The Art of Heraldry: Heraldry of the Third Reich

deuche heraldic 1939-1945

The Emblem of the Thule Gesellschaft
precursor of the NSDAP

The Thule-Gesellschaft (Thule Society), originally the Studiengruppe für germanisches Altertum ("Study Group for Germanic Antiquity"), was a German occultist and völkisch group in Munich, named after a mythical northern country from Greek legend.

The Society is notable chiefly as the organization that sponsored the Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (DAP), which was later reorganized by Adolf Hitler into the National Socialist German Workers' Party.

According to Hitler biographer Ian Kershaw, the organization's "membership list...reads like a Who's Who of early Nazi sympathizers and leading figures in Munich", including Rudolf Hess, Alfred Rosenberg, Hans Frank, Julius Lehmann, Gottfried Feder, Dietrich Eckart and Karl Harrer.

The Emblem of the Thule Gesellschaft

(variation)

Germanenorden Walvater des Heiligen Grals

Thule Swastika

The Thule swastika is distinguished from other forms of the swastika by its curved arms. This is the true form of the 'Nordic' swastika, representing the 'whisk of creation' and the galactic spiral.

Lanz von Liebenfels' Swastika Flag

Adolf Josef Lanz aka Jörg Lanz, who called himself Lanz von Liebenfels (July 19, 1874 – April 22, 1954) was an Austrian publicist and journalist.

He was a former monk and the founder of the magazine Ostara, in which he published anti-semitic and völkisch theories.

Lanz von Liebenfels' Swastika Flag

Germanenorden

The Germanenorden was a völkisch secret society in early 20th century Germany.

It was founded in Berlin in 1912 by Theodor Fritsch and several prominent German occultists including Philipp Stauff, who held office in the List Society and High Armanen Order as well as Hermann Pohl, who became the Germanenorden’s first leader.

The group was a clandestine movement aimed at the upper echelons of society and was a sister movement to the more open and mainstream Reichshammerbund.

The order, whose symbol was a swastika, had a hierarchical fraternal structure based on Freemasonry.

Local groups of the sect met to celebrate the summer solstice, an important neo-pagan festivity in völkisch circles (and later in the Third Reich), and more regularly to read the Eddas as well as some of the German mystics.

In addition to occult and magical philosophies, it taught to its initiates nationalist ideologies of Nordic racial superiority and antisemitism, then rising throughout the Western world. As was becoming increasingly typical of völkisch organisations, it required its candidates to prove that they had no non-Aryan bloodlines.

Golden Party Badge of the NSDAP

Flag of the Third Reich

(1933-1945)

The design of the flag of the Third Reich was introduced by Hitler as the flag of the NSDAP in mid-1920: a flag with a red background, a white disk and a black swastika in the middle.

In 'Mein Kampf', Hitler explained the process by which the Nazi flag design was created: It was necessary to use the same colours as Imperial Germany, because in Hitler's opinion they were "revered colours expressive of our homage to the glorious past and which once brought so much honour to the German nation."

The most important requirement was that "the new flag... should prove effective as a large poster" because "in hundreds of thousands of cases a really striking emblem may be the first cause of awakening interest in a movement." Nazi propaganda clarified the symbolism of the flag: the red colour stood for the social, white for the movement's national thinking and the swastika for the victory of the Aryan peoples.

Several designs by a number of different authors were considered, but the one adopted in the end was Hitler's personal design.

Albert Speer stated in his memoirs that "in only two other designs did he (Adolf Hitler) execute the same care as he did his Obersalzberg house: that of the Reich War Flag and his own standard of Chief of State (see below)".

Standarte Adolf Hitlers - Third Reich

Hoheitszeichen - Adler des Dritten Reiches

(Third Reich Eagle and Swastika)

National Emblem of the Third Reich

(Reich Adler)

During the Third Reich a stylised eagle combined with the swastika was made the national emblem (Hoheitszeichen) by order of Adolf Hitler in 1935.

Despite its mediæval origin, the term "Reichsadler" in common English understanding is mostly associated with this version.

The NSDAP had used a very similar symbol for itself, called the Parteiadler ("Party's eagle"). These two insignia can be distinguished as the Reichsadler looks to its right shoulder whereas the Parteiadler looks to its left shoulder.

