Sunday, 8 November 2015
The March to Coburg
"Folkish" associations planned to hold a
so-called "German Day" in Coburg. I myself received an invitation to
it, remarking that it would be desirable for me to bring an escort. This
request, which I received at 11 o'clock in the morning, came very
opportunely. An hour later the arrangements for attending
this "German Day" had been issued. As an "escort" I appointed 800 men
of the SA. We arranged to transport them in pproximately 14 companies by
special train to the little city that had become [part of the state of
Bavaria]. Similar orders went out to National Socialist SA groups which
had meanwhile been formed in other places. It was the first
time that such a special train was used in Germany. At all towns where
new SA men got on, the transport aroused much attention. Many people had
never seen our flags before; the impression they made was very great.
When we arrived at the Coburg station, we were received by a delegation of organizers of the "German Day," which conveyed to us an order from the local trade unions—in other words from the [Marxist] Independent and Communist Party—to the effect that we were forbidden to enter the town with flags unfurled, or with music (we had taken along a 42-piece band of our own), or to march in a solid column. I at once flatly rejected these disgraceful conditions and did not fail to express to the gentlement present, the organizers of this congress, my surprise that they had carried on negotiations with these people and entered into agreements. I declared that the SA would immediately line up in companies and march into the city with resounding music and flags flying.
And that is just what happened - On the square in front of the railroad station we were received by a howling,shrieking mob numbering thousands. "Murders," "bandits," "robbers," "criminals," were the lovely names which the model founders of the German Republic affectionately showered on us. The young SA kept exemplary order. The companies formed on the square in front of the station, and at first took no notice of the vulgar abuse.
In the city that was strange to all of us, frightened police officials led the marching column, not—as arranged—to our quarters, a shooting gallery situated on the outskirts of Coburg, but to the Hofbräuhauskeller, near the center of the city. To left and right of the procession, the uproar of the masses of people accompanying us increased more and more. Hardly had the last company turned into the courtyard of the Keller than great masses, amid deafening cries, tried to crowd in after us. To prevent this, the police locked the Keller. Since this state of affairs was intolerable, I had the SA line up once again, gave them a brief speech of admonition, and demanded that the police open the gates immediately. After a long hesitation, they yielded.
To get to our quarters, we marched back the way we had come, and now at last a stand had to be taken. After they had been unable to disturb the poise of our companies by cries and insults, the representatives of true socialism, equality and fraternity had recourse to stones. At this our patience was at an end, and so for 10 whole minutes a devastating hail fell from left and right—and a quarter of an hour later, there was
nothing red to be seen in the streets.
In the evening there were serious clashes again. Some National Socialists had been assaulted singly, and patrols of the SA found them in a terrible condition. Thereupon we made short shrift of our foes. By next morning the Red terror, under which Coburg had suffered for years, had been broken. With real Marxist-Jewish lies they now attempted to harry the "comrades of the international proletariat" back into the streets, by totally twisting the facts and maintaining that our "bands of murderers" had begun a "war of extermination against peaceful workers" in Coburg. The great "demonstration of the people"— which it was hoped, tens of thousands of workers from the whole vicinity would attend—was set for half-past one. Therefore, firmly resolved to dispose of the Red terror for good, I ordered the SA—which had meanwhile swollen to nearly one and a half thousand men—to line up, and set out with them on the march for the Coburg Fortress, by way of the great square on which the Red demonstration was to take place. I wanted to see whether they would dare molest us again.
When we entered the square, only a few hundred were present, instead of the announced 10,000, and at our approach they kept generally quiet, and some ran away. Only at a few points did Red troops—who had meanwhile come from the outside and who did not yet know us—try to pester us again. But in the twinkling of an eye, all their enthusiasm was spoiled. And now it could be seen how the frightened and intimidated population slowly woke up and took courage and ventured to shout greetings to us, and in the evening, as we were marching off, broke into spontaneous cheering in many places. At the station the railroad men suddenly informed us that they would not run the train. Thereupon I notifed a few of the ringleaders that in that case I planned to round up whatever Red bosses fell into my hands, and that we ould run the train ourselves. We would, however, take along a few dozen of the brother of international solidarity on the locomotive and tender and in every car. Nor did I fail to call it to the gentlemen's attention that the trip with our own forces would, of course, be an extremely risky undertaking and that it could not be ruled out that the whole lot of us would break our necks and bones. But anyway, in that case, we would be delighted to leave for the Hereafter, not alone, but in equality and fraternity with the Red gentlemen. Thereupon the train departed with the utmost punctuality, and we were back in Munich safe and sound the following morning.
