German Veterans NSRKB Sleeve Shield for Standard Bearers

Rare sleeve shield worn by standard bearers of the NS-RKB during official events. Woven cloth badge in a stamped brass frame with double pin-back fasteners. Measures 3mm tall. In excellent condition.

The Kyffhäuserbund (English: Kyffhäuser League) is an umbrella organization for war veterans’ and reservists’ associations in Germany, founded in 1900 to unify the various veteran’s groups in Germany. It owes its name to the Kyffhäuser Monument (German: Kyffhäuserdenkmal), a memorial built on the summit of the 473 m high Kyffhäuser mountain near Bad Frankenhausen, in the state of Thuringia in central Germany. It was not a political affiliated organization, and was open to all German war veterans.

When the National Socialist party came into party however, as with all national organizations, the group was absorbed under the NSDAP umbrella. In the name of Gleichschaltung (Co-Ordination or NSDAPfication), the Kyffhäuserbund was after the NSDAP takeover of power in 1933. Five years later, its name was altered to NS-Reichskriegerbund ‘Kyffhäuser’ e.V. (National Socialist Reich Warriors Association ‘Kyffhäuser‘ – NSRKB), becoming the sole and exclusive organization representing the Veterans´ interests in the Third Reich. The organization would then be disbanded in March of 1943 and its members would be drafted into Volksturm service in 1945.