UBB.threads

Hi all,

I tried to look for KDF tinnies + things here, but couldn't find any. Y'all probably have tons of these! I have 2 to show, + 1 question about 1 of these ...

1 day I hope to find a gorgeous Betreuerinnen Abzeichen for the Kraft Durch Freude organisation, but the tinnies are NOT to be taken lightly either. I love the colors some of these ahve, they look AB-SO-LUT-TLY smashing! I had a WAY nice green 1, but this week a very nice 1 was added, having deep red in it, they make a lovely pair, don't they?

The green 1, is made of pressed paper. The red 1 is made of, well, what, exactly? It weighs like aluminum? Its some kinda very light (pot?) metal anyway. The green 1 has no makers mark, the red 1 has this text at the back;

Eferd Wiedemann
Frankfürt a M S10

Its a BIT hard to read, the camera doesnt quite grab the fine details, not even in macro, sorry ...

I was reading that "Eferd Wiedemann" may mean "E. Ferdinand Wiedemann". The "a M" obviouslt for "am Main". Main, a river, Frankfurt being the biggest city of Hessen. The entire area is called the Rhein-Main-Gebiet in German. Its where the rivers Rhein + Main come together. You can easily see now where the design of the red tinnie was made up from

I've been looking at the "S 10" part? So, S, is NOT an RZM Kennbuchstabe ... they used A, B, D, G, H, K, L, M, V + W. Not S! Also, Reichsbetriebsnummern generally look WAY different? So, can't be THAT either. Could it be a Leistungsgemeinschaft Deutscher Ordenhersteller thing then? Possibly? There are some L-numbers of those, like L\15 for Otto Schickle for example? Could thee be any S-numbers too?

Oh, yes, the little book? Is a Taschenatlas! Very interesting; a view on the Deutsches Reich at about 1938. Its the 1st thing showing me "Amt für Reisen, Wandern und Urlaub" combined with Kraft Durch Freude. Well, I knew what KDF was, but, still nice to learn period namings + frasings + so on

Sincerely,
Karin-Renate

K, very nice. Thank you for sharing. We do not have a dedicated KDF tinnie section set up yet. Someday. Yours can start it off.

The metal of your red one is a zinc alloy. the S 10 I would attribute to a street address.

--dj--Joe USMC.

I do have one KDF example.

--dj--Joe USMC.

Hi Joe!

Thanks! Actually, streetaddress, YES, almost ... I overlooked the fact that there would NOT be a makernumber, 'cause the NAME is there too. So, I totally overlooked that BUT, S10, that means Stadtteile 10 Nope, did NOT get to that myself, I had help from someone WAY smarter then me.

Sincerely,
Karin-Renate

Oooohh ... and its GORGEOUS! Thanks for adding this 1 Joe! I love it

K, nice grouping! first time I have ever seen these.

Fritziii

Hi Fritziii,

Thanks! And, my pleasure! Ive seen the green heart pin once somewhere else, but not the red pin. I was told that theres a hardcore KDF-collector group, hunting these pins down? And theres a preference for wooden pins. I see 2 of those at eBays now; 1 expired, 1 running towards ending. Prices are high. lll attach them here, just for reference. I dont have these, but they SURE are nice! Never saw these before too! I hope this topic will expose more gorgeous KDF pins

Sincerely,
Karin-Renate

Hi all,

Sometimes, you find something that you, sorta, fall in love with?. For badges, medals or pins, I have a few I like wickedly much for some reason. The Deutschvölkische Schutz- und Trutzbund have pins that have hit me like a brick when I learned about them! And also, many, WAY many KdF pins are gorgeous + absolute stunning little artworks, like shown earlier

Some posts back I mentioned the Betreuerinnenabzeichen. I dont know if other Gaue had Abzeichen for their girls, women, promoting the Kraft durch Freude organisation? But Gau München-Oberbayern DID HAVE such a pin. And, this 1 too, I liked so much when I saw it 1st.

Some (very lucky) auction came, and ended, and no one else wanted this 1? So, here it is, keeping the other pins above company; the KdF-Betreuerinnen badge of Gau München-Oberbayern.

The pics are quickies, same settings as a DRL Abzeichen I posted, I wanted something more with it, but weather is bad today, it probably wont get better. And I promised someone to post this. So, without any more ado, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Oh, and the booklet, thats awesome too! Not much to read, but more like a what goes where + with whom sorta book. Havent read it yet, but it gives info on how things were organized. Besides, it makes a smashing display with the little atlas and all the pins

Its rather big; 5 centimeters (2 inches) across. The KdF-Betreuerinnen badge is in Hüsken's "Abzeichen 1871-1945", 2010 edition, on page 179, §80, "Freizeitgestaltung Algemein". Its under number 8001, Brosche "d". Gosh, guys, this 1 is truly awesome. Im so stoked! Yay!

Enjoy,
Karin-Renate

Congratulations K, that is a nice looking broach.
A very nice addition to your collection.

--dj--Joe

Thanks so very much Joe! The only disadvantage of KdF is,that they didnt have a dagger *LOL* the badges + pins? Truly cant be beaten mostly. SO many pretty 1s they had! I went hog wild when the auction ended, wasnt expecting it to arrive even, at that price? Don't count your chickens until they hatch, right? But there it was! Yay! AFAIK these never come cheap, if they come at all, in OK condition? Ive seen people show them off elsewhere, its wicked fun to be able to do that here too There's 1 over at what y'all call "mighty Weitze"? It seems to have less colours somehow. Did these come in themes? Or, did colours just wear off? Does any1 know?

Hi all,

Well, as lovely as the Betreuerinnenbroche is, Im proud to say, it has competition! Not the value, but, in a way, that too? 'Cause, less expensive things can mean more to someone then more expensive stuff! Or maybe thats a girly way of thinking? Anyhow, this might be just that!

Its a wooden KdF badge, or pin. On the back, it says something like "131", "Sachsen" and "Gebirge". Maybe "Gebirge" is "Erzgebirge", I dunno, theres ink before "Gebirge" but cant see if it means anything.