Thus, for the first time since 1914, the equality of citizens before the law was re-established in Cobur. For if today some simpleton of a higher official ventures the assertion that the state protects the lives of its citizens, this was certainly to the case at that time; for at that time the citizens had to defend themselves against the representatives of the present-day state. From Mein Kampf, pp. 548-551, Houghton Mifflin edition*
When we arrived at the Coburg station, we were received by a delegation of organizers of the "German Day," which conveyed to us an order from the local trade unions—in other words from the [Marxist] Independent and Communist Party—to the effect that we were forbidden to enter the town with flags unfurled, or with music (we had taken along a 42-piece band of our own), or to march in a solid column. I at once flatly rejected these disgraceful conditions and did not fail to express to the gentlement present, the organizers of this congress, my surprise that they had carried on negotiations with these people and entered into agreements. I declared that the SA would immediately line up in companies and march into the city with resounding music and flags flying.
And that is just what happened - On the square in front of the railroad station we were received by a howling,shrieking mob numbering thousands. "Murders," "bandits," "robbers," "criminals," were the lovely names which the model founders of the German Republic affectionately showered on us. The young SA kept exemplary order. The companies formed on the square in front of the station, and at first took no notice of the vulgar abuse.
In the city that was strange to all of us, frightened police officials led the marching column, not—as arranged—to our quarters, a shooting gallery situated on the outskirts of Coburg, but to the Hofbräuhauskeller, near the center of the city. To left and right of the procession, the uproar of the masses of people accompanying us increased more and more. Hardly had the last company turned into the courtyard of the Keller than great masses, amid deafening cries, tried to crowd in after us. To prevent this, the police locked the Keller. Since this state of affairs was intolerable, I had the SA line up once again, gave them a brief speech of admonition, and demanded that the police open the gates immediately. After a long hesitation, they yielded.
To get to our quarters, we marched back the way we had come, and now at last a stand had to be taken. After they had been unable to disturb the poise of our companies by cries and insults, the representatives of true socialism, equality and fraternity had recourse to stones. At this our patience was at an end, and so for 10 whole minutes a devastating hail fell from left and right—and a quarter of an hour later, there was
nothing red to be seen in the streets.
In the evening there were serious clashes again. Some National Socialists had been assaulted singly, and patrols of the SA found them in a terrible condition. Thereupon we made short shrift of our foes. By next morning the Red terror, under which Coburg had suffered for years, had been broken. With real Marxist-Jewish lies they now attempted to harry the "comrades of the international proletariat" back into the streets, by totally twisting the facts and maintaining that our "bands of murderers" had begun a "war of extermination against peaceful workers" in Coburg. The great "demonstration of the people"— which it was hoped, tens of thousands of workers from the whole vicinity would attend—was set for half-past one. Therefore, firmly resolved to dispose of the Red terror for good, I ordered the SA—which had meanwhile swollen to nearly one and a half thousand men—to line up, and set out with them on the march for the Coburg Fortress, by way of the great square on which the Red demonstration was to take place. I wanted to see whether they would dare molest us again.
