, most likely the Kyffhäuserbund.

Overall it is in very good condition, with no deformation and the original gilding and paint very well retained! We often see these very worn and patinated so this is definitely well above average. Ready to add to any collection!

The Kyffhäuserbund (English: Kyffhäuser League) is an umbrella organization for war veterans' and reservists' associations in Germany, founded in 1900 to unify the various veteran's groups in Germany. It owes its name to the Kyffhäuser Monument (German: Kyffhäuserdenkmal), a memorial built on the summit of the 473 m high Kyffhäuser mountain near Bad Frankenhausen, in the state of Thuringia in central Germany. It was not a political affiliated organization, and was open to all German war veterans.

When the National Socialist party came into party however, as with all national organizations, the group was absorbed under the NSDAP umbrella. In the name of Gleichschaltung (Co-Ordination or NSDAPfication), the Kyffhäuserbund was after the NSDAP takeover of power in 1933. Five years later, its name was altered to NS-Reichskriegerbund ‘Kyffhäuser’ e.V. (National Socialist Reich Warriors Association ‘Kyffhäuser‘), becoming the sole and exclusive organization representing the Veterans´ interests in the Third Reich. The organization would then be disbanded in March of 1943 and its members would be drafted into Volksturm service in 1945, as the fall of WWII Germany approached.