Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice totally genuine Pre-WWII Late Weimer Pattern (1929-33) steel belt buckle (Koppelschloß) for the German Steel Helmet League – Der Stahlhelmbund. This was a post-WWI Veteran’s organization, which was eventually absorbed into the Nationalsozialistische – Reichskriegerbund (National Socialist Reich Warriors Association / NS-RKB) once the NSDAP had fully taken over.
It is a slightly convex, stamped steel single piece box type buckle, with a large stylized Weimar Eagle on a smooth field. The Eagle is perched on a shield with a German steel helmet in the center, which is embossed with Der Stahlhelm. The rear catch is spot welded in place. Belt buckle is in good condition, with a lot of the original heavy field gray finish present, with some light oxidation on the back. The rear is not maker marked, as with almost all examples seen.
Overall a Great example of a very interesting buckle from Pre-WWII Era Germany!
History of the Steel Helmet League
Der Stahlhelmbund (The Steel-helmet-league) was conceived as a national veterans’ organization by Franz Seldte in November of 1918, and was officially founded on Christmas day of that year. It was mostly comprised of WWI veterans trying to assimilate back into what was then a devastated society. The Stahlhelm became the largest of the post-war veterans’ groups, incorporating many of the smaller “Freikorps” groups into it. Most of its members were assimilated by the SA in 1933, and it was disbanded in 1935, with its remaining members absorbed by the DRKB (Deutscher Reichskriegerbund), which, in turn, was absorbed by the NS-RKB (Nationalsozialistische – Reichskriegerbund) in 1938.