When we entered the square, only a few hundred were present, instead of the announced 10,000, and at our approach they kept generally quiet, and some ran away. Only at a few points did Red troops—who had meanwhile come from the outside and who did not yet know us—try to pester us again. But in the twinkling of an eye, all their enthusiasm was spoiled. And now it could be seen how the frightened and intimidated population slowly woke up and took courage and ventured to shout greetings to us, and in the evening, as we were marching off, broke into spontaneous cheering in many places. At the station the railroad men suddenly informed us that they would not run the train. Thereupon I notifed a few of the ringleaders that in that case I planned to round up whatever Red bosses fell into my hands, and that we ould run the train ourselves. We would, however, take along a few dozen of the brother of international solidarity on the locomotive and tender and in every car. Nor did I fail to call it to the gentlemen's attention that the trip with our own forces would, of course, be an extremely risky undertaking and that it could not be ruled out that the whole lot of us would break our necks and bones. But anyway, in that case, we would be delighted to leave for the Hereafter, not alone, but in equality and fraternity with the Red gentlemen. Thereupon the train departed with the utmost punctuality, and we were back in Munich safe and sound the following morning.
Thus, for the first time since 1914, the equality of citizens before the law was re-established in Cobur. For if today some simpleton of a higher official ventures the assertion that the state protects the lives of its citizens, this was certainly to the case at that time; for at that time the citizens had to defend themselves against the representatives of the present-day state. From Mein Kampf, pp. 548-551, Houghton Mifflin edition*
Martin Mutschmann
Martin Mutschmann (9 March 1879 – 14 February 1947) was the Regional Leader (Gauleiter) of the state of Saxony (Gau Sachsen) during the time of the Third Reich. Mutschmann was nominated Gauleiter of Saxony in 1925. He maintained this position until the end of World War II.
Generally his political activity concentrated on Saxony rather than on
Germany as a whole. On 30 January 1933, after the Nazis came to power, Mutschmann was appointed Nazi Governor (Reichsstatthalter) of Saxony. Mutschmann was sentenced to death in Moscow and shot on February 14, 1947.
Mit Hitler in Coburg - A First Hand Account
We were 700 men that left from Munich in an special party train. I was
jobless and I did not have any money. But I scratched my own missery
suffering a week of hunger and many other privations to pay for my
ticket and be present, together with the rest of my Kameraden in the
"German Day" that was going to be celebrated in Coburg on the 14th and
15th of October of 1922.
Our presence at the train platforms and stations was a surprise to the other passengers. The flag with the "Hakenkreuz" was, in those days, compleately unknown to the greater public. We party men and the SA arrived to Coburg along with our own music band. The police spoke with the Fuhrer. The marxist and bolchevik trade unions want to prevent that we march in formation, with our flags deploy at the beat of our music band.
However the Fuhrer gives the order to the SA to deploy in parade
formation and that our musical instruments start playing. Like that ,we
passed through a mob of reds, speachless watching us march. Then they
reacted, with insults and trheats. The police redirect our group inside a house, but our Fuhrer gives the
order to face the red mob. Only at the beat of the drum! And in this
manner we left the Hofbrauhauskeller recieving a rain of rocks. Our only
weapons were our fist and our valor, with them we cleared the streets
of thousands of communists.
Later the Fuhrer spoke. Awakening the interest of all of us presents at
the rally. The same way that he was in command at the fight outside the
Hofbrauhauskeller, he also commanded all the night fighting against the
red front. And like us he sleep on the hay when the fighting was over.
The next day Coburg is gleaming and its inhabitants , can after all this years feel free. "The reds had been wipe out by Hitler and his men!" "Finally we can live in peace with out their nasty attitude and tiranny!" Statements like these are being shouted by young and old, women, men, workers, merchants, and civil servants. All of then join us in our march with delirious enthusiasm. Imperial flags again are hanging on the windows and terraces . Germany awakes!
The next day Coburg is gleaming and its inhabitants , can after all this years feel free. "The reds had been wipe out by Hitler and his men!" "Finally we can live in peace with out their nasty attitude and tiranny!" Statements like these are being shouted by young and old, women, men, workers, merchants, and civil servants. All of then join us in our march with delirious enthusiasm. Imperial flags again are hanging on the windows and terraces . Germany awakes!
We arrived at the town square were the comune is trying to congregate
10,000 "proletarians", but they are less than 100 and they look afraid
and broken. In a pathetic attent , the marxist threaten the railroad workers so that
our train will not be able to leave Coburg. The Fuhrer makes an
announcement. If our train does not leave at the schedule hour, the SA
will go and seek all the red leaders. In ten minutes our train was
rolling. We returned to Munich , full of bruises, sleepy and tired but
victorious. With our lost voices we sang our songs with our hands on the
shoulder of the Kamerad next to us and under the attent eyes of the
fuhrer.
