Original German WWII 1st Pattern RLB Embroidered Armband by E.B. & S. Barmen Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice German WWII first Pattern RLB (Reichs Luftschutz Bund – Air Protection Group) Cotton Armband. The blue cotton band is still very soft with a great color, with the embroidered “RLB” over a Swas (Swas) in a starburst organizational emblem of the Reichsluftschutzbund still in excellent condition. Also, the back of the RLB armband is manufacturer marked by E.B. & S. in Barmen, Germany, which later became part of Wuppertal. Also noted is GES. GESCH., for Gesetzlich Geschutzt (Protected By Law), indicating that this knife was a trademarked design.

All in all this is a very fine RLB Armband, with some areas of light color toning due to age. These are always hard to find, especially in such nice condition.

History of the RLB

The RLB was organized by Hermann Göring in 1933 as a voluntary association. Existing volunteer air raid precaution associations were then forced to merge with RLB. In 1939 the RLB became a Körperschaft des öffentlichen Rechts (quasi-autonomous non-governmental organization), while in 1944 it became an affiliated organization of the NSDAP Party. It was in charge of educating and training ordinary German men and women in civil defense procedures necessary for the basic level of local self-help of the civil population against air raids. The local level was formed around air raid wardens and operated in small first intervention squads. The training include fire fighting, protection against chemical weapons, communication procedures and preparation of houses and apartments against air raids.