Swastika-armlet
The Swastika-armlet or Swastika armband (German: Hakenkreuz-Armbinde) appeared around 1920 worn by members of the new NSDAP.
History
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The swastika armband was introduced in 1920 by the early National Socialists as a "Kampfbinde" (combat armband). They took over the swastika (卐) from the Völkisch movement. Initially, this armband was used to identify party members of the NSDAP, as they were dressed in different street clothes and a wide variety of modified uniforms from World War I or the Freikorps (some wore a Hakenkreuz on their Stahlhelm) and were often indistinguishable from their political opponents.
In 1923, the SA-Stabswache and the Stoßtrupp „Adolf Hitler“ (Emil Maurice, Jakob Grimminger, Rudolf Heß and many more) also wore the armband. From 1925, the armband was called the "Sturmbinde" (storm armband), but both names were used until the unconditional surrender on 8 May 1945. By then there were about 38 variants of this armband.
The swastika armband of the NSDAP consisted of red woolen fabric in which a white circle with a black swastika ("swastika mirror") was attached. The numerous subdivisions of the NSDAP often had their own "combat armband", the basic pattern of which was always the same, among them were:
- Sturmabteilung
- Allgemeine SS
- Hitlerjugend
- Reichsarbeitsdienst
- Politische Leiter (political leaders)
