Original Set of Two German Pre-WWII State Veteran's Association Felt Armbands - DRKB

Original Items: Only One Set of Two Available. The Kyffhäuserbund (Kyffhäuser League) is an umbrella organization for war veterans' and reservists' associations in Germany, founded in 1900 to unify the various veteran's groups in Germany. It owes its name to the Kyffhäuser Monument (Kyffhäuserdenkmal), a memorial built on the summit of the 473 m high Kyffhäuser mountain near Bad Frankenhausen, in the state of Thuringia in central Germany. It was not a political affiliated organization, and was open to all German war veterans.

The difficult circumstances of World War I's postwar years led to a significant shrinking of the veterans' associations and their role. During the Weimar Republic in 1921, this organization shed its federal structure and centralized itself under a common leadership. Following this step, it changed its name to German Warriors Association Kyffhäuser (Deutscher Reichskriegerbund Kyffhäuser e.V.), abbreviated to DRKB.

When the National Socialist party came into party however, as with all national organizations, the group was absorbed under the NSDAP umbrella in the name of Gleichschaltung (Co-Ordination or NSDAPfication), the Kyffhäuserbund was after the NSDAP takeover of power in 1933. Five years later, its name was altered to NS-Reichskriegerbund ‘Kyffhäuser’ e.V. (National Socialist Reich Warriors Association ‘Kyffhäuser‘ - NS-RKB), becoming the sole and exclusive organization representing the Veterans´ interests in the Third Reich. The organization would then be disbanded in March of 1943 and its members would be drafted into Volksturm service in 1945, as the fall of WWII Germany approached.

Through the Weimar period, NSDAP period, and into WWII, the logo changed several times, and here we have two very nice felt armbands displaying two of the Pre-WWII Variations.

The earlier Kyffhäuserbund / DRKB senior officer's armband has a BeVo embroidered white "shield" logo showing the Kyffhäuser Monument over the Imperial German Tri-Color, and is in very good used condition. This early style is probably pre-1933, before the NSDAP takeover. It measures 14" x 3 7/8", with a black woven felt body that is sewn together in the back. It also features a wide bullion embroidered band in the center, for a senior officer in the organization. It shows light wear, with overall light staining and age, and  just a single moth hole to the lower right. It still has almost all of the fuzzy "nap" to the fabric.

The second Kyffhäuserbund / DRKB armband also has a BeVo embroidered white "shield" logo showing the Kyffhäuser Monument, except underneath is the NSDAP swas (Hook cross) emblem in a white circle on a red field. This indicates it was from the 1933-1938 period before the organization became the NS-RKB. It is also in very good used condition, and measures 14 1/4" x 3 3/4", with a black woven felt body that is sewn together in the back. It has a bit more wear that the earlier armband, with more staining and a few small tears.

A very nice set of two Pre-WWII DRKB Armbands, with just a bit of period wear. Ready to research and display!