10 years later I was awarded. like the rest of our Kameraden present on that day, the Medal of Coburg. In peace and in war, over brown and feldgrau, proudly was displayed on my chest.
Today, May 1945, I am at a prisioner camp along with tens of thounsand of other Kameraden. Like many, I am suffering of dyssentery and we are crowded behind the barbed wire. We do not have any personnal space not even to go to the restroom. This morning a Yank soldier, noticed my Medal of Coburg. The jailer is curious about the rare medal. He has offer me a loaf of bread, a whole weeks ration, and a preferential space to use the letrines in exchange for my medal for his collection. I have refused.... I will die with my Medal of Coburg. From an extract of a book on the Battle of Coburg, courtesy of Erich S.
10 years later I was awarded. like the rest of our Kameraden present on that day, the Medal of Coburg. In peace and in war, over brown and feldgrau, proudly was displayed on my chest.
Today, May 1945, I am at a prisioner camp along with tens of thounsand of other Kameraden. Like many, I am suffering of dyssentery and we are crowded behind the barbed wire. We do not have any personnal space not even to go to the restroom. This morning a Yank soldier, noticed my Medal of Coburg. The jailer is curious about the rare medal. He has offer me a loaf of bread, a whole weeks ration, and a preferential space to use the letrines in exchange for my medal for his collection. I have refused.... I will die with my Medal of Coburg. From an extract of a book on the Battle of Coburg, courtesy of Erich S.
Karl Wörlein - SS Hauptsturmführer
SS
Hauptsturmführer Karl Wörlein, born on 19 April 1906 was only 16 when
he took part in the Putsch as a member of the SA München Regiment. He
held the Blood Order No.550, the Coburg Badge, the Sports Badge. His
SS number was 107.207. He also held an Honorary Golden Party Badge, number 786.883.
Sunday, 1 November 2015
Otto Hellmuth
Otto Hellmuth (July 22, 1896 – April 20, 1968) was a member of the Nazi Party. Born at Markt Einersheim, he was Gauleiter of the German region of Lower Franconia (Unterfranken) from 1928 to 1945. His home and office were in Würzburg, the capital of the Gau Mainfranken. By 1935, Hellmuth had his Gau renamed as Mainfranken. After World War II, the region's original name was reinstated. He entered service as a Kriegsfreiwilliger, assigned successively to 9. Bayerisches Infanterie-Regiment, 4. Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment, and 8. Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment. He was wounded in action four times during World War I. He returned to Germany in October, 1918 after being severely gassed.
In 1928, Hellmuth became Gauleiter of Lower Franconia. Three weeks before the first nationwide anti-Jewish boycott began in 1933, Hellmuth already forced the closing of Jewish-owned stores and offices in Würzburg. As a private residence, he acquired the house of a Jewish pharmacist. When the Gaufrauenschaftsleiterin of Mainfranken paid Passau a formal visit, with a delegation of activists, Margarethe Schneider-Reichel presented them with a painting of Hellmuth. Over most of his term, Hellmuth was not an impressive personality. Joseph Goebbels saw him as "a most retiring unassuming Gauleiter in whom one had not too much confidence." However, Hellmuth defended his Gau vigorously in the spring of 1945, as Goebbels noted in his diary on April 2. In 1947, Hellmuth was accused of complicity in the murders of Allied aircraft pilots. He was tried at Dachau and sentenced to death. This sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment. He was released in 1955. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Hellmuth
In 1928, Hellmuth became Gauleiter of Lower Franconia. Three weeks before the first nationwide anti-Jewish boycott began in 1933, Hellmuth already forced the closing of Jewish-owned stores and offices in Würzburg. As a private residence, he acquired the house of a Jewish pharmacist. When the Gaufrauenschaftsleiterin of Mainfranken paid Passau a formal visit, with a delegation of activists, Margarethe Schneider-Reichel presented them with a painting of Hellmuth. Over most of his term, Hellmuth was not an impressive personality. Joseph Goebbels saw him as "a most retiring unassuming Gauleiter in whom one had not too much confidence." However, Hellmuth defended his Gau vigorously in the spring of 1945, as Goebbels noted in his diary on April 2. In 1947, Hellmuth was accused of complicity in the murders of Allied aircraft pilots. He was tried at Dachau and sentenced to death. This sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment. He was released in 1955. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Hellmuth
