NSDAP Flag Pole Top # 471
NSDAP Flag Pole Top # 471
The Reichszeugmeisterei, (abbreviated to RZM), is an organization established to govern and regulate the production of Nazi Party materials, and generate revenue for the Party. As the Party prospered
and grew, so did the necessity to exercise some control over the licensing of the imagery of the Party. With an emphasis on uniformity, there had to be a governing body to oversee the production and distribution of Party material, and to ensure that the Party received its due proceeds from the licensing of its imagery as well. The RZM served just such a purpose. Many different makers of almost any conceivable product applied for the lucrative rights to manufacture all things Party related: Party pins, Uniforms, Belts, Buckles, Badges, Awards, Visors, Flags, Banners, etc., and the Party received a piece of every of sale.
It is not common to find relics from the era with the original paper RZM tag still attached for multiple, obvious reasons. It is said that souvenir hungry GIs in the immediate post-war days looted RZM- licensed stores or warehouses and took whatever they wanted as war trophies. Impossible to say for sure now where each piece came from all those years ago, but collectors over the previous decades have been able to occasionally find original RZM-tagged examples direct from the veterans.
As with most collectibles, emphasis is always placed on condition. What could be in better condition than a crisp, original, fresh-from-the-manufacturer example? Here is a second pattern flag pole top (finial) for the Hoheitsfahnen der NSDAP (Flags of the Political Leadership). Each NSDAP organization had a unique, specific pole top to perch atop the Flag of its unit. It is an overwhelming image to see what Speer called 'a sea of flags', each with its individual pole top. Mint, unissued, with the original paper RZM tag still attached, this is a choice example of the type used to represent the NSDAP.
NSDAP Flag Pole Top