Original Item: One-of-a-kind. Brown was to become the official color of the N.S.D.A.P. and S.A. by circumstance rather than design. A large stockpile of discounted, surplus WWI tropical brown shirts and fabric, intended for wear in East Africa, were located in Austria in 1924 and purchased by the NSDAP as a temporary measure to bring uniformity of dress to their party members. In November of 1926 the brown shirt was officially introduced, and retained, as the basic uniform item for the N.S.D.A.P. and S.A., and was eventually adopted by other political organizations such as the H.J., D.A.F., and the N.S.K.K..

This is a very nice example of a German WWII SA "Brown Shirt" uniform tunic, complete with an original armband and a great set of matching breeches. The tunic shows some great light period wear, and is outfitted with some lovely insignia, which are totally correct. The only marking we could find is a small 40 size tag at the rear of the collar. The tunic features a 5 button front closure, with three magnetic silver buttons in the middle, and plastic waist and collar buttons. It has two pleated chest pockets with scalloped flaps, also retained by silver buttons. The interior is unlined except for the rear shoulder area, which has some white cotton lining. The shirt has all the correct insignia for the period, including a multi-piece NSDAP / SA armelbinde (armband) on the left sleeve, which is held in place by red tack stitches. It shows some wear, and we did not see any RZM tag on the interior.

The kragenpatten (collar tabs) both have Apfel-grün (Apple Green) backgrounds, which with the silver buttons and "pips" indicates they were a member of SA Gruppe Thüringen (Thuringia), a district in central Germany, with the principal cities being Weimar and Erfurt. The officer grade schulterklappe (shoulder strap) has an apple green base, correct for this group, and features the correct two rows of silver bullion twisted double cord piping. The style of insignia used by the SA changed several times, however we are confident on the meaning of the shoulder strap in this case. The right collar tab is the unit tab, and in this case has a gold lightning bolt next to the number 6. This may stand for "Sturm 6", in which case it is a very early tunic and group. The left collar tab has three rank "pips" with no other devices, indicating the rank of SA-Sturmführer (SA-Storm leader), equivalent to a Heer Army Leutnant or U.S. Army 2nd Lieutenant. They would have been involved in leadership of company size units.

The included breeches are in excellent condition, showing only light wear on the seat and bottoms of the legs. They feature a front button fly with four hidden buttons topped with a larger button that fastens to the interior, and there is a securing strap to the right with two smaller buttons as well. The front features two diagonal waist slash pockets, as well as a small "pocket watch" pock near the waist, and the rear right seat has a horizontal pocket with a button-closed scalloped flap. The bottoms of the legs are narrow with eight button closures, so that they can fit inside boots. We also noticed that the inner side of the lower legs is heavily reinforced against wear.

A very nice example of an SA "Brown Shirt" NCO tunic and breeches uniform set with some lovely insignia and an original armband. Ready to research and display!

The S.A.-
TheSturmabteilung, literally Storm Detachment, was the NSDAP Party's original paramilitary. It played a significant role in Adolf AH's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s. Its primary purposes were providing protection for NSDAP rallies and assemblies, disrupting the meetings of opposing parties, fighting against the paramilitary units of the opposing parties, especially the Red Front Fighters League (Rotfrontkämpferbund) of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD), and intimidating Romani, trade unionists, and, especially, Jews – for instance, during the NSDAP boycott of Jewish businesses.

The SA were also called the "Brownshirts" (Braunhemden) from the color of their uniform shirts, similar to Benito Mussolini's blackshirts. The SA developed pseudo-military titles for its members, with ranks that were later adopted by several other NSDAP Party groups, chief amongst them the Schutzstaffel (SS), which originated as a branch of the SA before being separated. Brown-colored shirts were chosen as the SA uniform because a large number of them were cheaply available after World War I, having originally been ordered during the war for colonial troops posted to Germany's former African colonies.

The SA became disempowered after Adolf AH ordered the "blood purge" of 1934. This event became known as the Night of the Long Knives (die Nacht der langen Messer). The SA continued to exist, but was effectively superseded by the SS, although it was not formally dissolved until after NSDAP Germany's final capitulation to the Allies in 1945.