RAD Sport Shirt Emblem

Product Description: This is an attractive example of the standard issue RAD Sport Shirt Emblem. These were worn by men of the Reichsarbeitsdienst, a compulsory labor organization during the Third Reich. On the front, this patch features a red shield, with a central white circle within which is the shovel and wheat ears organizational emblem of the RAD. The red shield is outlined in black and white. Beneath this shield, on the thin white fabric backing, is the “RADJ” triangular logo of the Reichsarbeitsdienst, as well as “Ges. Gesch.,” indicating a legally protected design, and the manufacturer marking “E. B. & S.” The reverse of this RAD Sport Shirt Emblem shows the typical appearance of Bevo style machine weaving. This patch was never worn or sewn on a shirt. It is complete, with no holes or damage, and has slight toning to the white fabric from age. It remains in excellent condition overall.

Historical Description: Physical fitness and competition were two concepts that were highly valued in the ideology of the Third Reich. All kinds of sports clubs and organizations flourished in the years before WWII, with larger Reich level organizations supervising athletics, promoting events and issuing awards for sport achievement. The various Nazi era civil, political, military and paramilitary organizations also promoted or even mandated exercise and sports for their members. To facilitate this, these organizations instituted sport uniforms, which typically included sport shoes, and for warm weather, shorts and a knit tank top with a woven emblem specific to that organization. In cold weather, the sport uniform generally included dark colored knit trousers and a sweatshirt, usually also with the sports-specific organizational emblem. The woven organizational emblem patch used on the sports patch was often a rather large patch, making these appealing souvenirs for Allied troops as they swept into Germany. Some types of the sports patches are very common today, though intact sports clothing is rarer, and some sports emblems for smaller organizations, made in limited numbers, are very rare.

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