Original German WWII 1938 dated RAD Labor Service Dress Brocade Belt by F. W. Assmann & Söhne – Relic Condition Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a relic condition WWII German Reichsarbeitsdienst (RAD – National Labor Service) Officer’s Bullion Dress Brocade Belt, with attached aluminum buckle. These belts were worn with the dress uniform for ceremonial occasions, and were standard issue to all officers with their dress uniform.

The belt is a die struck/stamped, aluminum alloy based construction that has been silver washed. It depicts the RAD shovelhead logo, which has a canted Swas (Swas) in the middle, with 5 sheaves of wheat surrounding it on the perimeter of the buckle.

The buckle is attached by a double square ring to a woven bright silver/aluminum construction brocade belt. The belt pattern has three horizontal lines, and the two sliding vertical loops have the same pattern. These help hold the belt ends in place.  The reverse is lined in a nice Green Field Gray fabric, and the length is adjusted with a hook that fits into eyelets on the left side of the belt. Unfortunately, the belt itself has deteriorated significantly since WWII. This looks to be a combination of wear, storage issues, and mothing. Wool was a very common component of these belts, and if improperly stored for a long period, it can deteriorate as well as suffer damage from clothing moths. The original green fabric of this example is now a more brown color, indicating it was probably stored for a long time in a hot attic.

The back of the buckle clip is marked with the “barred A” trademark logo of  F. W. Assmann & Söhne of Lüdenscheid, a large maker of belts, buttons, and other accoutrements. Below this is the DRGM marking, indicating it is a trademarked design, and 38. for the year of manufacture. The buckle is in good shape, with light wear, and clear frosting, and the opposing clasp is just as nice. 

A very nice relic condition German Officer’s Brocade belt, ready to display!

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.