Original German WWII DAF Labor Front Ortsgruppe Hochheide Hand Painted Plywood Sign – 38 ½” × 30 ¾” Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. The DAF (Deutsche Arbeitsfront or German Labor Front) was a National Socialist trade union that supplanted independent free trade unions once the NSDAP came to power in Germany. These had all been dissolved at the beginning of May 1933, with help from the SA. The DAF was established to replace the unions and to educate the workers in industry and commerce for smooth and efficient operation of all labor in the Third Reich. In October 1934 the DAF was given official status as a sub-section of the NSDAP and in March 1936 it was recognized as an independent NSDAP affiliated association and granted control of its own monetary budget. With this money it was able to procure its own signs and other insignia.

As with the Labor Unions it replaced, the DAF had numerous chapters, often arranged at the Ortsgruppe (Local Group) level. This is a very nice hand painted plywood sign for Deutsche Arbeitsfront Ortsgruppe Hochheide, which measures an impressive 38 ½” × 30 ¾”. The sign shows the DAF 14 tooth cog gear emblem in the upper right, and has an arrow at the bottom, presumably pointing the way to the local group office. From what we can tell, Hochheide is an area to the West of Duisberg. The sign was painted on a plywood signboard, and definitely shows age toning and some fading of the colors. There is also some splitting and chipping at the edge of the sign.

Signs of this nature were quickly destroyed after the fall of Germany in April 1945, ones like this were salvaged by USGIs who wanted to bring home a trophy of war. Therefore, finding authentic signs from the Third Reich has become quite difficult in the collector’s market. Ready to research and display!