So, this SPECIFIC badge s NOT in Tiëste's "Tagungs- und Veranstaltungsabzeichen 1930-1945" (5. Auflage), BUT, it COULD be the 1 under number "Sachsen 00-029" (page 840, 2nd book). Those birds look away from eachother though, and, "mine", look WAY more playful, frolic, happy! I truly LOVE this pin ... Its makes you happy just looking at it dont it? I mean, LOOK at that! Djeezz, if THAT aint cute, WHAT IS?

Those KdF-Leute, sure knew how to pimp their badges! Gosh ... SO beautiful ...

Does anyone know if 131 is a maker, or Bezirk, or whatever? If its a maker, what list do I use to find out who it belongs to? RZM M1 has a 131, but that 1 was never used? My guess is M9/131? Thats Noelle & Hueck ... M9 is for NSDAP Tagungs-stuff, KdF is NSDAP regulated, no?

Im SO stoked with this pin! Enjoy,
Karin-Renate

More spectacular views, just because

Great piece K . Baby birds.
Definitely a pin that brings a smile. Can't beat the hand crafted items.

Thanks so much for showing it. 131 could be an item #?

--dj--Joe

Hi all,

The stamp, at the back of the pin? It says "Seiffen Erzgebirge". Seiffen, ofcourse, the place known for woodwork, handcraft + toymakers! The number 131 probably is a maker. But makers in THIS case could also be private people, helping out during the evenings + weekends. Just updating info

Sincerely,
Karin-Renate

Hi all,

Youve gotta admit, the KdF has SUCH lovely pins! Lets put another 1 on the stand, to show you just HOW lovely; the Mitgliedsabzeichen für Gau Köln-Aachen, 1. Form. I saw this 1, several weeks ago, on an auctionsite, with a damaged or scratched out swastika. It was SUCH a beautiful pin though, that we went searching on other sites too.

Hüsken, in the 2010 edition, lists this as rare, on page 179, and actually very expensive? There are a few out there for FAR more reasonable prices at the moment though. Now, the 2. Form, THAT 1 seems harder to find? But also, the KdF is not popular I guess. Not tuff enuff maybe, or not military enuff?

Anyway, rare or not, its a gorgeous little membershippin (so NOT a tinnie!), and Im very proud to show it here. Its keeping all other pins company. I think, a love for KdF can surey be noticed with me

Just look at it guys .. the enamel , how it reflects, even makes the water look fluid! I tried to grab that in pics, but you'll have to make do with the gorgeous green mountain-meadows. The makersname is on the back; Ferdinand Hoffstätter, Bonn. Tried to show that too, but, its not very clear.

Enjoy,
Karin-Renate

K, you might find these of interest.
http://www.ngw.nl/int/dld/k/koln.htm

http://www.ngw.nl/int/dld/a/aachen.htm

--dj--Joe

Thanks Joe! Great info! Im getting a little worried though, this here pin, is on Snyder's site, 2 times *LOL* Now THAT cant be good Still, the pin in hand, looks+feels very real, I think what I said earlier is true? Not much interest in KdF.

I think the birdies are awesome and that colorful DdF pin seems good to me. I like it as well. Also as a note, yes Snyder has a lot of fakes but there is legit stuff in the mix as well though.

Hi Adam,

Thanks, for that comment on the birdies. they surely DONT come better than THAT 1! It truly is a joy to, well, ENjoy It also get me all fylosophical, like, how that pin contrasts against (cant find better words at the moment but Im sure you get it) the whole swastika concept as it is explained in books. And also, KdF was more complicated then just a holiday-organization or freetime-guide. Theres a whole indoctrination-thing going on. Meanwhile, ordinary everyday people, were involved, in actually making things fun, and awesome, 'cause, thats what they do! This little pin, is part of that. Someone MUST had SUCH fun making it! And, it survived! Not the most heavy robust pin out there? So, it was cared for all this time, probably 'cause it is SUCH a fun thing!

Anyway, Im babbling... Snyder, yeeeeesss, you're right, Adam, you're very right I dont know Snyder or his treasures? So, in fact, I shouldnt talk about it/him then. In fact, I even LIKE the site! I come there often? Its always fun (ill just quote my eternal example, but what better way to explain, eh) to see Eva Brauns negligee or lingery or undies for sale, or those "just discovered" youth paintings of Alois Hitler, or whatever *LOL* Maybe, Snyder even has more fun putting all of that together then all of us have here, making sour faces, if someone thinks something smells like fake or doubt, or if anyone enjoys all this history stuff a bit different from the rest. So, who am I to shout at Snyder? I was just being echo for everyone that speaks of Snyder over at Wehrmacht-Awards or other forums. And I shoudnt do that. Like I shouldnt do a lot of things. So, mister Snyder, if youre listening, I apologize for shouting stuff without actually having cause for that.

So, Adam, thanx, for the thumb up to the pin! Its very nice indeed! Nice of you to stop by

Sincerely,
Karin-Renate

Hi Karin,

Very nice KdF pins collection, with some lovelly and unexpected itens. I allways remember one of the best KdF realizations, the KdF-Wagen:





Sincerely,

Ricardo

Hi Ricardo

Thanx for the wonderful comment! And the KdF-Wagen, YES, its great! You have the booklet? Or, booklets? Theres 2 I think? Wicked! You also have the Spar-Karte + Spar-Marken? The booklet is lovely! Ive seen pics of it. 5 of them attached below. Cant quite remember where I found them, so, these arent mine, but, theyre cool enuff to add. Very popular by VW-enthusiasts too I guess?

Some more interesting info here and here.

Sincerely,
Karin-Renate

Karin,

Unhapply I don't have the booklets or the Spar-Karte, but I wrote some times ago a article about the KdF-Wagen development and it's use as staff car in the WWII. It's descendent, the VW-Beetle was produced for several years here in Brazil and is very loved here where it is nicknamned as "Fusca". The beetle was the car that I have my 1st drive lessons.

Sincerely,

Ricardo

Very nice Ricardo Your article, can it be found somewhere? Or is it copyrighted? Or in a book maybe? That must be interesting?

