
Golden Party Badge
Overview
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
to certain members of the party who merited special attention.
Unanswered Questions
Discussions
Encyclopedia
The Golden Party Badge was a special badge of the Nazi Party. The first 100,000 members who had joined and had uninterrupted service in the Party were given the right to wear it (these were denoted by the party members' number stamped on the reverse). Other Golden Party Badges (with the initials 'A.H.' stamped on the reverse) were awarded at the discretion of Adolf Hitler
to certain members of the party who merited special attention. An identical badge was awarded each year on 30 January to persons who had shown outstanding service to the Party or State.
The Golden Party Badge was the basic Nazi Party Badge with the addition of a gold wreath completely encircling the badge. The badge was awarded in two sizes: 30.5 mm for uniforms and 24 mm for civilian jackets.
The badge was associated with the Alte Kämpfer and those favored by the Führer
, the Nazi Party elite. The Alte Kämpfer
(Old Fighters) was the term used to describe those who joined the NSDAP before 1930. Those who joined the Nazi Party after the party's electoral breakthrough in the September 1930 Reichstag elections were referred to with contempt as Septemberlinge by the Alte Kämpfer. After Adolf Hitler came to power
in 1933, there were a rush of applications from Germans to join the NSDAP. The "Golden Pheasants" regarded these new members with contempt, seeing their applications as more opportunism than idealism. The basic Nazi Party badge that these newer members wore were sarcastically referred to as "Die Angstbrosche" (The Badge of Fear) by the Old Guard.
Adolf Hitler's Golden Party Badge had the number '1'. He awarded it to Magda Goebbels
on 27 April 1945, less than 48 hours before he committed suicide
in his Führerbunker
. She called it, "The greatest honour any German could receive". It was awarded to her for being "The Greatest Mother in the Reich". The '1' badge was stolen from a display in Russia in 2005. The guards thought the burglar that set off alarms was a cat and allowed him to escape.
The only makers of the Golden Party Badge were the firms Joseph Fuess and Deschler & Sohn, both located in Munich.
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
to certain members of the party who merited special attention. An identical badge was awarded each year on 30 January to persons who had shown outstanding service to the Party or State.
The Golden Party Badge was the basic Nazi Party Badge with the addition of a gold wreath completely encircling the badge. The badge was awarded in two sizes: 30.5 mm for uniforms and 24 mm for civilian jackets.
The badge was associated with the Alte Kämpfer and those favored by the Führer
Führer
Führer , alternatively spelled Fuehrer in both English and German when the umlaut is not available, is a German title meaning leader or guide now most associated with Adolf Hitler, who modelled it on Benito Mussolini's title il Duce, as well as with Georg von Schönerer, whose followers also...
, the Nazi Party elite. The Alte Kämpfer
Alter Kämpfer
Alter Kämpfer is a term referring to the earliest members of the Nazi Party, i.e. those who joined it before the Reichstag elections of September 1930, with many belonging to the Party as early as its first foundation in 1919–1923...
(Old Fighters) was the term used to describe those who joined the NSDAP before 1930. Those who joined the Nazi Party after the party's electoral breakthrough in the September 1930 Reichstag elections were referred to with contempt as Septemberlinge by the Alte Kämpfer. After Adolf Hitler came to power
Machtergreifung
Machtergreifung is a German word meaning "seizure of power". It is normally used specifically to refer to the Nazi takeover of power in the democratic Weimar Republic on 30 January 1933, the day Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany, turning it into the Nazi German dictatorship.-Term:The...
in 1933, there were a rush of applications from Germans to join the NSDAP. The "Golden Pheasants" regarded these new members with contempt, seeing their applications as more opportunism than idealism. The basic Nazi Party badge that these newer members wore were sarcastically referred to as "Die Angstbrosche" (The Badge of Fear) by the Old Guard.
Adolf Hitler's Golden Party Badge had the number '1'. He awarded it to Magda Goebbels
Magda Goebbels
Johanna Maria Magdalena "Magda" Goebbels was the wife of Nazi Germany's Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels...
on 27 April 1945, less than 48 hours before he committed suicide
Death of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler committed suicide by gunshot on Monday, 30 April 1945 in his Führerbunker in Berlin. His wife Eva , committed suicide with him by ingesting cyanide...
in his Führerbunker
Führerbunker
The Führerbunker was located beneath Hitler's New Reich Chancellery in Berlin, Germany. It was part of a subterranean bunker complex which was constructed in two major phases, one part in 1936 and the other in 1943...
