Original German Pre-WWII SS Member’s Wool & Rayon Armband with BeVo SS RZM Tag Found At Berchtesgaden Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available: The SS (Schutzstaffel – ‘Protection Squadron’) was originally formed in 1925, ostensibly to act as a small, loyal bodyguard unit to protect the Führer, Adolf AH. Under the direction of the Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, the SS grew to be the most ruthless and feared organization of the 20th century. They were the vanguard of NSDAPsm and eventually controlled nearly every function of German life and much of Occupied Europe.

This is a very good service used condition Member’s Kampfbinde (Armband), with a red woven wool band, and a multipiece rayon moire material swas (hook cross) sewn onto the front. This armband is more or less identical to the standard armband of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, abbreviated NSDAP), except for the black rayon borders on the edges.

The back is very faintly marked BERTES / GARDEN with what looks to be pencil or something similar, indicating that it was picked up in the Berchtesgaden region on the German-Austrian border. During the NSDAP period the area became an Alpine retreat for the Elite of the party.

The inner side still features the original ((RZM)) tag with the number 156 / 37 next to the ((ᛋᛋ)) Doppelte Siegrune (Double Sig/Victory Rune) insignia. Unfortunately there are few records on the SS supplier numbers, so we are not able to tell which company made this example, however we have seen this exact same marking before. Research indicates that this type of tag was used before 1938, when the move was made to less expensive paper tags.

The armband is in very nice service used condition, measuring approximately 16″ x 4 3/4″, and his hand stitched together in the back. There are some stitch holes and cut stitches on the edges, and it also has a cut/ tear through one edge about 2 inches long, so it definitely looks to have been attached to a uniform at some point. It was probably hastily removed as the area was being overrun. There is some wear to the wool band, as well as a few small moth nips. There is also age toning and staining to the circle around the swas, so it did see some degree of exposure to the elements.

A great service used example of a rare armband, still with the original early issue BeVo RZM tag and linked to a famous NSDAP retreat!

Long an “alpine retreat” area for the Bavarian nobility, in the 1920s NSDAP Party Leader A H began vacationing in the area. He purchased a home in Obersalzberg in the 1930s, and would then begin work on the famous Berghof mountain retreat. As other top Third Reich figures, such as Hermann Göring, Joseph Goebbels, Martin Bormann, Heinrich Himmler, and Albert Speer, began to frequent the area the Party began to purchase and requisition land in the Obersalzberg.

The entire area was upgraded and improved to better serve as an outpost of the Reichskanzlei (Imperial Chancellery), with required improvements to infrastructure and roads. A barracks for the SS was built, to serve as a guard for the high command of the NSDAP. Rumors were also spread as part of a propaganda plan regarding an “Alpine Redoubt” for the leadership to retreat to before fleeing the country. While these were never acted on, the Allies were concerned enough that bombing runs were launched against the mountain retreat in April 1945, which heavily damaged the Berghof and other buildings in the area. It would later be captured by U.S. forces, with little to no resistance.