Original Item: Only One Available. The NSDAP, Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, (National Socialist German Worker’s Party), was originally founded in Munich as the DAP, Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, (German Worker’s Party), on January 5TH 1919. When Adolf AH joined the DAP in the autumn of 1919 he was to reform what was basically a debating society into an active political party. Appointed as the first chairman of the party on July 29TH 1921 AH was to restructure it along para-military lines in a hierarchy of four levels of government.

One of the key events to help unify the party and solidify the mythology behind der führer Adolf were the Reichsparteitag (Reich Party Congress) events, which took place with some regularity during the 1920s, and then every year following the NSDAP seizure of power in 1933. More commonly known as the "Nuremberg Rallies", they were exceedingly important to the idea of the "third reich", as Nürnberg had been the "unofficial capital" of the Holy Roman Empire, which the NSDAP referred to as the "first reich", with the German empire of 1871 to 1918 being the "second reich". Having annual meetings there was of exceptional importance during the pre-war years, and the local service industry was glad for the business.

It was not however always that way, and when the NSDAP was smaller, many of the most prestigious hotels turned them away during the party congresses. One hotel that didn't would become the most famous in Germany during the NSDAP period: Der Deutsche Hof (The German Court) near the railway station in Nürnberg. It was at this hotel during the 1933 "Victory" congress that Adolf H declared Nuremberg the "Soul of German Heritage", and declared that all future rallies would take place in the city. After this, money funneled into the city, rebuilding the city walls and expanding businesses throughout the city.

However, der Führer never forgot Der Deutsche Hof, and he and the top brass of the party would stay there during the Party Congress days. The hotel would even go on to advertise itself as “das Haus des Führers in Nürnberg!” (the Führer's house in Nuremberg), and there are many period photos showing him at the hotel reviewing various NSDAP paramilitary groups as they marched by. The silver service articles used in the dining room of Der Deutsche Hof after 1933 were selected very much to meet the tastes of the Adolf H, and were classic plain items rather heavy in weight, and made from plated Alpaca alloy (German Silver / Neusilber). These were marked with the name of the hotel, and would have a wreathed swas (hook cross) somewhere on the piece, indicating that it was made officially for the party.

This is a textbook example of one such piece, a silver soup spoon measuring 7 1/8" in length with a bowl 1 1/2" at the widest. It is clearly marked with a wreathed NSDAP Swas at the bottom of the handle, and has a nice border around the handle. The reverse is marked exactly like many other examples we have seen, with maker mark BSF 90 inside a rectangle next to a script Platura, probably their brand name for plated silverware. "BSF" stands for Bremer Silberwarenfabrik, and the 90 indicates the weight in grams used for silvering 12 forks and 12 spoons, with "90" being the most common. The end of the handle is marked Hotelbetriebsges.m.b.H., which translates to "Hotel Management Company". The soup spoon is in very good shape, showing light wear overall, and a lovely tarnished patina.

Definitely a great piece for any German WWII silverware collector!