__NOTOC__ The Golden Party Badge (german: Goldenes Parteiabzeichen) was an award authorised by

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...

in a decree in October 1933. It was a special award given to all

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

members who had, as of 9 November 1933, registered numbers from 1 to 100,000 and had unbroken Party membership. The recipient's party number was inscribed on the reverse of the badge. Only 20,487 men and 1,795 women were awarded the badge on these terms. The Golden Party Badge was also awarded at the discretion of Hitler to certain members of the party who merited special treatment and, on 30 January each year, to persons who had shown outstanding service to the Nazi Party or State. These badges had the initials 'A.H.' and the date of the award on the reverse. Examples of such awards include to General Wilhelm Keitel for his direction of the 1938 occupation of the Sudetenland, and to Grand Admiral

Karl Dönitz Karl Dönitz (sometimes spelled Doenitz; ; 16 September 1891 24 December 1980) was a German admiral who briefly succeeded Adolf Hitler as head of state in May 1945, holding the position until the dissolution of the Flensburg Government fo ...

in 1943 for war services. The Golden Party Badge was the basic Nazi Party Badge with the addition of a gold wreath completely encircling the badge. The badge was awarded in two sizes: 30.5 mm for wear on service uniforms and 24 mm for wear on a suit jacket. In the event of the death of the recipient, the badge would be kept by the family. However, due to the numbered certificate, no one else was allowed to wear the badge. Adolf Hitler's own Golden Party Badge had the number '1'. However, his actual Party number was 555, as the numbers started at 500 to make the party's membership at the time appear larger. The '1' badge was discovered by the Red Army after the capture of Berlin, and stored in the headquarters of the FSB. The badge was stolen in 2005, when guards thought a cat had set off the alarms, allowing the burglar to escape. In the 1930s,

Rudolf Hess Rudolf Walter Richard Hess (Heß in German; 26 April 1894 – 17 August 1987) was a German politician and a leading member of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Appointed Deputy Führer to Adolf Hitler in 1933, Hess held that position unt ...

had explored the possibility of making the Golden Nazi Party Badge the first degree of a multi-degree award of the German Order. In Hess' proposal, the Golden Nazi Party Badge would have been the lowest degree, followed by a 2nd class medal, 1st class cross, and then a Knight's Cross neck order. Hess's degrees were never instituted, but the later German Order retained the Golden Nazi Party Badge as its centerpiece. The public wear of all Nazi Party badges, including the Golden Party Badge, was banned in 1945.

References

;Sources * * * * *{{cite book , last= Lumsden , first= Robin , title= Medals and Decorations of Hitler's Germany , publisher= Zenith Books, Osceola, Wisconsin , year= 2001 , isbn= 0760311331 Orders, decorations, and medals of Nazi Germany 1933 establishments in Germany Awards established in 1933

See also

References