This post is to thank everyone that took part in the discussion about KdF and gun sports, and also everyone that made this topic so much fun!! Thanks Denny, Dean, William, Joe, Rod, Jim M, Erich, Horst, Benten, Mikee and anyone I forgot or that was reading along.Sometimes you find out that something you have is so much more special than you thought. Especially if you first get the item and second find out what it really is. This is about such an item. Guns are a hot topic these days, and it made me think of the discussion about KdF markings on guns. You can find the discussion somewhere in this topic. It was all about what's in this little book below, called Organisationsbuch der NSDAP - Abschnitt Ausbildungs-Ordnung für den Schießdienst Kleinkalibergewehr-Pistole. Or, in English; "Book of the NSDAP-movement, section educational regulation for the small caliber rifle and pistol shooting service". I never showed the book before. It gives every possible info about the place shooting had in nazi Germany, about learning how to shoot, and shooting for sports. At the back there is a section were the owner of the book could keep track of personal progress.
For everyone that didn't read the discussion or forgot about it, here's a bit more info. The Schießdienst promoted the ability to shoot for NSDAP members, for educational and sports shooting, it used small caliber guns. More about this in detail below. The little book, is very very rare. I didn't quite realize HOW rare, until I saw one for sale at the Weitze company. It's a little booklet, 9,5 by 13 centimeters big (3.7 by 5.1 inch), 111 pages. Have a look in the section "Antiques - Educational and instruction books"! This screen was grabbed on February 3, 2013.
This is the link. You can also find it at Abebooks
here.
As you can see below, this is the 10th edition, and the amount of booklets made is 230000 after this edition. How strange it is, that almost all of them are destroyed!
Sports were the perfect political tool. Keep people busy, keep them together, competitive and fit for battle, and you can reach them with your ideology very easily. Very early on during the 1920s, NSDAP made standards for sports and fitness. The SA Sportabzeichen (later called Wehrabzeichen) was the insignia to go with it. The Deutschen Reichsausschusses für Leibesübungen (DRA) was founded in 1917, and it regulated officail sports and awards in Germany. NSDAP absorbed this organization soon after 1933, and in 1937 NSDAP had officially incorporated DRA and the awards from DRA, and made them into Deutsche Reichsbund für Leibesübungen (DRL), and the awards were called Deutsche Reichssportabzeichen.
The booklet covers rifle and pistol. Below is the contents for rifles.
"Never aim a gun at people, unless in emergencies or the call of duty. Always consider guns from strangers are - loaded!" Here you clearly see that guns are much much more than just sports ..
Every detail of the gun is discussed in the booklet.
Anything and everything during the third Reich had to be instrumental, functional and according to the NSDAP plan and vision. Architecture, art, the work people do, the things people do in their free time, everything. So, what better "place" to start if you want to find out how things were than the Organisationsbuch der NSDAP? This is the book, that tells everything. The ideas, the principles, the values, the way things worked, the structure of leadership and government, the way things looked, the way things were called, every little detail is in there. An original copy of an Organisationsbuch is very special in itself. The book learns about things they don't teach in history class and things you don't see in movies. It answers most questions you can ask about NSDAP and third Reich National Socialism. It also shows every logo for every organization, every color that is used, every rank and uniform. It's really very interesting from a design view. Ofcourse facts dont make opinion untrue. For instance, dutch NSB and WA members that joined the Germaanse SS were not allowed to wear their NSB and WA insignia on the SS uniform, but they did. Photographs show that W.A.-Sportinsgnia, Jeugdstorm pins and NSB membership pins were pinned on uniforms of Dutch soldiers that fought in Eastern Europe. But facts are never wrong, unlike opinions. The first big NSDAP book appeared in 1936, and every year a new book was published with changed and new information. The last year an Organisationsbich was published was 1943. This was the 7th edition, and it is the most complete book. These books, don't come cheap. Below an original copy of the Organisationsbuch der NSDAP, 7th edition, from 1943.
I posted this before, but, I saw its impossible to read, so here it is bigger, a period newsletter from the chief of police, addressed to all shooting sports facilities. It says that the Büscher-model was now the official training rifle for
Kraft durch Freude.
Guns are a hot topic at the moment in the US. Some people drag Hitler into it by giving false historical facts, or facts out of context. So, why not tell a bit more about the historical background of shooting in Germany. National Socialism shared the ideas about violence with Fascism. Both say, violence is necessary, and both give violence a heroic status, something of beauty even. With that in mind, it's easy to see how Hitler didn't ban guns. In fact, he promoted it. But, ofcourse with regulations and restrictions, like everything else that is National Socialist. One of the points discussed in the Organisationsbuch der NSDAP is, that National Socialism, and all its uniforms and ranks, have to be respected and protected against violence. The whole weapons-laws of third Reich Germany was based on it. Everybody has to be able to fight, unless you're an enemy of the third Reich. The laws and regulations were completed in 1938. But let's backpaddle more.
During the Napoleonic wars (1803-1815) many cities formed groups of marksmen to protect it, called Schützengilden. After 1815, until Germany was made a monarchy in 1871, these Schützengilden were seen as important part of society. They stood for people against oppression from foreign states, or even local rulers that meant harm. After that, the Schützengilden were seen as Nationalist protection against the Emperor. After 1918, Germany was defeated and disarmed, and with Wilhelm II removed from power and in exile, Germany was now a Republic; Weimar.
Many Wehrverbände and Bürgermilizen were formed in Weimar right after the war, by disillusioned soldiers and angry young men. These groups were always very nationalistic in their ideas, and very radical. Ofcourse, if they had weapons, they were illegal. That is the time when Hitler got more and more popular. The SA and the NSDAP were originally also nationalist Wehrverbände. In 1933, Hitler grabbed power, Weimar ended, the third Reich began.
The third Reich with its Führerprinzip was very strict in everything. First the Führer, second the movement, third the people (or country because people were bound by country in the ideology), fourth the individual. Also, for all Wehrverbände and Schutzvereine, the Gleichschaltung and restructuring happened, just like for everything else.
Every national socialist and party member needed to be able to defend the Führer, the movement, the people and himself. Sport was a big issue, physical fitness, people must be able to fight. Shooting was a big part of all that. The NSDAP educated their members in shooting. The SA, the HJ and
KdF were the biggest groups that did this. These organisations took the leading role in shooting education, later on under regulation of DRL. You can find many info in the Handbuch der SA, Dennis showed this in this topic, and in training manuals for the Hitler Jugend. The very first Reichsschießschule Für die Hitler Jugend was formed in Obermaasfeld, Thüringen. By 1938, shooting was already very popular, and many training facilities were made in Thüringen and other locations. Especially politischen Leiter were expected to be able to shoot. The Organisationsbuch shows the standard weapon for these ranks. But the little book Organisationsbuch der NSDAP - Abschnitt Ausbildungs-Ordnung für den Schießdienst Kleinkalibergewehr-Pistole gives the complete information about the weapons, the purpose, the training and the goals of the training.
Bye,
KR