0726 German Third Reich / WW2 NSDAP Day Badge 1939 - Reichsparteitag

Original German / Third Reich NSDAP day badge - 1939, it is constructed out of a die struck zinc alloy base that has been silver washed and blackened. The round blackened obverse features a national eagle (with outstretched wings clutching a wreathed swastika in its talons), above a seated, topless woman who is wearing a dress and has a sheaf of wheat on her lap. The woman is behind a seated child that is holding a bundle of grapes and is in front of a grape vine. It is all on a smooth backing and also reads: “Reichsparteitag” (bottom) and “1939” (left). The 11th Nuremberg Rally, scheduled for September 2–11, was given the name “Rally of Peace” (Reichsparteitag des Friedens). It was meant to reiterate the German desire for peace, both to the German population and to other countries. It was cancelled at short notice, as one day before the planned date, September 1st, Germany began its offensive against Poland (which ignited World War II), IN VERY NICE CONDITION - GOOD PIN DEVICE, MAKER MARKED: "RZM M9/60 - Paulmann & Crone - Ludenscheid", DIAMETER: 42 mm

HISTORY OF THE DAY BADGES:

Day badges were introduced in 1933, the NSDAP declared May 1st the “Day of National Work” as an official state holiday to celebrate labourers and the working classes. The Nazis sought to gain support of workers by declaring May Day, a day celebrated by organized labour, to be a paid holiday and held celebrations on 1 May 1933 to honour German workers. The Nazis stressed that Germany must honour its workers. Hitler often praised the virtues of labor, declaring in Völkischer Beobachter that "I only acknowledge one nobility—that of labour." The regime believed that the only way to avoid a repeat of the disaster of 1918 was to secure workers' support for the German government. The regime also insisted through propaganda that all Germans take part in the May Day celebrations in the hope that this would help break down class hostility between workers and burghers. Songs in praise of labour and workers were played by state radio throughout May Day as well as an airshow in Berlin and fireworks. Hitler spoke of workers as patriots who had built Germany's industrial strength and had honourably served in the war and claimed that they had been oppressed under economic liberalism. Berliner Morgenpost that had been strongly associated with the political left in the past praised the regime's May Day celebrations.