Hi Karin,

I wrote this article for a brazilian plastic modeller forum some times ago. The article is a sequence of 6 parts about civil german cars used as staff cars during the WWII and each part group some cars makers history. The Volkswagen/KdF history is in the 6th part. Unfortunatelly it was wrote only in brazilian-portuguese language, but may be you can use a translator in it. The link for the 6 parts is below with each contents. They have very interesting texts and pictures about german cars industry and history until the WWII end.


Part 1 - Adler and Borgward

http://www.webkits.com.br/news/templates/news.asp?articleid=369&zoneid=30

Part 2 - BMW and Hanomag

http://www.webkits.com.br/news/templates/news.asp?articleid=371&zoneid=30

Part 3 - Auto Union

http://www.webkits.com.br/news/templates/news.asp?articleid=373&zoneid=30

Part 4 - Mercedes-Benz

http://www.webkits.com.br/news/templates/news.asp?articleid=374&zoneid=30

Part 5 - Opel and Ford-Werke

http://www.webkits.com.br/news/templates/news.asp?articleid=376&zoneid=24

Part 6 - Volkswagen, Maybach, NSU-Fiat, Stoewer and Steyr
http://www.webkits.com.br/news/templates/news.asp?articleid=385&zoneid=14

Ps. Ricardo P-40 is my nickname at the brazilian plastic modellers comunity.

Sincerely,

Ricardo

Ooohmy ... cool! My afternoon is spoken for *LOL* Im not very good at Portugeese, so that'll give the translation-engines a work-over Thanks for the readingmaterial Ricardo! Truly very interesting! Thanks!

Hi all,

Sometime ago we discovered a VERY beautiful KdF pin for a swimming pool. Somewhere else, funny enough, a document for that same KdF-Bad! The document is here, the pin, was left forgotten, cause of things going on. Really such a shame ... BUT, maybe, itll pop up somewhere. Anyway, totally forgotten too, by me, was this pin I want to show (off). Its so very lovely, its just loveable with that blue ... it looks even like fabric? But it isnt. Last 2 pics, I used the document, cause its realy very nice, and, I just wanted to use it *LOL* But its a document for a KdF-Bad, not the Messe.

The Leipziger Messe, the trade fair of Leipzig, 1 of the oldest trade fairs in the world! National Socialist era, ofcourse, made it Reichsmesse. After WW2, it was on (or just in) the border of eastern Germany, and got part of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CoMeCon), which is actualy in 1 of my new schoolbooks! I looked it up, so, thatll be cool to study.

The pin is clearly marked on the back. Efoplast, is said to be pressed paper? But it feels like plastic, realy. Doesnt bend or shape under pressure. D.R.P.a, must be a patentlike thing? The little "a" is throwing me off a bit, I guess. E.O. Friedriech, the maker, in Leipzig.

The image, must be the building, or the entrance of it, where the Messe was at. I think it could be a hotel now, but I couldnt really find good pics to match this pin? So I could be way off there. Here is some info on the history of the Messe and the logos used, with pics. But no pic to match the pin either. Maybe someone has anything?

The Leibziger Messe still exists.

Enjoy,
KR

Karin,

Great shots of a lovely pin. It's a shame so many beautiful things like this go almost un-noticed by the majority of our collecting-community.

Some of the pins recently posted are truly gems!

Bill

Hi Bill!

Thank you much for the comments + the interest! Yes, KdF has SUCH lovely pins, colourful, awesome designs, its truly amazing! The organisation, when you look at it? Learns so much about what went on? The regulated free time, leisure, having all hard working people indoctrinated while resting, but also KdF accomplished amazing yet truly scary things? Really, I love the subject of KdF, it involves so much during the period. And, to boot, WAY gorgeous pins ... how cool is THAT? Anyhow, getting carried away again, sorry ... thanx again Bill!

Sincerely,
KR

Hi all,

Maybe just a wooden toy to some of you (at least) but, heres a beautiful girl for you to see;

A Bäuerin, for Gau Sachsen ... Shes very lovely, nice colours, no chips missing. Quite tall she is too ... 6,5 centimeters high, or 2.6 inches ... and her pretty little green hat really takes it home. Just look at her. Shes so adorable, no? Imagine the amount of work that goes into making just 1 of these ...

The mark at the back; again, "Seiffen Erzgebirge", but then, it gets a bit vague. It probably says 98.

Enjoy,
KR

Hi all,

Moving on, not with a pretty wooden pin, but a pretty as well Mitgliedsabzeichen for Gau Berlin. Its on page 179, of the 2010 Hüsken book, and said to be rare Its made of hard grey plastic. Cause Mitgliedabzeichen usualy are of harder material, Im open for suggesting this is a tinnie. Its a very little pin, like, 1.5 centimeters in diameter (0.6 inch).

Berlin, ofcourse, its heraldic sign, is a Bär. And this Bär is in this pin. The swastika careful'ish hidden behind it, but still very visible. The little crown in the sign, is decorated like the RAD-gear-teeth. The back of the pin, shows the makername; Hoffstätter in Bonn.

Tasteful tiny pin, this ... it needs bit ofa cleaning? But very nice to see!

Enjoy,
KR

Both very nice K. I would have thought the KDF Berlin to be made of aluminum.

--dj--Joe

Let's see if theres still some interest in these?

A very nice KdF Abzeichen. Like the Betreuerinnen badge, this also has the Edelweiß. The pin is made of yellowish metal, 3 centimeter wide, and almost 4 centimeter high (1.6 by 1.2 inches). Lovely design, see how the Edelweiß leave wiggles the "Fr" away from "eude" The visual got priority to the text. Anyway, I thought a funny detail.

The Edelweiß, I never really thought of it, but, knew it from Kaiserin Elisabeth ofcourse, the Austrian empress, a very beautiful and respected lady, no? She had often the Edelweiß flower in her hair, not always. Also German Kaiser Wilhelm I loved the flower, and the Bavarian King Ludwig too.

