Original Items: Only One Set of Three Available. This is a lovely set of three German Sports Badges, representing the three grades it was awarded in: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Additionally, the bronze badge in this set is an early Pre-1933 DRA marked example, without the swas (hook cross) at the bottom. The silver and bronze awards are both 1935 pattern DRL marked badges, which have the swas at the bottom. All three are made by WERNSTEIN of JENA, and are in very nice condition. From what we can see, the bronze badge is made from antiqued brass, the silver is made from silvered tombac, and the gold is made from gilt zinc alloy.

A great addition to any German award collection!

The German Sports Badge, also known as the "German National Sports Badge" was first created in the year 1913 and is one of the oldest awards of Germany still in active circulation. The badge has an oak leaf wreath around the overlapping letters DRA, standing for Deutscher Reichsausschuss für Leibesübungen (German National Committee for Physical Education). At first the German Sports Badge was only issued to men for the completion of various physical tests. In 1921 it was renamed to Deutsches Turn- und Sportabzeichen and women were eligible as well.

After the NSDAP takeover in 1933, the design of the badge remained basically the same but a swas was added at its base. Since 1935, the letters "DRL" (Deutscher Reichsbund für Leibesübungen) replaced the letters "DRA". On 1 July 1937 the award was renamed to Deutsche Reichsauszeichnung für Leibesübungen and obtained the status as an official recognised decoration of the state. In 1938, the Austrian Sports Badge was incorporated in the German Sports badge. The last tests for the Deutsche Reichsauszeichnung für Leibesübungen were held in 1944.