Condition: Excellent
Maker: Lenkwerk Brüder Schneider, Wien
Base Material: Aluminum
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Product Description: This Aluminum Hitler Youth Buckle is an attractive piece, that shows honest period wear and use. It’s made of aluminum, and is the standard Hitlerjugend pattern. The obverse is particularly clean, with appealing luster to the bare aluminum. The high points of the design show evident wear, which contrasts handsomely with the crisp detail in the recesses of the design. There are a couple of small, scattered marks, and a bit of patina as well. The reverse of this buckle is complete and textbook, with an integral catch for the belt hook, and an aluminum roller bar and prongs assembly. The reverse has a nice, uncleaned look, and shows the design in reverse as is typical. This buckle is nicely marked near the catch, with the round “RZM” logo of the Reichszeugmeisterei, and the maker code “M4/93” indicating manufacture by the firm of Lenkwerk Brüder Schneider in Vienna. This is a nice example of an Aluminum Hitler Youth Buckle, in excellent condition.
Historical Description: The belt buckle was an important part of the regalia worn by all uniformed military, civil, political and paramilitary organizations during the Third Reich. The belt (“Koppel”) was part of the uniform and would always be worn while on duty. The belt buckle (“Koppelschloss”) was generally specific to each organization, with many organizations having separate belt buckles for officers and for enlisted personnel, sometimes with different colors and finishes to further denote specific purposes. The buckles were adorned with various mottos and designs specific to the organizations for which they were intended. Many designs used the German national eagle emblem, in a variety of forms. Belt buckles were worn with uniforms ranging from finely tailored officer parade uniforms, to the issue uniforms of enlisted soldiers in combat. Generally speaking, most German belt buckles of the Third Reich were made with two prongs on the reverse, to allow the buckle to be worn and adjusted on a belt. The buckle had a catch that would mate with a hook on the belt, when worn. The earliest Third Reich buckles were often made of brass, or nickel silver. Later, aluminum became very common, and was used on private purchase as well as enlisted buckles of the German military, with or without a painted or plated finish. After WWII began, most enlisted military buckles were steel. Nazi belt buckles were popular souvenirs for Allied troops who served in Europe. Some types were made by the millions and remain quite common today. Others were made in limited numbers and are very rare.
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