Emil Klein
Emil Klein was born on 3 December 1905 in Oldenburg and died on 22 February 2010 in Munich. He was a German politician of the NSDAP and since 1936 was a member of the Reichstag. He joined the Nazi Party and its youth group from the very first day it was founded on 4 October 1920. For the party, he served as propaganda leader and speaker. According to urban legend, the Štěchovice treasure is a purported hoard of Nazi treasure. It is said to be hidden in the town of Štěchovice in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. The story says that Emil Klein, then a Nazi general, buried the war booty in tunnels in Hradistko near Štěchovice. The booty included gold, diamonds, jewelry and pieces of art as well as secret files and scientific documents from the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute. Based on documents found in 1993 in the Weimar area, some experts believe that the Nazis hid the stolen goods and the missing Russian "Amber Room" in those tunnels. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%A0t%C4%9Bchovice_treasure.
Example of a First Pattern Coburg Badge
Example of a First Pattern Coburg Badge with a replacement pin as shown on the reverse. Image courtesy of der-hase-fee.
Example of a First Pattern Coburg Badge
Example of a First Pattern Coburg Badge. Note that on the reverse one can see some remaining uncut trimmings of the metal on the top right hand corner. These badges were believed to be finished by hand and hence the outer perimeter and inner details are not 100% exact. Image courtesy of Martin M.
First Pattern Coburg Badge with a Screwback Disc
Grouping of Max Probst
Rare grouping of Max Probst including his document, citations, Coburg Certificate and the Coburg Badge. Image courtesy of 86Militaria.
Example of a First Pattern Coburg Badge
Example of a First Pattern Coburg Badge. Image courtesy of Coburg.
Example of a Second Pattern Coburg Badge
This is an example of a Second Pattern Coburg Badge with the RZM mark. This scarcer variant also shows the 189-numeral stamped, believed to be the maker's mark. This variant is harder to locate than the RZM-only Second Pattern badge. Image courtesy of Dirik.
Tales of the Battle of Coburg
This story was retold from a section on the Battle of Coburg from Kurt Ludecke's book "I new Hitler",
On that day in 1922 Hitler was invited to "German Day" in Coburg and
asked to bring a few friends. I have written before that Hitler, if
nothing else, was an exceptional opportunist. He rented an entire train
and filled it with 800 of his followers (virtually the whole Party) and
even bought his own 42 piece band, planning to take the town by storm.
Ludecke is ecstatic when he writes about what happen in Coburg.
Remember, in 1922 Hitler was a nobody on the German national scene; only
his fanatical little band of followers thought anything would come of
the "little man with the silly mustache. Most Germans had never even
seen the swastika! According to Ludecke, "amassed burghers and wide-eyed
Jews almost fell out of the express trains which passed them." Hiring
the train was a huge bluff, the Nazi party had no money. Every man who
climbed on the train bought one or more tickets, often with his last
marks.
Coburg was a town which had long been dominated by Marxists. And the Marxists, of course, wanted no part of the Nazi "foreigners". When the Nazis arrived at Coburg, a uniformed policeman told them they could not march into the city with bands playing or flags flying. The words were music to the "opportunist" ears. Hitler pushed aside the policeman and they marched into the center of town, all flags flying, all instruments blaring. A crowd of thousands threatened to bar their way. No one was sure who these fanatics from Munich were. Suddenly some of the crowd (mostly Marxists) ,began to throw things and a furious fight ensued for perhaps 15 minutes. In time most of the crowd began to join the Nazis and before long they had won over the townspeople. Here, at last, they saw a savior" from the Communist repression. The town officials, of course, were not impressed or happy. The next day as the Nazis triurnphantly boarded the train, Hitler was told the "Reds" would not run the train back to Munich. Again, Hitler saw an opportunity. He told the officials that he and his group would run the train themselves, but they would first kidnap every Communist they could find and would take them back to Munich on the commandeered train. What would then happen to the Communists was left to everyone's active imaginations. The Communists capitulated, the train ran. Hitler won!- Contributed by Erich S.