. She called it, "The greatest honour any German could receive". It was awarded to her for being "The Greatest Mother in the Reich". The '1' badge was stolen from a display in Russia in 2005. The guards thought the burglar that set off alarms was a cat and allowed him to escape.
The only makers of the Golden Party Badge were the firms Joseph Fuess and Deschler & Sohn, both located in Munich.
Notable Recipients
- Adolf HitlerAdolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
- Joseph GoebbelsJoseph GoebbelsPaul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. As one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers, he was known for his zealous oratory and anti-Semitism...
- Hermann Goering
- Heinrich HimmlerHeinrich HimmlerHeinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
- Reinhard HeydrichReinhard HeydrichReinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich , also known as The Hangman, was a high-ranking German Nazi official.He was SS-Obergruppenführer and General der Polizei, chief of the Reich Main Security Office and Stellvertretender Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia...
- Rudolf HessRudolf HessRudolf Walter Richard Hess was a prominent Nazi politician who was Adolf Hitler's deputy in the Nazi Party during the 1930s and early 1940s...
- Karl HankeKarl HankeKarl August Hanke was an official of the National Socialist German Workers Party . He served as governor of Lower Silesia from 1941 to 1945 and as the final Reichsführer-SS for a few days in 1945.- Early life :Hanke was born in Lauban in Silesia, on 24 August 1903, the son of a locomotive...
- Wilhelm KeitelWilhelm KeitelWilhelm Bodewin Gustav Keitel was a German field marshal . As head of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht and de facto war minister, he was one of Germany's most senior military leaders during World War II...
- Richard Darré
- Joachim von RibbentropJoachim von RibbentropUlrich Friedrich Wilhelm Joachim von Ribbentrop was Foreign Minister of Germany from 1938 until 1945. He was later hanged for war crimes after the Nuremberg Trials.-Early life:...
- Viktor LutzeViktor LutzeViktor Lutze was the commander of the Sturmabteilung succeeding Ernst Röhm as Stabschef.-Early life:...
- Hans FrankHans FrankHans Michael Frank was a German lawyer who worked for the Nazi party during the 1920s and 1930s and later became a high-ranking official in Nazi Germany...
- Konstantin von NeurathKonstantin von NeurathKonstantin Freiherr von Neurath was a German diplomat remembered mostly for having served as Foreign minister of Germany between 1932 and 1938...
- Franz Xaver SchwarzFranz Xaver SchwarzFranz Xaver Schwarz was a German politician who served as Reichsschatzmeister of the Nazi Party during most of the Party's existence.-Early life:...
- William Shepman
- Ernst RöhmErnst RöhmErnst Julius Röhm, was a German officer in the Bavarian Army and later an early Nazi leader. He was a co-founder of the Sturmabteilung , the Nazi Party militia, and later was its commander...
- Erhard MilchErhard MilchErhard Milch was a German Field Marshal who oversaw the development of the Luftwaffe as part of the re-armament of Germany following World War I, and served as founding Director of Deutsche Luft Hansa...
- Franz Xaver Ritter von Epp
- Theodor EickeTheodor EickeTheodor Eicke was a SS Obergruppenführer , commander of the SS-Division Totenkopf of the Waffen-SS and one of the key figures in the establishment of concentration camps in Nazi Germany. His Nazi Party number was 114,901 and his SS number was 2,921...
- Artur AxmannArtur AxmannArtur Axmann was the German Nazi leader of the Hitler Youth from 1940 through war's end in 1945.-Early life:Axmann was born in Hagen on 18 February 1913...
- Alfred MeyerAlfred MeyerDr. Alfred Meyer was a Nazi official, achieving the rank of Staatssekretär and Deputy Reichsminister in the Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories .-Early life:Meyer was born in Göttingen, the son of a government official...
- Otto-Heinrich DrechslerOtto-Heinrich DrechslerOtto-Heinrich Drechsler was a prominent German dentist, mayor of Lübeck, and during the Second World War from 1941 through 1944 he resided in Riga as the General Commissioner of Latvia for the Nazi occupation regime .- Early life :Drechsler originally intended a career as professional military...
- Heinrich Lohse
- Robert LeyRobert LeyRobert Ley was a Nazi politician and head of the German Labour Front from 1933 to 1945. He committed suicide while awaiting trial for war crimes.- Early life :...
- Odilo Lotario Globocnik
- Max AmannMax AmannMax Aman was a German Nazi official with the honorary rank of SS-Obergruppenführer, politician and journalist.-Biography:Amann was born in Munich on November 24, 1891...