There are many many Edelweiß-types, they all come from Asia originally, and have a few flowers that grow in America that are like nephews or nieces to the Edelweiß we know in Europe; the alpine Edelweiß, meaning "white nobless". Higher grounds are needed, the flowers wont grow below 1600 or 1700 meters (about 5500 feet). It is also used as symbol for luck, love or honor.

The SA Gruppen that had the Edelweiß are said to be the most loyal of all SA. The Gruppen were Alpenland, Donau, Hochland, and Südmark. These Gruppen also were allowed to wear different clothing style, like leather shorts. The pic is from the book "Cloths and Insignia of the NSDAP and SA". So, the SA Gruppen, not really part of Gebirgsjäger, they also had the Edelweiß insignia, but those were regular army or SS, not political paramilitary.

Enjoy,
KR

Very nice K. I don't believe I've seen that particular tinnie before.

Regards,--dj--Joe

Hi Joe!

Thank you much for the nice comments! YES its nice, but wait for a more colourful one! That is truly epic! Reckon its just us 2 liking these *LOL* but nevermind .. Thanks joe!

Cheers
KR

Like the Efoplast pin here, I just have to show this one too! Another truly beautiful coloured tinnie by RZM maker M9/148, no? Look at THAT ... The back has the same markings as the light blue Frühjahrsmesse pin in the linked post above, that was also by the same maker.

Again this weird Efoplast. Someone told me that the Efo stuff (there also was Efoleder!) was registered trademark by this maker, Friedrich? Does anybody know more about this?

Anyhow, like the Frühjahrsmesse, this pin, is very very enchanting! The Laternen und Volksfest, or the Lanters and people feast, was started as tradition in 1928, and is still held today, in Halle Saale. Big festivities, with medieval spectacles, parades, exhibitions, street artists, shows of old professions, and many many more. Nowadays, it lasts from 29 to 31 august. In 2009 it got 125000 visitors in these 3 days!

Enjoy,
KR

Well, sometimes, all that's needed, is what nature provides, and a little pin, to make an epic photo Look at that gorgeous purple Erica Carnea! Oh, and yes, the pin is nice too Not a special one, but interesting nonetheless, and it has the cool KdF logo on it, so it has my attention fer sure. Gau Franken. No date, no eventname, no nothing, it could be a Mitgliedsabzeichen, but not even Tiëste knows. Its about 2.4 centimeters (0.9 inch) in diametre, made of some light sort of metal, black'ish. The rest, you can see.

Enjoy,
KR

Karin,

I always enjoy your posts - enthusiasm and knowledge constantly shine through. Great photography too, you have a knack for setting up your shots no matter what you use for background material - a piece of fruit, vegetable, or flower ... those bright splashes of natural color really bring the subject matter to life. On top of that, your explanations and details of the customs, traditions and history add even more zest to your descriptions. Please keep up the good work.

Kind regards and thanks!

Bill

Hi Karin,

What do you make of this one, KdF related? Possibly a trip down south to the Mediterranean? ... lots of lizards down there ...

Best!

Bill

Hi Bill! Skipping quickly my blush from your previous post, That's a nice puzzle, it could be KdF? Please give me a moment (or 2, possibly 3 *LOL*) to dive in some books? Thanks for showing this one! Just thinking, Salamanders? Those are lizards of some sort, no? Could also be Reichskolonialbund? Or do they live in Europe too? Anyways, what is at the back of the pin?
Sincerely,
KR

Hi everyone,

I already posted a lovely little wooden farmergirl from Gau Sachsen. Here is a little wooden deer! Totally lovely colours make another very happy pin! I cant place pics in text, so, see pics 1 and 2.

Gau Sachsen, the Gauleiter was Martin Mutschmann from 1925 to 1945. Mutschmann had NSDAP beliefs ofcourse, but he was maybe more interested in Sachsen and its history, and, he made it his business to preserve. Instead of a big Reich he had a lot of attention for "his" Saxony and for Saxony to remain as it was. When Hitler came to power Mutschmann was made Reichsstatthalter Sachsen. As much eye he had for Sachsen, still he was accused of not preparing Dresden enuff for the allied bombing that took place february 1945. The bombing of Dresden is seen as one of the allied warcrimes.

The little songbook is nice too. Nice enuff to show anyhow, no? The booklet has a specific part that used much by the original owner maybe, so I scanned the page that it wants to show, just in case you wonder whats inside such a book; See pics 3 and 4

It has a forword by Robert Ley, that's his signature; see pic 5

Robert Ley joined NSDAP in 1924 and in 1932 he got elected by Hitler to Reichsorganisationsleiter. in 1922 btw his wife got a daughter named Renate. When Hitler came to power, Robert Ley got appointed as leader of the Deutsche Arbeitsfront. And that was the only workerparty allowed then. He had a bit of a glorified leader's life and got alcoholic, so a lot of his tasks were done by others. His style of living and the alcohol made him maybe a bit more radical in his views then average and he was among the more radical NSDAP members, who intended to fight until the last man fell. In 1944 he was one of the driving people to form the Werwolf comando group that had to make difficult the invasion of the allied forces by using guerilla tactics. When the Third Reich fell, he was to stand trial in Nürnberg but hanged himself before his trial started.

Robert Ley with his wife during for him better days;



Another photo;



His Nürnberg trial mug shot;



Some more little info here, or use Wiki.

Enjoy,
KR

Hi Bill!

Just thinking out loud? Could it be Lurchi? That creature on your pin? In 1937, all combined Salamander shoecompanies introduced Lurchi, to promote childrenshoes? Lurchi was a cartoon figure, still exists today even.. the cartoon changed from design a lot, I can't find many pics of him from 1937, but some here? And maybe you have one right there! But, shoes, are not travels, maybe Salamander arranged travels for kids too? Maybe adventure walkingtrips or something? The Lurchi comics were handed out at schools .. ?

More here.

Anyhow, just a thought?

Bye,
KR

Karin Renate,

I remember running around in Salamander shoes as a young boy and that they were/are (?) a famous shoemaking company. It's the first time I've heard of Lurchi, however, I can see the similarity between the two amphibians - they're both Tiger Salamanders with the distinctive yellow/black markings. Even though my badge is a single color, one can see the places where the striped-highlights would go.

