Original Item: Only One Available. This is an original German WWII Reichsarbeitsdienst RAD large cotton Wimpel pennant flag measuring approximately 48" x 90", or 4' x 7 1/2'. The flag is of single piece printed construction with a predominantly red field and a large white central disc bearing the black RAD emblem of a shovel head flanked by two sheaves of wheat. It retains its original white canvas header and internal white rope halyard with loops at both ends.

The Reichsarbeitsdienst, or RAD, was the German National Labor Service and used a broad range of distinctive flags, pennants, uniforms, and insignia during the Third Reich period. The shovel and wheat emblem was the organization’s principal symbol and represented labor and agricultural service.

This example is constructed from cotton rather than wool, with the design printed directly onto the single piece fabric. Its large 48" x 90" size gives it substantial visual presence, while the red, white, and black design remains bold and well defined.

Condition is very good overall. The fabric shows light age and service wear together with minor staining, but no significant misuse damage was observed. Importantly, there is no visible moth damage. The colors remain well retained and the pennant is substantially complete.

The hoist edge is reinforced with a white canvas header. A white rope halyard runs within the header and terminates in a loop at each end, allowing the pennant to be suspended in the manner intended.

With its large 48" x 90" format, classic RAD shovel and wheat emblem, single piece printed wool construction, complete canvas header, and original rope halyard with end loops, this is an attractive and well preserved example of Reich Labor Service organizational insignia. The light overall wear and minor staining are fully disclosed. It would display especially well in a Reichsarbeitsdienst, German WWII flag, labor service, political organization, or advanced Third Reich textile collection.

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).