Coburg was a town which had long been dominated by Marxists. And the Marxists, of course, wanted no part of the Nazi "foreigners". When the Nazis arrived at Coburg, a uniformed policeman told them they could not march into the city with bands playing or flags flying. The words were music to the "opportunist" ears. Hitler pushed aside the policeman and they marched into the center of town, all flags flying, all instruments blaring. A crowd of thousands threatened to bar their way. No one was sure who these fanatics from Munich were. Suddenly some of the crowd (mostly Marxists) ,began to throw things and a furious fight ensued for perhaps 15 minutes. In time most of the crowd began to join the Nazis and before long they had won over the townspeople. Here, at last, they saw a savior" from the Communist repression. The town officials, of course, were not impressed or happy. The next day as the Nazis triurnphantly boarded the train, Hitler was told the "Reds" would not run the train back to Munich. Again, Hitler saw an opportunity. He told the officials that he and his group would run the train themselves, but they would first kidnap every Communist they could find and would take them back to Munich on the commandeered train. What would then happen to the Communists was left to everyone's active imaginations. The Communists capitulated, the train ran. Hitler won!- Contributed by Erich S.
Coburg Badge Awardee Document
Example of a Coburg Badge Awardee document for Alfred Rozenberg (January 12, 1893–October 16, 1946) who was one of the most
influential Nazis. In the course of his career, he held a
number of important German state and Nazi Party posts. Already a committed anti-Bolshevik and antisemite, he became heavily
involved in the post-World War I ultra-nationalist scene in Munich. In
early 1919 he became an early member of the Nazi Party's predecessor
organization, the German Workers' Party (Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, or DAP). On November 9, 1923, Rosenberg participated in the Munich Beer Hall Putsch,
which resulted in Hitler's arrest. Tasked by Hitler as interim leader
of the Nazi Party, Rosenberg struggled to prevent the Nazi movement's
disintegration. After Hitler's release, Rosenberg returned to journalism
and began his chief work, The Myth of the Twentieth Century (Der Mythus des 20. Jahrhunderts),
published in 1930. Though neither officially translated into another
language nor endorsed by Hitler as the authoritative expression of Nazi
ideology, the book sold approximately one million copies by the late war
years and boosted Rosenberg's standing as Party ideologue. Rosenberg was arrested at the end of the war, tried at the Nuremberg International Military Tribunal,
and found guilty on all four counts of the indictment for conspiracy to
commit aggressive warfare, crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes
against humanity. He was sentenced to death. Rosenberg was hanged on
October 16, 1946. Certificate image courtesy of Erich S. Text from http://www.ushmm.org
Example of a Second Pattern Coburg Badge
Another example of an RZM-only Second Pattern Coburger Abzeichen. Image courtesy of Bob Coleman.
Example of a Second Pattern Coburg Badge
Example of a First Pattern Coburg Badge
Example of a First Pattern Coburg Badge. Image Courtesy of Erich B.
Stained Window Piece
This is a rendition of the Coburg Badge in the form of a Stained Window removed from a Gauleiter's home. One was posted on a militaria forum and a similar example was sold at an auction house recently. Image courtesy of Erich S.
Recently Sold - Nov 2015
Coburg Badge on the Market
This is a first Pattern Coburg Badge that appeared on the market in Nov 2015 and has since been sold. It came with a Letter from the Brown House, addressing the badge to Karl Schegk. The Brown House (German: Braunes Haus) was the national headquarters of the National Socialist German Worker's Party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei) in Germany. it was a large impressive stone building located at 45 Brienner Straße in Munich, Bavaria. It was named for the color of the party uniforms. The Brown House was damaged in October 1943 and largely destroyed in an allied bombing raid late in World War II. The rubble was cleared away in 1947, leaving an empty lot.