I'm not certain if there's a relationship between my badge and Lurchi, and/or the shoe company connections? What I do enjoy is the fact that you offered such good suggestions, ideas that I'd not considered before. Your insight into many of the facets of our hobby is outstanding and your input is welcome by me, anytime. ... gracias!

Best!

B~

Some pretty other Früjahrsmesse is already here, but look at this one! Wow, lovely colours, by that same maker E.O. Friedrich in Leipzig, where the Messe was (still is too!!) held. I have others by that maker, he/she surely did some cracking designs! And, made of that Efoplast again, which probably is eazy to colour, more then metals, and also surely cheaper then metals. Anyhow, maybe Friedrich was a bit like Sieper, who used plastik, and made many colourful Abzeichen too, like this or this. 2 very interesting makers!

So, with that, another awesome KdF Tagungsabzeichen. The year is a mystery still, like with the other Frühjahrspin. Maybe someone knows what pin was for what year? Or maybe groups had certain pins? Or there were more Messes in a Frühjahr?

The view, just . check it out ... gorgeous .. some banners before the silouet of the Messegebäude that we can better see in this one. The styled Luft und Wolken, and that colour used for tekst and swaz. I wonder, were did all the designers of these go, if anyone remembers, and any still alive?

Lovely and strong Abzeichen, good condition, sure hope wont turn out to be made yesterday. But, for now, Im lovin it much. Btw, if you think your dayjob is crazy? Here 2 guys doing promotion for the Frühjahrsmesse in 1932

Enjoy,
KR

here is my STRENGTH THROUGH JOY flag just acquired and came back with a CANADIAN VET AND OFF A VESSEL NAME UNKNOWN

Gosh Paul THAT is an amazing thing your flag! How HUGE is that anyways? That must look very very nice with your collection? Here I thought no one is interested in KdF, but, this is GREAT! Such a shame the veteran soldier dont remember the boatname .. thanks much for showing Paul Im waiting for a cool KdF find too, well NOT as massivly epic as yours but, well, will post when it gets here, I reckon it will take a while tho.

Bye,
KR

SIZE IS ABOUT 5FT BY 2FT A NICE SIZE

THAT is giantly HUGE Paul, almost as big as me Can you hang that somewhere? OH, is there a lable on it? Sometimes flags have those? Anyhow, dont have the "cool KdF thing" yet ofcourse, but, this 1s for you and posting your awesome flag ...

Hooking into the maker Sieper and Friedrich (post above), "they" were expreimenting lots with plastiks/chemicals and stuff. Reckon lots was tested during war, and lots we still use today. Take this gorgeous Abzeichen! Also KdF, super design! Very proud pin. I saw this also in blue? So, possibly this comes in other colours too, or with only the light colour painted and not the black. This one black'ish and silverish white painted up front, (see the close-up pic #2), blue (unpainted) at the back.

Anyhow, a very nice plastik pin, by the maker Walgo, a plastiks/chemicals company in Kierspe, a city in Nordrhein Westfalen. The company stil exists today, doing the same thing as back then; Kunststoffverarbeitung. Ha! Fun thing is, theres 3 Walgos in the RZM Liste; M1/175 (M1 for NSDAP Abzeichen), M5/189 (for uniform acesoires) and M9/20 (M9 for Tagungsabzeichen). Same company, maybe 2 locations? The 2 Walgos have diffring abreviations after the name, the first "Kom-Ges." and the other 2 "Inh. Goseberg". Inh. may mean owner? From Inhaber?

The company website is up, and the city, you can visit on the web here. The lion of the city coat of arms is used in the pin very nice I think. The maker at the back, clearly. "BHF" problaby means Bahnhof. Kierspe Bahnhof (means "trainstation") is a Stadtteil.

Gau Kurhessen, Leitung in city Kassel. Gau formed in 1925. In 1927, the Gau was split up, in Gau Hessen, Gau Hessen-Nassau Nord and Gau Hessen-Nassau Süd. In 1934, another reform, Gau Hessen-Nassau Nord renamed to Gau Kurhessen. This Gau Kurhessen had 2 Gauleiter; Karl Weinrich from 1934 to 1943, and Karl Gerland from 1943 to end of war.

Enjoy,
KR

YOU WILL SEE MANY kdf IN PLASTICS ALL COLOURS, make a great collection if you can find them all.


PAUL

Hi Paul!



Surely yes! Well I like the Holzabzeichen just a little better? But the colourful plastics/efo/nitro/leder are so nice! Still, find them ALL? *LOL* There must 100s, 1000s?! Who knows for sure? Even Tiëste finds new tinnies sometimes But, OK just for fun, look at THIS! The Abzeichen is made by Sieper und Söhne in Lüdenscheid, mentioned here/here already. Its the very first KdF by Sieper I saw! Its a real goodlooker no? Nice marks at the back! This Abzeichen for KdF in Tirol und Vorarlberg. This was an NSDAP Gau, Tirol-Vorarlberg combined. Vorarlberg, is much smaller then Tirol, maybe 2 or 3 times. So, the Tiroler Wappen makes this brilliant tinnie. If you want you can see the Vorarlberger Wappen here too. NSDAP Gauleiter was Franz Hofer, we can see him here. And I could find the KdF Gauwart also, this was Fritz Mader. He was made chief of NS-Kulturgemeinde (NSKG) in Württmeberg Hohenzollern in 1937, and in 1942 he became profesor at the Stuttgart academy of arts. Other infos here. This tinnie is in Tiëste ofcourse, book L-Z of 2010 edition page 963, and its the only 1 Abzeichen for KdF Tirol-Vorarlberg in there. Used for background is something very nice KdF too but not linked to Tirol-Vorarlberg.

Enjoy,
KR

Karin,

That's a gem, great find!

Best!

W~

I am throughly enjoying this thread.

--dj--Joe

Hi Joe, William, Sirs Thanks for the cheers! And YES, it IS a very nice pin! BUT, lets not forget the Abzeichen NOT of plastik or wood or even without colours can be very nice too. Lets throw something in just to show this, yes?

