Nasjonal Samling Collection

[Brig]

Was raining yesterday, so put all of by Nasjonal Samling items into a display. Fledgling collection, I tried to separate from top to bottom by organization...party, Hirdmarinen, Youth groups, GSSN, and Labor Service. Had to use thread on a couple of badges that are unfortunately missing their pins. Hoping to watch it grow over time...this case will probably work for awhile, the stuff's tough to find.

[Proud Kraut]

I wasn't aware of these insignia before you started to post your collection. Regarding to what I found online about theses items these must be very rare (and cool!) collectibles. Great collection, thanks for sharing!

[Brig]

They are quite tough to find...and it seems like many Norwegian collectors don't like to sell it out of Norway, so makes it even tougher

[Brig]

Figured I'd post some close-ups of some of this stuff, with links to where some was discussed in the forum, in case members are interested...

 

On the flanks are the 1941 and 1943 Hirdmonstringen badges. These are essentially tinnies for the Nasjonal Samling version of Nuremberg rallies. In the center is a Verneidrett (sports badge) in bronze, and originall would have had tabs/prongs on the rear for wear, but sadly they are missing...

 

The Hirdmonstringen badges were posted for discussion here... http://www.worldmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/314918-nasjonal-samling-hirdmonstringen-badges/

[Brig]

A Hirdmarine raven...these were worn on both the sleeve and cap of the Nasjonal Samling's naval force. Quisling envisioned them as the future Navy of Norway, but the Germans did not want to give up control of the seas, and the organization never got too large. This seems to be a fairly tough patch to find, I didn't know it when I bought I stumbled on it, but have seen it missing from several large collections...

 

It was discussed here... http://www.worldmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/314223-ravens-of-the-hirdmarine/

[Brig]

Cap ravens...the gold one in center was used by the Rikskird, the Nasjonal Samling version of the SA, and had a painted sun cross. The prongs on these were thin wire and are often missing. There was a rash of repros in the 60s-70s out of England that either use flat German-style prongs and/or enameled sun crosses...the cap badges never used enamel, unfortunately, but it allows for telltale signs of fakes

 

The gray/silver ravens on the top and bottom were for the youth groups. The marinen youth did not use a painted sun cross, whereas all other youth groups did. These had a silver wash, which is usually missing as often as prongs are.

 

These ravens were discussed here... http://www.worldmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/314745-cap-ravens-of-the-nasjonal-samling/

[Brig]

A stickpin for adult members of the Norsk-Tysk Selskap, essentially a friendship league

[Brig]

A German-made sleeve raven for a member of the GSSN, the Norwegian SS. The GSSN was a rare example of an SS organization not controlled by the Germans, however about half of the GSSN later served in German SS units such as Wiking on the Eastern Front. These ravens were often sewn right over the German SS sleeve eagles that came pre-sewn from the factory.

 

It was discussed here... http://www.worldmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/313298-gssn-sleeve-raven/

[SARGE]

Brig,

 

Really excellent information on these NS insignia. The only decent references I have found are the Littlejohn series on volunteer and collaborationist organizations that was published by Roger Bender and is now out of print.

 

Thanks for showing and explaining!

[Tony v]

Thank you for a very interesting posting ! Very nice to learn something new every day.

 

Tony

[Brig]

Brig,

 

Really excellent information on these NS insignia. The only decent references I have found are the Littlejohn series on volunteer and collaborationist organizations that was published by Roger Bender and is now out of print.

 

Thanks for showing and explaining!

There are errors in the Littlejohn work, I believe.

 

There are two references in Norway...one is written in both English and Norwegian, half of each page in each language, and is out of print. The other is written by a notorious faker, depicts fronts of badges only and he uses his fakes in the book to try to legitimize them.

 

It truly is an interesting niche...and one that takes a LOT of research and patience to get to know. Google translate has been my friend in the learning process

[Brig]

Picked this up a couple months ago... An Allgemeine SS shoulder strap. As it lacks a tag, I figure it best used towards my GSSN display.

 

The GSSN wore the same shoulder straps as the German A-SS...and from what I've been able to surmise, it is the only piece of insignia used by the GSSN that was never made in Norway, all were imported from Germany.

 

A couple photos pulled from the internet showing GSSN troops wearing the strap, as well as the raven posted earlier in the thread:

[Brig]

Some new additions arrived yesterday...just a teaser for now, I will post more later...

[Brig]

Some membership pins. Some new, some I've had and not posted up close/talked about yet. Like NSDAP badges, there were many variants of differing levels of quality of this badge. As with any fascist movement, the Nasjonal Samling recognized the importance, and made extensive use, of symbols. The NS party's symbol was the Sun Cross, which legend states is the symbol that adorned Saint Olaf's shield. These badges were usually worn on pockets, lapels, or ties and came in pinback, screwback, stickpin, and even a necklace pendant for female members. These are considered some of the more common NS items to find but are still tough to find and tend to fetch more than 2x what NSDAP badges cost on the collectors' market.

