Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice WWII German Reichsarbeitsdienst (RAD - National Labor Service) wall plaque, featuring cast and plate non magnetic metal components attached to an oval wooden backing plate measuring 17 3/4"H x 11 3/4"W. The center of the plaque has an RAD shovelhead insignia attached, which looks to be sand cast aluminum, which measures 9 3/8" x 9", and this is above a stamped metal plaque reading as follows:

( R A D )
REICHSARBEITDIENST
"Arbeit adelt"
NUERNBERG - 1936
                         HIRL

We assume that this plaque was given to the branch of the organization in Nuremberg in 1936, possibly to indicate the year it was formed. There is unfortunately not much information out there on the purpose of these wall plaques, but they seem to have some in various different sizes and configurations. This example is unmarked on the reverse except for a faint Reichsadler Eagle stamp near the bottom. It is in very good condition, and would make a great addition to any collection. Very interesting, with some great research potential!

The basis of the RAD, Reichsarbeitsdienst, (National Labor Service), dates back, at least, to 1929 with the formation of the AAD (Anhalt Arbeitsdienst) and the FAD-B (Freiwillingen Arbeitsdienst-Bayern).  Shortly after AH’s appointment as Chancellor in Jan 1933, the NSDAP consolidated all labor organizations into the NSAD (Nationalsozialist Arbeitsdienst), a national labor service. It served as an agency to help mitigate the effects of unemployment on the German economy, militarize the workforce and indoctrinate it with NSDAP ideology. It was the official state labor service, divided into separate sections for men and women.

On June 26 1935 the NSAD was officially re-designated RAD, and from then onward, men aged between 18 and 25 may have served six months before their military service. During World War II compulsory service also included young women and the RAD developed to an auxiliary formation which provided support for the Wehrmacht armed forces. The RAD was divided into two major sections, one for men (Reichsarbeitsdienst Männer - RAD/M) and the voluntary, from 1939 compulsory, section for young women (Reichsarbeitsdienst der weiblichen Jugend - RAD/wJ).