German Awards - Service and Traditional Badge "Steel Helmet" 1920

The badge "For Service and Traditions" was presented by Franz Zeldt on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the steel helmet on the 13.11.1933. Members of the Steel Helmet Union received service or traditional insignia. Members who entered the Steel Helmet in 1924 received this badge. The unit of measure and the date of entry are usually engraved on the back. These badges came in different variants and material. Alpacka silver, bronze and silver badges were made. You could see the year on the front. Prices also depend on the year of entry. The earlier the year, the more expensive the badges. The reverse is usually engraved with the exact date and military unit. Badges without the Iron Cross on a steel helmet are also known. They were issued to members who had not fought at the front during the World War.
The Steel Helmet was a militant-nationalist, anti-parliamentary defensive association in the Weimar Republic. The steel helmet was founded in 1918 by Franz Zeldt (1882-1947).
The steel helmet was a gathering of former World War I soldiers who were in danger of social decline and rejecting the new republic. An organization of like-minded people and a political homeland were found in a steel helmet. The Steel Helmet was close to the German National People's Party and grew into the largest anti-republican, anti-democratic and anti-Semitic legal organization. In 1930, the union had about 500,000 members. After the assassination of Walter Rathenau, the steel helmet was banned in Prussia for several months. A constant opponent of Steel Helmet was the left-democratic organization Reichbanner Black-Red-Gold. In 1931, Stahlhelm was a member of the Union of the Harzburg Front together with the NSDAP and DNVP, which aimed to abolish the Reichstag and the Prussian Landtag. Since 1933, the inclusion of members in the SA began. In 1935, the Helmet Steel Union was dissolved.

Round badge in silver. The front side is enameled. On the back is a vertical pin.

Front side:

• Sign with a smooth silver border.
• On a black enameled substrate at the top is an elevated image of a steel helmet.
• The helmet deepens the image of the Iron Cross in the upper left corner.
• Next to the cross is the inscription: - Der - unter - steel helmet -.
• Among them are 2 crossed stylized oak leaves. Among the sheets, the figure is 1920 -.

Downside:

• Smooth silver with horizontal pin.
• The manufacturer rises above - STH -. (Engraved on this icon:)
• - VI. - Ns. 102 -/- 1.1.1920 - Hydroelectric power stations are curved along the lower edge. GESCH. –

Photos of www.militaria-berlin.de