UBB.threads Forums Uniform & Accessories The Honor Ring Forum How strict Was The Law!

I get a lot of flak sometimes about the 1933 law about not selling 'kitsch'. Cheapie items with NSDAP military, paramilitary emblems. Some just say 'bullshit' you don't know what your talking about..

I was saving this for my project, but it needs to be seen now.. Yes, after 1933 you were not supposed to sell them. Most of the time if they had a big stock they were allowed to sell them until gone but no reorders. this of course got stretched a bit ,,,but you will see WestWall rings, Skulls, and some semiofficial rings sold thru out the war for as long as they could..

But this article is very interesting. It has no date.. but it still using the old 'print'. Not exactly sure right now what the year was but they didn't even want that type of print used anymore!

So,,this is from one of the 'Trade guild' magazines, 'Watchmaker-Skill'...


Roughly it says: A jewelry shop in Hanover a Suprise raid was conducted to confiscate 'illegal' items... They took Skull rings!! - Reason, they looked too much like the official Death heads SS ring! The HR!!

Some maker made the skull ring that had runes on it and was a tiny bit [?] similar to the HR.. It goes on to say the German military have been buying skull rings for the last 50 years! And they are right. So this pattern must have been pretty close to the HR.. In the end it says steps are being made to get the rings back. . I'd bet it never happened, or they went back all cut up , destroyed somehow so the jeweler at least didn't lose their precious silver.

Since my German is nonexistent IF anyone sees a mistake I made or something else please don't hesitate to come on and correct and/or add to.. Much thanks and enjoy....,G.

Hello my friend, thx you for sharing this info, IMO this is very interesting doc !

Very interesting, thanks Gaspare. Indeed, you have mentioned the disapproval of the Nazi state of the 'cheapening' of their symbols. I find this ironic since so many of these symbols were already 'stolen' by the Nazis. The Totenkopf certainly predates 1933 by decades and the swastika was an ancient religious and cultural symbol from Eurasia.

The makers were required by law to get approval from the local police before selling. I've said this before, a lot of the items we call kitsch was approved for sell.

Skulls shouldn't have been a problem as even the article mentions they were popular for many years before.. By wartime Skulls, WW,, and only a few other patterns were for sale and thats it!

I have more on this but have been saving it for my project.. I posted this because of a email to me saying Skulls were always available.. Well as we see they weren't for a short time....

I would still say IF the jeweler got them back they were defaced as at most times a certain amount of silver was allotted for each jeweler so something probably was returned....

As a side note:
Andy years ago bought a ring that looked and put together exactly like a HR except the band had no runes but just oak leafs!
Might be on here somewhere still but would take some seaarching and for whatever reason my search function
has never worked well here!

I have seen rings with just oak leaves on the band and I might have an advert. Not positive though.

Mikee that would be great if you could find anything!!

Years ago I had a big debate with a Microscope guy.. He used extreme magnification on anything and everything. But many things that were proclaimed fake ended up indeed being authentic.. Buying a piece of equipment like that takes schooling and much time to be able to read what your seeing! It seems that no matter what anyone said he insisted that there could never be cufflinks that looked like the NSDAP party pin.. Odal and I had found a hoard of skull rings many have heard of. In the hoard also were some cufflinks. These were N.O.S. [new old stock] with most of the sets were still on their 'sales' card.. I'm not talking about red white and red swastika cufflinks,,, I was saying exact replicas of the party pin!!..
Sent a photo of the set and he did not like them. Something about abnormalities in the enamel [?] He really couldn't or wouldn't say why... I said would a period advert prove it? He said sure.. Seems with the hoard were adverts the company had with their rings and other wares..

Now,these were before A.H. had become Chancellor. They made, or others made ,many different pieces of propaganda for the party.. Make up mirrors with Hitlers face on the back!,, Party watch fobs, cufflinks, all sorts of items including our favorite item the private purchase ring!

well anyway,,here is the advertisement for party cufflinks.. Dam shame Odal and I had to sell almost all of them before we even had them so we could buy the hoard! I think Odal ended up with 2 or 3 pair and I one pair [that I can't find! ]

whats kind of interesting in the above photo is while after the 1933 law those cufflinks could not be sold anymore... But the small eagle pin was an RZM item! Also interesting is that it seems that after the 33 law women's jewelry they didn't care about! A pendant like the one shown above was sold for many years after. Womens rings with a swastika also seemed to be sold for years after also,,,go figure[?] Those 'Anti-Fascist' pins above were not only not sold but the organizations had become 'outlaw'!!

I would recommend anyone with a real interest in Kitsch to find and buy this book.

You will see some pretty weird and cheapie items,,some junk,, some nice like our rings.. - I have about 4 more articles about the condemnation of kitsch etc. One is about the propaganda minister going crazy about all the WW items still for sale after the law.. Somehow they were allowed.. But the minister was going off about the pieces and saying only the WW medal is the approved decoration for doing your service on the WW and not to buy such junk!

I've had that book since publication I believe, many years anyway. The pendant bottom right was approved for sale, some watch fobs also, some cufflinks and some women rings.The others I would have to look them up, not sure. Some furniture was also approved for sale. Yes interesting subject.

Mikee, hopefully you still have it somewhere! .. It was a low print run,, from 1975... I've seen them in near mint condition go for $200!

Usually, they are around $75 to $100 for a nice one.. Very interesting book !!

That law was a long time coming.

From the mid 1920's, what we call "Nazi Kitsch" began appearing in Germany. It ran from simple items with a swastika to stormtrooper dolls to Horst Wessel music boxes to Elastolin soldiers ... you name it. The Nazis objected to most of it but there was little they could do.

If you look closer, some of it was in really poor taste and most of it traded on the what the NSDAP thought was THEIR property .. and they were not being paid for its use. I've always thought that not being paid royalties was the real reason behind the laws. Or, at least the most important reason.

I am also convinced that the birth of the RZM, which controlled much of the Party's uniforms, daggers, hangers, etc, is tied to the desire of the Party to not only control what was produced but to get fat royalties in the process.

Dave I think your right on the money! RZM was at first created to 'get ahold' of their brand. Get everything 'legal, number etc. And,, of course the NSDAP got their share$ !

I also think of the same with Kitsch.. The party somehow got their piece.... And yes some of it was really distasteful..


Here's a few shots from the book.. So before 33 it was wide open. Get that swastika , the colors etc. out there no matter what.. Then,,after the election that stuff was over, done with, condemned.... Very few pieces got approved... These photos are all pieces from before 33.

- So from the cover of the book.. It really is a display for cheapie swastika stick pins! Next,, Aahh, the ever so valuable Party Thimbles!!

Now these next 2 shots... Well those fobs were good quality. I'd even say on the higher end.. - I've seen them before and they were nice! Wouldn't mind that whole group.. ......



- And,, of course our rings.. These , well some we know weren't so kitschy... That center ring is a Wilm or Wilm style party ring. The other 2 also earlier,, and of a decent quality.

I had no idea the book now sales for that much. Yes I still have it somewhere.

I reiterate, some of these items were approved for sale. A lot of rings with swaz, watch fobs, pendants some gold with diamonds, very nice pens in silver, yes pens lol, some cig cases, tie clips and stick pins, SS and SA rings. All approved for sale and all required approval for sale. On the watch fobs you could mix and match the different bars and chains some of course more decorative. This was just to mention a few more items but a lot more got approved. A lot got disapproved as well. Best!