Original German WWII SS Allach Porcelain Mother's Cross Decorative Julteller Plate - dated 1944

Original Item: Only One Available. Here we have a lovely example of German WWII Era SS Allach porcelain, pieces designed to match Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler misguided attempts to glorify his version of Germanic history. This is a lovely display plate measuring 9 7/8" across with a Cross of Honor of the German Mother in the center, surrounded by NSAP Iron crosses and Oak leaves. Surrounding this is the following high relief embossed message:

DURCH MÜTTER UND HELDEN IST UNSER DER SIEG

This translates to "Through Mothers and Heroes, the Victory is ours", definitely the kind of message that the SS wanted to send to all good German mothers. At the very bottom there is a ᚼ Hagal rune between two oak leaves, seen as the "Mother" rune of many of the runic systems that the pseudo-rune Armanen system was based on.

The rear of the plate has two hanger holes that were added pre-glazing through the raised ring on the bottom, which is where a string would go to hang the plate. These plates were intended for display, and the high relief embossed designs on the front made them unsuitable for actual use. The rear is marked in black near the top hanger holes with the following text:

JULTELLER DER ᛋᛋ 1944

A "Julteller" was a "Yule Plate" or "Christmas" plate, and was part of the continuing effort by the NSDAP and SS to replace Christian traditions with those based on the fabricated "aryan" heritage promulgated by the party. Families involved in the SS often would have a corner of the house dedicated to items with SS symbolism, and this plate would have fit right in. The center of the plate bears the correct SS-Kulturzeichen proof marking, indicating that it is an official SS approved item made by Allach. This looks like two superimposed "ᛋᛋ" sig / victory runes.

Condition of the plate is very good, though there is a repair on the left side, which unfortunately also damaged the lacquer coating on the plate. The "Mother's cross" insignia does not look to have any glaze over it, so we assume that the top was produced mostly unglazed, and then had a coating applied post firing.

SS Allach porcelain pieces are extremely rare, and this is the first example of this kind of decorative plate that we have had. Ready to add to your collection!

The Cross of Honor of the German Mother, referred to colloquially as the Mutterehrenkreuz (Mother’s Cross of Honor) or simply Mutterkreuz (Mother’s Cross), was a state decoration conferred by the government of the German Reich to honor a Reichsdeutsche German mother for exceptional merit to the German nation. Eligibility later extended to include Volksdeutsche (ethnic German) mothers from, for example, Austria and Sudetenland, that had earlier been incorporated into the German Reich.

The decoration was conferred from 1939 until 1945 in three classes: bronze, silver, and gold, to Reichsdeutsche mothers who exhibited probity, exemplary motherhood, and who conceived and raised at least four or more children in the role of a parent. A similar practice, that continues to this present day, was already established in France since 1920, by conferring the Médaille de la Famille française (Medal of the French Family), a tribute to the French mother who raised several children in an appropriate way.

In recognition of the substantial importance a woman's role and motherhood was in support of a strong Germany, the Cross of Honor of the German Mother was introduced by decree in Berlin on 16 December 1938 by Führer und Reichskanzler (leader and chancellor) AH. The preamble of the statutory decree declared:

As a visible sign of gratitude of the German nation to children-rich mothers I establish this Cross of Honor of the German Mother

The crosses were awarded annually on the second Sunday in May (Mothering Sunday or Mother's Day), but also extended to include other national annual occasions of celebration. So despite its institution in 1938, the first awards were rendered in May 1939.

The Mother's Cross was composed of three classes, and conferred to mothers in accordance with its statutory legislation: Verordnung des Führers und Reichskanzlers über die Stiftung des Ehrenkreuzes der Deutschen Mutter vom 16. Dezember 1938.

Reichsgesetzblatt (RGBI) Teil I, 1938, Nr. 224, Seite 1923 (In English: Statutory Order of the Leader and Chancellor on the establishment of the Cross of Honor of the German Mother of 16 December 1938. Imperial-(Reichs) Law Gazette (RGBl) Part I, 1938, No. 224, Page 1923), and its stringent nomination screening protocol.

Classes
-1st class, Gold Cross: eligible mothers with eight or more children
-2nd class, Silver Cross: eligible mothers with six or seven children
-3rd class, Bronze Cross: eligible mothers with four or five children

Porzellan Manufaktur Allach (Allach porcelain manufacture) was produced in Germany between 1935 and 1945. After its first year of operation, the enterprise was run by the SS with forced labor. The emphasis was on decorative ceramics —objets d'art for the NSDAP regime. The company logo included stylized SS runes. Sometimes in place of the company name, the pottery markings mentioned the SS: "DES "ᛋᛋ" - WIRTSCHAFTS - VERWALTUNGSHAUPTAMTES" ('SS Main Economic [and] Administrative Office'). Ceramic artist, master potter and author Edmund de Waal describes the double-lightning insignia of the SS that marked the Allach products as a clever transposition of Germany's famed Meissen porcelain mark of two crossed swords.

History:
Franz Nagy had owned the land since 1925 that the Munich-Allach facility was built on. With his business partner, the porcelain artist Karl Diebitsch, he began the production of porcelain art. The porcelain factory Porzellan Manufaktur Allach was established as a private company in 1935 in the small town of Allach, near Munich, Germany. In 1936, the factory was acquired by the SS. Heinrich Himmler, the leader of the SS who was known for his obsession with Aryan mysticism, saw the acquisition of a porcelain factory for the production of works of art that would be representative, in Himmler's eyes, of Germanic culture. Allach porcelain was one of Himmler's favorite projects and produced various figurines (soldiers, animals, etc.) to compete in the small but profitable German porcelain market.

High-ranking artists were locked into contract. The output of the factory included over 240 ceramic models. As output at the Allach factory increased, the NSDAP moved production to a new facility near Dachau. The use of slave labor was strongly denied by the factory managers at the Nuremberg Trials. Initially intended as a temporary facility, Dachau remained the main location for porcelain manufacture even after the original factory in Allach was modernized and reopened in 1940. The factory in Allach was retrofitted for the production of ceramic products such as household pottery.

Karl Diebitsch, was an Obersturmbannführer in the Waffen-SS, and Himmler’s personal referent on art. Theodor Kärner was (besides Diebitsch) one of Germany’s most prestigious artists in porcelain. Kärner also worked with Meissen, Rosenthal and Hutschenreuther.