Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice service used example of a WWII German Red Cross (DRK) Officer's Brocade Dress Belt Buckle (Koppelschloß). This buckle features multi-piece aluminum construction, with a 50mm, slightly convex, round central portion, with a clip on the back, and still has the box loop attached to the back. Also included is the matching box loop with size adjustment clip for the other side of the belt.

The front of the buckle a large pebbled field, with an eagle with down-swept wings clutching a "Red Cross" in its talons and with a mobile swas (hook cross) to its breast. This is all surrounded by an open-topped wreath of laurels. This buckle would normally be attached to a silver bullion "brocade" belt, used on dress occasions. Unfortunately we only have the buckle, and not the belt, and they are exceedingly rare.

The buckle is in very good condition, showing wear and some oxidation, particularly on the box loop. A very attractive display piece that still retains all of the detail on the insignia. Also on the back is GES. GESCH. / 1, for "Gesetzlich Geschützt" (By-law Protected). We are not sure if the 1 is a maker code, but the buckle is otherwise unmarked. It may be a Pre-RZM designation.

A very nice example of a rare WWII German Red Cross (DRK) buckle, complete with the adjustment clip and ready to display!

History of the German Red Cross (DRK)

The DRK, "Deutsches Rotes Kreuz" (German Red Cross), a voluntary civil assistance organization originally instituted in 1864, was officially acknowledged by the Geneva Convention in 1929. In December 1937 it gained status as a legally recognized organization by the NSDAP. As with other essential services in Third Reich Germany, it came under control of the NSDAP in late 1938 under the auspices of the Ministry of the Interior's Social Welfare Organization.