The Coburg Badge
The Coburg Badge (Coburger Abzeichen) was recognised as the first national award of the NSDAP, and later as the top NSDAP award in the party. Hitler ordered the Coburg Badge to be struck on October 14, 1932 to commemorate the event that took place ten years earlier. It was to honour the 800-strong army of SA stormtroopers and a band who had travelled with Hitler by train to Coburg for a rally. Over there, they pitched street battles with the police and the communists but eventually gained an upper hand and they celebrated with a victory. This day was known as the Deutscher Tag in Coburg (German Day in Coburg).
The badge was designed by Hitler himself based on a sketch. It measured 40mm wide and 54mm high, cast out of bronze and hand finished. The design features sword facing downwards across the face of a swastika and surrounded by an oval wreath MIT HITLER IN COBURG 1922-1932 (With Hitler in Coburg 1922-1932). On the top of the badge shows the Coburg Castle and its surrounding landscape. Next to the badge is a commemorative plaque for a winner during an event held between 17-19 October 1941 at Coburg. The plaque is extremely well made with a highly detailed brass engraving of the Coburg badge, under the watchful eye of a German eagle, standing in front of an Iron Cross. The wood plate measures 17.5cm x 11.8cm and with the manufacturer’s name, Lauer Nürnberg stamped on the bottom. From author’s collection.
The Coburg Badge (Coburger Abzeichen): A History
Hitler was invited with his party to the city of Coburg to hold a 'German Day' on 10 October 1922. This was a folk festival to encourage German rural life. Although the city was Marxist controlled, the event would provide a political platform to publicise the party with media attention. When they arrived, the Marxist citizens began to become rowdy and it led to a fight. In a turn of events, some of the crowd began to join Hitler's party and soon they won over the townsfolk. That evening Hitler addressed a meeting in the town hall attended by the Duke and Duchess of Coburg who later become active Nazis. By now, Hitler's first decisive victory had become a Nazi folklore. Only the ardent and most staunch followers would have the answer if asked 'But were you at Coburg?' From author's collection.
Anniversary of Coburg Commemorative Plate
Little is known about this Anniversary of Coburg commemorative plate which says "Gautreffen der Alten Garde der Bayerischen Ostmark in Coburg 1937" that literally translates as "District meeting for the Old Guards in Gau Bayerische Ostmark in 1937", with text depicting the "City of Coburg" in the lower centre and the arms showing an inverted sword and a crest. The city arms were used for Coburg within the state of Bayern from 1934 to 1945, represented with gold and black over the sword, with a swastika in the pommel. The porcelain plate has beautiful inverse details of the text and the Coburg Badge in the centre, with a stunning tea-brown glaze. On the reverse shows the Roseler maker mark stamps with two small holes at the back, presumably for mounting onto the wall. On the back also shows the porcelain code number 8772 which is identical to other known examples. This particular Roesler stamp was used around 1937 that shows an RMR mark encircled by Roesler Feinsteingut Rodach. The symbol of a hedge rose, part of the family crest derived from the name Roesler was chosen as the company mark. The company was official registered on the 24th of July 1894 in the town of Rodach, located between the Bavarian town of Coburg and the Thuringian town of Suhl. The company was originally set up for making and decorating porcelain, stoneware and other fine earthenware. Only two known examples of this plate have been documented, making this third piece an extremely rare and treasured find. From author's collection.
From the Early Beginnings ...
Hitler was invited with his party to
the city of Coburg to hold a 'German Day' on 10 October 1922. This was a
folk festival to encourage German rural life. Although the city was
Marxist controlled, the event would provide a political platform to
publicise the party with media attention. When they arrived, the Marxist
citizens began to become rowdy and it led to a fight. In a turn of
events, some of the crowd began to join Hitler's party and soon they won
over the townsfolk. That evening Hitler addressed a meeting in the town
hall attended by the Duke and Duchess of Coburg who later become active
Nazis. By now, Hitler's first decisive victory had become a
Nazi folklore. Only the ardent and most staunch followers would have the
answer if asked 'But were you at Coburg?'
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