For change, a metal Abzeichen. Made of sheetmetal. Not colourul, in fact, no colours at all, and a real pain to shoot I'm tellin you! But its so very nicely done. Not all Abzeichen show DAF plus KdF. This tinnie does! Feels like a Mitgliedsabzeichen; totally stunning detail! But to fully apreciate that we need to get very very close, so look at pics 4 and 5, just brilliant dont you think? Shot 4, look at that Eichenlaub'like decoration, so very small but so very detailed and done carefuly! There even are tiny little Eichel'chen right there! Go see, its cute! Shot 5, another little fine detail there, this Laub or leaf, and a close look at the lettering. These letters, very lovely, bit like Jugendstill lettering, no? The NSG KdF, like in the theaterposters and variétéprograms of the 1920s? Also the Eichenlaub-like decoratings around the edge, make it very luxuriouslooking. Very nice design, bit like a real medal.

NSDAP Gau Franken was formed in 1929 by joining Mittelfranken with district bezirk Nürnberg-Fürth. Leiter until 1940 was Julius Streicher. This Streicher was a bit of a riot, and got booted as Gauleiter so the Gau was left without Leitung till 1944 when Karl Holz took over. Btw, its fun to look a bit into Streicher, he also did the {in!!}famous Herkules Halle speech in Nürnberg in 1932. This speech called "Kampf dem Weltfeind" and that shows well how radical national socialist and antisemitic he was if you understand the subject was racial-nature. Anyways, see here if intersted, theres also parts of that speech there. Still Streicher was not the KdF Gauwart! I think that {could} have been Paul Dürr? But I only found 1 mention somewhere in some pdf hidden away and you need a supscription to some library to read more. A KdF Gau magazine often has a preface by the Gauwart, still looking for something like that for Gau Franken.

Anyhow, a real problemcolour this blank metal, to put in a shot, but, here it is!

Enjoy,
KR

Nice one K. I agree, it can be difficult to photograph some of these items. I have trouble with bright silver items and sometimes bronze items.

--dj--Joe
My bronze example like your silver.

I saw some beautiful little gems here. And Karin, your photographical qualities are stunning. Please don't tell me you're using just an ordinary compact camera.

Regards, Wim

NICE items here!

Hi Lloyd,

thanks for the kind remark, Im glad you like these! You have something KdF too?



Joe hey!!

Your bronze(ish?) Gau Franken is very gorgeous! Again this fabulous condition you have, oh my, where you ever found those! Thanks for sharing that one!


Wim, what a surprise?! Gems, well, YES, these are awesome! Great you like them too! My qualities, ha ha, well, thanks, I guess, for the compliment? Practise practise practise, helps when you have time too much to kill, no? And, no, I wont tell you, about that compactcam and all. Or, maybe, YES, I will! Thats how it started at least? I sorta confiscated a Fuji Finepix S5000? And molested it too, ahem, BUT, itsa great cam still, and, its not about the cam realy is it? I mean, take a million $$$ cam, still people will shoot junk with it. And others, do wonders and make art with cams in mobiles, no? BUT, That FinePix has a pretty great Fujinon lense, and a pretty whopping max-aperture of 2.8, which actualy turns out a bit less big if you look at the results but it is impressive for macros and stuff.
However, no, no more compactcam, these recent shots, are made difrently! I was in Santa's "nice" book last Xmas, and, the big fellow brought me many presents, and Im breakin in this here new profi DSLR supercam PLUS 2 epic lenses! Its totally crammed with options and settings and stuff, will be a good while before I get the hanfg of all that, but, very cool to get to know! Anyways Ill PM the brand + lenses, Ill just feel like bragging, and Im not at all in any mood to start a "hey offtopic" or a "hey that brand is no good this brand is better with such lense and so and so", in the end, its just what anyone feels OK with, yes? Bsides, this cam/lense obviously is way better anyhow *LOL*

Cheers,
KR

OK we have metals, plastic, EFO's and porcelain even wood, but not this yet. This Abzeichen for KdF Gau Koblenz-Trier is made of clay. Truly very nice! Its nothing like any Allach statue or anything but imagine the very small size and then look at the beautiful image sculpted on the tinnie! Its lovely! A nice glazing coating, and, reckon its backed a couple times too. Showing 2 details here, look at her face! Theres little eyes and a nose ... OK, the nose is a bit scruffy, but, hows your nose at 70+?! Also, showing the nice little grapes at the bottom, with the leafes and all even! Amazing, no? No maker at the back, unfortunatly, but the claymould (I think they did?) for this surely took some time to make. This one,is in Tiëste on page 510 of the A-K book of 2010 edition. The background, is a DAF propaganda shot from a Volksfest in Trier in a DAF brochure.

The area between Koblenz and Trier, is also called Moselland in German. Very lovely area, see impression here. NSDAP Gauleiter was Gustav Simon. No trace of any KdF Leitung anywhere, not even has anything. Would anybody know if students from abroad have limited access compared to US students? I think I found the Handbuch der NSDAP-Gaue at JSTOR before I had my schoollogin active? Anyone from US has access to it? If so, does that have any names of Gauwarten or Kreiswarten for KdF?

Enjoy,
KR

nice to see all these gems coming out this a very interesting area to collect

PAUL

Thanks Paul! Its very nice to see you like these too! And, YES, itsa supertopic to collect! Its got it all; awesome designs, epic complex politics an treacherus plots to learn about, KdF was evrywhere through the Reich so it tells many stories, and thats just the beginning. I still have your impresive flag on my mind, I hope to get back at that .. but for now, lets drift a bit ...

