Original Item: Only One Available. This is very nice German WWII Reichs Defense Commission armband, complete with two original issue stamps! It is high quality example, green in color with R.V.K. Melder machine embroidered in black between the two stamps. In this case melder (reporter), indicates use by dispatch riders and other messengers in service to the one of the members Reichs Defense Commission, of which there were only a small number. The armband measures approximately 15 3/4" x 4 1/8", and is sewn together in the back. We have tried to read what the stamps say, however the ink has bled a little, making it a very difficult endeavor.

This is only the first example of an R.V.K. armband of any type that we have had, and they seem to be relatively hard to find. One would expect that there were not many people trusted to serve as messengers / dispatch riders in the service of such high ranking officials. There is a bit of light staining, but it is still a very nice example, and ready to display!

Reich Defense Commissioner (Reichsverteidigungskommissar or RVK) was a governmental position created in Germany at the outbreak of World War II on 1 September 1939. Charged with overall defense of the territory of the German Reich, there was originally one Reich Defense Commissioner for each of 15 Wehrkreise (Military Districts). On 16 November 1942, the geographical scope was reduced to the Gau level, raising the number of Reich Defense Commissioners to 42.

The office of Reich Defense Commissioner was created by the “Ordinance on the Appointment of Reich Defense Commissioners” issued by the Council of Ministers for Defense of the Reich on 1 September 1939. The Reich Defense Commissioners were subordinate to this council and were under the direct supervision of the Reichsminister of the Interior, a member of the Council in his capacity as Generalbevollmächtigter für die Verwaltung (General Plenipotentiary for Administration). One Reich Defense Commissioner was appointed for each of the 15 Wehrkreise (Military Districts) that served as the headquarters of a German Army corps. Each appointee was a Gauleiter of the NSDAP. In addition, most all held the highest governmental position in their jurisdiction, usually being either a Reichsstatthalter (Reich Governor) of a German State or an Oberpräsident (High President) of a Prussian province. (The Commissioners of the two Austrian Wehrkreis would be elevated to the rank of Reichstatthalter in April 1940.) One Commissioner, the Bavarian Interior Minister, headed the two military districts that together comprised the Free State of Bavaria.