Hoheitszeichen - Adler des Dritten Reiches

(Third Reich Eagle and Swastika)

National Emblem of the Third Reich

(Reich Adler)

Adler des Dritten Reiches

(Third Reich Eagle and Swastika)

(Reich Adler)

Adler des Dritten Reiches

(Third Reich Eagle and Swastika)

(Reich Adler)

Adler des Dritten Reiches

(Third Reich Eagle and Swastika)

(Reich Adler)

Adler des Dritten Reiches

(Third Reich Eagle and Swastika)

(Reich Adler)

Adler des Dritten Reiches

(Third Reich Eagle and Swastika)

(Reich Adler)

Adler des Dritten Reiches

(Third Reich Eagle and Swastika)

(Reich Adler)

Adler des Dritten Reiches

(Third Reich Eagle and Swastika)

(Reich Adler)

Adler des Dritten Reiches

(Third Reich Eagle and Swastika)

(Reich Adler)

Wappen Reichsgau Sudetenland

(Coat of Arms of the Reich District of the Southern Country)

Der Reichsgau Sudetenland wurde aus dem größten Teil der 1938 einverleibten Gebiete[1] der Tschechoslowakei gebildet und bestand im Deutschen Reich von 1939 bis 1945. An der Spitze der Verwaltung des Territoriums stand der Reichsstatthalter Konrad Henlein. Der Reichsgau Sudetenland war in die Regierungsbezirke Eger, Aussig und Troppau unterteilt und umfasste im Oktober 1938 22.608 km², im Dezember desselben Jahres infolge weiterer Gebietskorrekturen 29.140 km². Gauhauptstadt war das böhmische Reichenberg.

(The Reich District of Sudetenland consisted of the areas of Czechoslovakia occupied by Volksdeutsch and became part of the German Reich from 1939 to 1945.

At the head of the administration of the territory was the imperial governor Konrad Henlein . The Reichsgau Sudetenland was divided into the districts of Erlau, Aussig and Troppau.

The Provincial capital was Reichenberg.)

Greater Arms of the Protectorate of Moravia and Bohemia

Protektorat Böhmen und Mähren

The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (Czech: Protektorát Cechy a Morava) was the majority ethnic-Czech protectorate which Nazi Germany established in the central parts of Bohemia, Moravia and Czech Silesia in what is today the Czech Republic.

It was established on 15 March 1939 by proclamation of Adolf Hitler from Prague Castle following the declaration of establishment of the independent Slovak Republic on 14 March 1939.

Bohemia and Moravia were autonomous Nazi-administered territories which the German government considered part of the Greater German Reich.

The state's existence came to an end in 1945.

Lesser Arms of the Protectorate of Moravia and Bohemia

Protektorat Böhmen und Mähren

Heer (Army)

Decal for Helmet 1942 - Third Reich

Emblem of the Deutsches Afrikakorps

Deutsches Afrikakorps, DAK - (German Africa Corps), or the Afrika Korps as it was popularly called, was the German expeditionary force in Libya and Tunisia during the North African Campaign of World War II.

The reputation of the Afrika Korps is synonymous with that of its first commander Erwin Rommel, who later commanded the Panzer Army Africa which evolved into the German-Italian Panzer Army (Deutsch-Italienische Panzerarmee) and Army Group Africa, all of which Afrika Korps was a distinct and principal component.

Throughout the North African campaign, the Afrika Korps fought against superior Allied forces right to the very end in May 1943 when it surrendered.

GrossAdmiralflagge 1939-1945

Third Reich

Reicharbeitsdienstflagge - R D A

Third Reich

The Reichsarbeitsdienst (or RAD, Reich Labour Service) was an institution established as an agency to reduce unemployment, similar to the relief programs in other countries.

During the Second World War it was an auxiliary formation which provided support for the Wehrmacht.

On 5 June 1931, two years before the Nazi Party ascended to power, Konstantin Hierl became head of the Freiwilliger Arbeitsdienst or FAD, a state sponsored voluntary labour organization that provided services to civic and agricultural construction projects.

There were many such organizations in Europe at the time, founded to provide much-needed employment during the Great Depression.

At the time, Hierl was already a high-ranking member of the NSDAP and when the Party took power in 1933, he remained the head of the labour organization - now called the Nationalsozialistischer Arbeitsdienst or NSAD.

On 11 July 1934, the NSAD was renamed as the Reichsarbeitsdienst or RAD (State Labor Service) and Hierl would be its director until the end of World War II.

The RAD was an amalgamation of the many prior labour organisations formed in Germany during the times of the Weimar Republic.

RAD members were to provide service for various civic, military and agricultural construction projects.

'Blut und Boden'

Emblem of the Reichsnährstand

Third Reich

Blut und Boden (Blood and Soil) refers to an ideology that focuses on ethnicity based on two factors, descent (Blood (of a folk)) and homeland/Heimat (Soil).

It celebrates the relationship of a people to the land they occupy and cultivate, and it places a high value on the virtues of rural living.

Richard Walther Darré (born Ricardo Walther Oscar Darré, 14 July 1895 - 5 September 1953) was an SS-Obergruppenführer and one of the leading Nazi "blood and soil" (German: Blut und Boden) ideologists.

He served as Reich Minister of Food and Agriculture and Reichsbauernführer and leader of the Reichsnährstand.

Org Todt

SS - Schutzstaffel

Third Reich

The Schutzstaffel translated to Protection Squadron or defence corps, abbreviated SS—or with stylized "Armanen" sig runes was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler.

The SS was built upon Nazi ideology and was under Heinrich Himmler's command.