Robert Ley, fcourse yall know, he was the leader of DAF. He said, "Es kommt nicht darauf an, wie weit jemand springt, sondern daß er springt." And Ley truly believed that, and, in itself, his words are true, no? Very wise saying in fact. Many today should take advice from that and not be so judgemental or maliciouspleased about somebody trying, instead of cheering for the effort to try. Sport was a big thing in German 3rd Reich propaganda-land, and when KdF got founded and formed and progressed, sports were a big deal for the Freizeitsorganisation KdF. Kraft durch Freude, Freude durch Kraft. Reckon also to make people competitive and battleready a bit. In 1934, the first physical education course was founded in Berlin. This was a big succes and from then on in 1934 more and more courses and institutions for sports were formed. By end 1935, Germany had over 60 Sportämter, and end 1936 ALL the NSDAP Gaue and 680 Kreisen had their own Sportamt. National Socialistische Gemeinschaft Kraft Durch Freude named Gausportwarten and Kreissportwarten. In 1934, there were some 900 sports instructors in action. Next year, this was 1600 instructors. And in 1937, 7000! Kraft durch Freude Sport was born, and how!

In 1935, KdF Sport was still growing strong but not yet fully grown. In 1938 KdF Sport became THE Sports organisation of Germany. Before 1938, the Deutscher Reichsbund für Leibesübungen was the leading sports organisation. This DRL sorta got slowly obsorbed by KdF Sport. With this in mind, maybe, this badge is in place here. This pin is from 1935. And its made, by this E.O Friedrich from Leipzig again. The pin is made from, what Tiëste calls in his books Lederplastik. The DRGM at the back, means Deutsches Reich Gebrauchsmuster (3rd Reich registered design) so reckon the pin was only allowed to be made by Friedrich. The pin is maybe not very rare, but the pin with little green/white ribbons attached still IS special! Mostly now these ribbons are gone. The design, gorgeous, very much like the old greeks/romans; proud atheletic faces looking fiercly up, honorcrowns from branches on the heads, styled like the ancient olympic athletes statues. Very epic and very beautiful. Funny little detail for the closer looker there, the supertiny little swastika on the hairband or ribbon there. Took me a lookingglass to spot that!
Anyways, not 100% KdF maybe, but sicnificant in the whole picture, and its another pin by Friedrich. And WHAT a goodlooker! The background, is the cover of the magazine "Leibesübungen met Kraft durch Freude" from september 1935. I can scan it to post if anybodys intrested.

Enjoy,
KR

KdF made the effort to educate, or better said indoctrinate, in every way, and also together with DAF and NSDAP, to get rid of decline/decay/waste and build/rebuild on that. Technical stuff, progress, inprove, develop, everything. Radio was cracking hot that time! Even the first KdF.-holidaytrain had its own radiostation in München, playing tunes for the relaxing holiday people in the train enjoying views. There was no organisation for artists rights, forbidding to play music in public anywhere, like trains or work. Attached, a shot of the radiostation for the first holidaytrain (pic 4), and a shot of the radiostation of a company; Betriebsrundfunkanlage der Dresdener Gardinen und Spitzenmanufaktur (pic 5). There were more KdF-holidaytrains and if that topic intresests you then look for the booktitle "Ein KdF.-Urlauberzug rollt ins Salzkammergut," (maybe here) or go see this. Theres surely some nice free knowledge out there. Also, in that link above, much to read about radio, or Funk, in German. Like, all radiostations, were obligated to play each an every talk/speech Hitler did anywhere. Ofcourse, also other rules, regultations and all that. Control over/influence people by radio. And present the technology as fun. This pin, is for a KdF trip to the Berliner Funkausstellung, the exhibition of/for radio(technology), in 1938. Theres another of these for a year earlier, that pin is maybe twice the size of this? The one here is about 2.5 centimetres high and 2 centimetres wide (1 by 0.8 inches). Smashing design, proud little eagles head, in front of the swastika. In Tiëste on page 91 of book A-K of 2010 edition.

Enjoy,
KR

NEAT items here! I LOVE the pics!

I hope this fits into this thread but here's an item in my collection. If nothing else it shows that the Germans had a medal for for just about anything. Sorry about the washed out center on the front as I had to shoot this under artificial light.
Jim

Thanks Lloyd! Nice comments are always appreciated



Hi Jim! Youre very right! Medals for anything, YES! And why wouldnt it fit here? It links to some posts back, so, thanks much for sharing this! That is a very beautiful plaqete, wow! I like the Rollhockey part! Ha ha, thats cool, when all is good I do evrything on skeelers, so, very nice! To share the sidestep, from Abzeichen this time not from KdF, look at pic number 4 attached! Hows THAT for collectable?! A nice KdF Kodak-Box 620 camera! Thats gotta at least make a few people grin? Its not mine, I just found it somewhere. Your sportsaward must be realy rare, no? Probably is more expensive then evrything togethere here!?? Is it made of horn? Or bone? Or .. ?

Anyhow, back on KdF, what IS mine, is a lovely Delitzsch - Volks- und Heimatfest 3. und 4. Juli 1937 Abzeichen, that shows the KdF logo. Yes, by Friedrich again! And from Nitroplast this time. Seems a bit more thin then Efoplast Abzeichen but thats just coincidence maybe. Its super detailed, this! Very nice to sit an watch it with a lookingglass sorta like a peepbox, you know, you made as child? Truly very nice colours, this blue brownish. At the back, the maker and "D.R.P.a.", meaning "Deutsches Reichspatent angemeldet", so, another design officialy only made by Friedrich.

Here you can find nice postal stamps for that fest. in 1937 btw the towns Dewitz, Döbitz and Plösitz were added to Delitzsch.

The background, a dancegroup performing Heimattänze in KdF-Stadt. So not Delitzsch but still nice. KdF-Stadt, we know from Volkswagen Werk, and is today known as Wolfsburg, very near Fallersleben, were most of the people, that built the KdF Wagens came from.

Enjoy,
KR

Jim,

Very nice looking award and case, great condition.

KR,

Another exceptional KdF pin, you have a great eye for these.
How did you find that neat camera? Good to see you're staying "focused" on the KdF items ...

Best!

Bill

Hi William and Jim!

Focus! Ha ha, that cam, its a cracker aint it? Its fun! Also nice for a fotografhy museum, no? Found it by surprise, but its disapeared now, we tracked it tho, and, well, I hope I can focus on that cam more some day soon! Thanks for the remark on the pin. Couldnt believ no one else placed bids on it? I saw only 1 other of these at a dealer, for a majorrr price! So, yes, Im stoked with it! Its truly so nice to look at.