 

On the left is a more economical badge, unmarked and smaller in size, and displays a flat, solid orange enamel. On the right is a sterling badge by the firm of David Anderson in Oslo, where much of the gold finish is rubbed down, looking more silver. This seems to be fairly common with David Anderson pieces. The orange enamel on this piece also appears to be much more bulbous, rising above the metal or the badge. It is indeed a bit 'puffy', but not as much as it appears. This type of enamel work was fairly common on Norwegian badges of the era.

 

And then there was the stickpin version, which came in an even more amount of varieties. I have been able to pick up three thus far. The first is by the firm of Brodrene Mylius, and bares the firm's sterling hall mark of a bird. It has the same flat-type orange solid enamel as evident in the first membership badge above. The second badge has a more translucent, bright red enamel showing the texture underneath. The third is very interesting, with a short pin and a deep red enamel. As you can see, the texture stems from the more stamped quality of the piece, as evident from the rear.

 

The Nasjonal Samling party was rather unpopular in Norway, even during the years it was in charge as a puppet of Nazi Germany, and this small pin was referred to as "the louse".

[Brig]

A cap button for the sidecap of a female member of the Arbeidstjenesten (AT), the Norwegian version of RAD. Has two prongs on rear. The male version of this insignia used a spade rather than the wheat stalk used by female members. This version is enlisted, the officers used an enamel or painted variant

[Brig]

A stickpin for adult members of the Norsk-Tysk Selskap, essentially a friendship league

More images...note the way the untwisted pin is mounted...

[Brig]

A tinnie/day badge for the 8th and final Riksmote in 1942, which was essentially a Nuremberg-type rally of the Rikshird. 6 of these events had day badges, with 4 being a cardboard badge. This badge is the most common of all the Riksmote badges and was produced with both the safety-pin clasp above, as well as a more German-style wire clasp.

 

And here is an image of a poster advertising the rally (I don't own the poster, just a photo for reference...)

[Brig]

NS Badges were often affixed into jewelry for civilian/party member supporters, such as cuff links and finger rings. Here is an example of silver-marked NS cuff links, again with the puffy enameling. As you can see, one of the cuff links is chipped, which is very common with these old Norwegian enamel pieces, it was rather delicate. The chip on the emblem allows us to see the texturing underneath, which is often visible when firms used a translucent enamel, such as on the stickpins posted earlier in this thread

[Brig]

A Rikshird armband on wool. These armbands are almost never sewn into a loop to allow the wearer to switch it between garments, but instead was usually sewn directly to the uniform. In this case, it appears the the base armband was a party armband, with the Sun Cross being a patch sewn to the base fabric. From there, the swords were embroidered, explaining why only the swords and border are present on the reverse

 

And an image of such an armband in wear by Thorvald Thronsen, the Chief of Staff of the Hird...

 

[Brig]

A pair of sew-on shoulder straps for a Sveitforer, or Captain, of the Rikshird... the tress was hand-sewn on these and thus vary from pair to pair.

 

 

Similar boards can be seen in wear in the photo of Thronsen above with the armband. The Hird shoulder rank structure can be viewed on this chart...

[Brig]

The Rikshird had their own spot badge, as well, the 'Rikshirdens Idrettsmerke'. It was the same size as the 'Verne-Idrett' but surprisingly not as thick, and had a pinback rather than prongs. It was approved in three grades-bronze, silver and gold-but I have never seen any in silver or gold, and know at least two advanced collectors who do not have silver or gold variants in their collection, which leaves the debate of whether or not any were actually awarded. The badge had the orange/red 'puffy' type enamel, which is often chipped (slight chip in the example above). This badge was also produced as a cutout, with the enameled sections in the above badge being the cutout portion...the cutout is far more rarely encountered.

 

 

Sid-by-side comparison with the Verne-Idrett...

[Brig]

Luftvernet (Civil Defense) hat badge. This crest was also used on helmets, and it's not uncommon to find it on repurposed German and British lids. My guess is the helmets were done by the Norwegians after the war until the new crest, with the crown, could be struck again...

 

And beside the post-war emblem with the crown...

 

[BEAST]

Nice collection Brig!

[daskrieg]

now you need a donation can to be displayed with your collection, these are super hard to find. Dwayne

[Brig]

now you need a donation can to be displayed with your collection, these are super hard to find. Dwayne

That can is Dutch NSB. I have never seen a Norwegian donation can