The origin of the SS came from a small permanent guard unit made up of NSDAP volunteers to provide security for Nazi Party meetings in Munich.

Formed at the end of 1920, they were known as the "Saal-Schutz" (Hall-Protection).

Later under the leadership of Heinrich Himmler between 1929 and 1945, the SS was renamed the "Schutz-Staffel" and grew from a small paramilitary formation to one of the largest and most powerful organizations in the Third Reich.

SS - Schutzstaffel

Third Reich

SA (STURMABTEILUNG) STANDARTE

BERLIN

A red vexillum. At the center a black upright swastika with a silver-black border in a white disk with a silver border. Above the disk the word Deutschland (Germany), below the word Erwache (awake!). Surrounded by a silver black-white-red fringe (except at top). Ratio 5:6. Connected by a black-white-red rope to a red rectangle with the name of the unit (earlier with the letters NSDAP). The top of the staff has an eagle grasping a swastika in a wreath.

The Sturmabteilung (SA) - (Storm Detachment) - functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP).

It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s.

SA men were often called "brownshirts" for the colour of their uniforms.

The SA was the first National Socialist paramilitary group to develop pseudo-military titles for bestowal upon its members.

The SA ranks were adopted by several other Nazi Party groups, chief amongst them the SS, itself originally a branch of the SA.

The SA became largely irrelevant after Adolf Hitler ordered the "Blood purge" of 1934.

This event became known as the Night of the Long Knives.

The SA was effectively superseded by the SS, though never formally dissolved.

Seal of the Ahnenerbe

(Studiengesellschaft für Geistesurgeschichte Deutsches Ahnenerbe)

Ahnenerbe Emblem

(Studiengesellschaft für Geistesurgeschichte Deutsches Ahnenerbe)

The Ahnenerbe was a German think tank that promoted itself as a "study society for Intellectual Ancient History."

Founded on July 1, 1935, by Heinrich Himmler, Herman Wirth, and Richard Walther Darré, the Ahnenerbe's goal was to research the anthropological and cultural history of the Aryan race, and later to experiment and launch voyages with the intent of proving that prehistoric and mythological Nordic populations had once ruled the world.

Heinrich Himmler claimed and promoted that the Aryans originally came from Atlantis and were beings directly from heaven. They did not evolve as did other humanoids.
Formally, the group was called Studiengesellschaft für Geistesurgeschichte‚ Deutsches Ahnenerbe e.V. ("Study society for primordial intellectual history, German Ancestral Heritage, registered society"), and was renamed in 1937, as Forschungs und Lehrgemeinschaft das Ahnenerbe e.V. ("Research and Teaching Community the Ancestral Heritage, registered society").

Ahnenerbe Emblem

(variation)

Black Sun & Runes

The term Black Sun (German Schwarze Sonne), also referred to as the Sonnenrad (the German for "Sun Wheel"), is a symbol of esoteric or occult significance.

Its design bases on a sun wheel incorporated in a floor of Wewelsburg Castle.

oday, it may also be used in occult currents of Germanic neopaganism, and in Irminenschaft or Armanenschaft-inspired esotericism.

Berlin Olympic Logo

National Socialist Civic Arms of Munich

Because of its importance to the rise of National Socialism, Munich was referred to as the Hauptstadt der Bewegung ("Capital of the Movement").

The NSDAP headquarters was in Munich and many Führerbauten ("Führer-buildings") were built around the Königsplatz, some of which have survived to this day.

National Socialist Civic Arms of Berchtesgaden

Berchtesgaden is a municipality in the German Bavarian Alps.

It is located in the south district of Berchtesgadener Land in Bavaria, near the border with Austria, some 30 km south of Salzburg and 180 km southeast of Munich.

To the south of the city the Berchtesgaden National Park stretches along three parallel valleys.

Berchtesgaden is often associated with the Mount Watzmann, at 2713 m the third-highest mountain in Germany (after Zugspitze and Hochwanner), which is renowned in the rock climbing community for its Ostwand (East Face), and a deep glacial lake by the name of Königssee (5.2 km²).

Another notable peak is the Kehlstein mountain (1835 m) with its Kehlsteinhaus (Eagle's Nest), which offers spectacular views to its visitors.

The area of Obersalzberg was purchased by the Nazis in the 1920s for their senior leaders to enjoy. Hitler's mountain residence, the Berghof, was located here.

Berchtesgaden and its environs (Stanggass) were fitted to serve as an outpost of the German Reichskanzlei office (Imperial Chancellery).

Some typical Third Reich buildings in Berchtesgaden include the railway station, that had a reception area for Hitler and his guests, and the post office next to the railway station.

The Berchtesgadener Hof Hotel was a hotel where famous visitors stayed, such as Eva Braun, Erwin Rommel, Joseph Goebbels, and Heinrich Himmler, as well as Neville Chamberlain and David Lloyd George.

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THE THIRD REICH

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'Occult History of the

Third Reich'

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Heraldry of the Third Reich

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