- Philippe Buhler
- Karl WahlKarl WahlKarl Wahl was the Nazi Gauleiter of Swabia from the Gau inception in 1928 until the collapse of Nazi Germany in 1945.- Early life :...
- Walther FunkWalther FunkWalther Funk was a prominent Nazi official. He served as Reich Minister for Economic Affairs in Nazi Germany from 1937 to 1945, tried as a major war criminal by the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg.-Early life:...
- Otto Georg ThierackOtto Georg ThierackOtto Georg Thierack was a Nazi jurist and politician.-Early life and career:Thierack was born in Wurzen in Saxony. He took part in the First World War from 1914 to 1918 as a volunteer, reaching the rank of lieutenant. He suffered a face injury and was decorated with the Iron Cross, second class...
- Hans Heinrich Lammers
- Franz GurtnerFranz GürtnerFranz Gürtner was a German Minister of Justice in Adolf Hitler's cabinet, responsible for coordinating jurisprudence in the Third Reich. Detesting the cruel ways of the Gestapo and SA in dealing with prisoners of war, he protested unsuccessfully to Hitler, nevertheless staying on in the cabinet,...
- Arthur Seyss-InquartArthur Seyss-InquartArthur Seyss-Inquart was a Chancellor of Austria, lawyer and later Nazi official in pre-Anschluss Austria, the Third Reich and for wartime Germany in Poland and the Netherlands...
- Erich RaederErich RaederErich Johann Albert Raeder was a naval leader in Germany before and during World War II. Raeder attained the highest possible naval rank—that of Großadmiral — in 1939, becoming the first person to hold that rank since Alfred von Tirpitz...
- Eduard DietlEduard DietlEduard Dietl was a German general of World War II. He was born in Bad Aibling, Bavaria. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords...
- Ferdinand Schemer
- Ernst KaltenbrunnerErnst KaltenbrunnerErnst Kaltenbrunner was an Austrian-born senior official of Nazi Germany during World War II. Between January 1943 and May 1945, he held the offices of Chief of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt , President of Interpol and, as a Obergruppenführer und General der Polizei und Waffen-SS, he was the...
- Hans Guenther
- Hans Pryuttsman
- Kurt DaluegeKurt DaluegeKurt Daluege was a German Nazi SS-Oberstgruppenführer and Generaloberst der Polizei as chief of the Ordnungspolizei and ruled the Protectorate Bohemia and Moravia as Deputy Protector after Reinhard Heydrich's assassination.-Early life and career:Kurt Daluege, a son of a Prussian state official,...
- Paul HausserPaul HausserPaul "Papa" Hausser was an officer in the German Army, achieving the high rank of lieutenant-general in the inter-war Reichswehr. After retirement from the regular Army he became the "father" of the Waffen-SS and one of its most eminent leaders...
- Josef Dietrich
- Horst WesselHorst WesselHorst Ludwig Wessel was a German Nazi activist who was made a posthumous hero of the Nazi movement following his violent death in 1930...
- Karl Doenitz
- Walther von BrauchitschWalther von BrauchitschHeinrich Alfred Hermann Walther von Brauchitsch was a German field marshal and the Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres in the early years of World War II.-Biography:...
- Werner von BlombergWerner von BlombergWerner Eduard Fritz von Blomberg was a German Generalfeldmarschall, Minister of War and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces until January 1938.-Early life:...
- Lothar RendulicLothar RendulicGeneraloberst Lothar Rendulic was an Austro-Hungarian and Austrian Army officer of Croatian origin who served as a German general during World War II. He commanded the 14. Infanterie-Division, 52. Infanterie-Division, XXXV Armeekorps, 2. Panzer-Armee, 20...
- Erich von dem BachErich von dem BachErich Julius Eberhard von Zelewski or Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski , was a Nazi official and a member of the SS, in which he reached the rank of SS-Obergruppenführer .- Slavic origin :...
- Magda GoebbelsMagda GoebbelsJohanna Maria Magdalena "Magda" Goebbels was the wife of Nazi Germany's Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels...
- Albert SpeerAlbert SpeerAlbert Speer, born Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer, was a German architect who was, for a part of World War II, Minister of Armaments and War Production for the Third Reich. Speer was Adolf Hitler's chief architect before assuming ministerial office...
- Arthur GreiserArthur GreiserArthur Greiser was a Nazi German politician and SS Obergruppenfuhrer. He was one of the persons primarily responsible for organizing the Holocaust in Poland and numerous other war crimes and crimes against humanity, for which he was tried, convicted and executed by hanging after World War...