Jim, your award, I just know I found a Rollhockey shot somewhere, I want to show you, but, Im overlooking it I reckon. So, I did find this, not hockey, but it surely links to rolling! Some nice history on Rollhocky here or here, for exemple.

Anyhow, thanks guys

Cheers,
KR

I rreally wanted to show your flag waving from a boat, but, I cant! I tried, sorry .. Instead, I can show you your flag on a menu, used on the Wilhelm Gustloff. The ship is named after the killed National Socialist party leader in Switserland. The killer was a student who rebelled against the very loud antisemitic views and works of Gustloff. The ship was built in 1936, was the first KdF ship, and, put to water in 1937. You can see a shot from the Stappellauf in shot 4. The ship, was as unlucky as the person it was named after. You can read all about this massive ship here or here and much much more. Shots 1 - 4, the menu, with your flag on it, and some fotographs of the ship. The menu is kinda special, it was for november 9, and, it mentions the memorial parade for the fallen of 1923! There were many more ships, KdF made a whole fleet. The Robert Ley, named after the leader of DAF and founder of KdF, was built in 1938, started work in 1939. Shot 5 shows Robert Ley, and that ship. Anyhow, if I ever find a shot waving your flag Paul Ill post it yes?

Bye,
KR

Grundsteinlegung, the laying of the 1st stone of the Volkswagenwerk! Very much looked for this Abzeichen, and very hard to find a real one, surely must be THE most sought after KdF pin? People that like cars, people that like Volkswagen or Käfer, people that collect pins, people that collect militaria, and, theres 1 or 2 maybe like me, doing KdF stuff. When you go look for this pin you'll find many fakes, and, the variety of what pins you find, should make you very careful! The best references, are period books and magazines and other publications. But not evrything is in these, or the magazines didnt always survive?

2nd shot is the pin, next to a picture of it in a 1938 publication; a big KdF book, "Unter dem Sonnenrad". The whole Deutsche Volkswagen story is there, but also SO VERY many other facts and stories, evrything KdF is in it, till 1938 ofcourse, in all its National Socialist propaganda ways. Its truly a very intresting book if youre into this stuff. Well, I surely am anyhow. Also, some shots of pics in the book; 1 shows the Grundsteinlegungabzeichen actually in wear! Look closely, to the shot of the Führer in the Käfer, the 2nd upper body you see, where Hitlers cap touches the Ärmelband of the body behind him? On the collar there. Blurry, but still, a very very rare shot of this Abzeichen in wear. How cool is that?! Also, another shot I like, of Robert Ley and Hitler, and some others, looking at a scaled Käfer model. Hitler, quirkyly touching or tapping the bonnet, as if hes not sure, if its gonna growl at him or bite him or anything *LOL*

All the new Reichsautobahnen needed traffic, so, everybody could get a car, in the concept of the KdF-Wagen. In theory ofcourse. No one ever got their KdF-Wagen. Still, after the war, the car began a long successful life, no? Ivan Hirst really saved the car that started in 1934; Talks about the car and idea began between Hitler and Porsche in 1934. In 1937, Robert Ley founded the Gesellschaft zur Forbereitung des Deutschen Volkswagens. Near Fallersleben, a new citylike thing came to be, known as KdF-Stadt, were the Volkswagenwerk was buildt. Fallersleben was the city most workers came from that buildt the KdF-Wagens. KdF-Stadt is now called Wolfsburg. Many foreign (to Germany) workers build the Vokswagenwerk, mostly Italians. The saving-for-a-car concept, was new and we still have such systems today, like much other KdF things like grouptraveling, mass holiday resorts for exemple.

In the 1st shot, you see many papers, like a Sparkarte, and Quitungen, and forms, and KdF-Wagen-correspondance, awesomely impressive ... a big part showing the saving of a person for the KdF-Wagen! Even with orignal KdF envelopes. AND, correspondance from the organisation that tried to get back the money (or part of) for KdF-Wagen savers, from Volkswagen. Did you know, an after war organization for Volkswagen Sparer existed? It did a lawsuit against Volkswagen. The final verdict of that lawsuit was in 1961, on 19 oktober. The Bundesgerichtshof in Karlsruhe decided, that DAF was responsible for the savings and not Volkswagen, this cleared Volkswagenwerk from any more lawsuits and the company didnt have to pay back any money. No saver ever did get the money back from DAF. A nice background artickle in Der Spiegel in 1950. If you like, find more info here. Ricardo also put some nice stuff here some time ago.

Bye,
KR

I had to look twice to see the inwear pic.
Nice find K, and as always a great presentation.

--dj--Joe

KR,

Your photography is top-notch, and the well thought out layouts add much zest to the items ... bravo!

W~

Thank you both Sirs, for the nice comments Actually, there are discussions about what this Abzeichen is made from? I thought its metal, but, its from bakelite! I thought bakelite was very hard plastic, and never knew about it, or that it comes in so many types! During the 1940s the US government even planned to make coins out of bakelite. Some jewelry is even made from it too, and ... this Grundsteinlegungsabzeichen. See here how to possibly test this.

Another Abzeichen thats printed in the 1938 KdF book; the Sportappell der Betriebe 1938 Abzeichen. That IS made of plastic, another nice one by Sieper und Söhne. The Werkscharen, workers organised in units, much like troops, were much used from about 1935. These used the community feeling, as prescribed by DAF, to form close plant communities that worked very hard, well organized and smoothly. These used sports to get workers fit and to get the teamspirits up. Employees had to do ballsports, calisthenics, gymnastics and whatever, as much as they could do. This "sports in the plants" was part of the "Beauty of Labor", promoted by the Amt für Schönheit der Arbeit. Every year, the Amt had a theme, like the Reichsparteitagen. In 1938, the theme was Gesunde Luft im Arbeitsraum. The pin is nicely marked at the back.

Enjoy,
KR

Its a real pleasure going through the thread you guys have going here.
That Gau München-Oberbayern pin on page 1 is a real beauty.Very stunning.
Thanks for the great work.