Germany – Third Reich: A rare gold and enamel stick pin for the DHV – Deutschnationler Handlungsgehilfen-Verband – The German Association of Commercial Employees, marked in ‘333’ gold to the reverse of the badge.
Condition: Nearly Extremely Fine
The ‘Deutscher Handlungsgehufen-Verband’ (German Association of Commercial Employees) was formed in Hamburg in 1893. On January 1st 1896 its name was changed to the ‘Deutschnationler Handlungsgehilfen-Verba’
Following the loss of their historic national identity after losing the ‘War to End All Wars’ and dealing with their growing economic deprivations of the great depression, Germans in all walks began to lose faith in their government and traditional social organisations. These institutions were felt to no longer represent the citizens’ best interests, nor protect them from violence and economic woes. Professionals of the commercial merchant forces found some refuge in the DHV, which promised stability in their jobs and a solid bulwark against the continued failures of the weak Weimar government. The DHV also prolonged and promoted the anti-socialism and antisemitism which prevailed in most nationalistic groups after the ‘stab in the back’ conspiriacies that followed the Great War. For these and other reasons, membership grew steadily in the DHV from 160,000 members in 1914, to more than 400,000 members by 1932. As Hitler’s NSDAP continued to gain momentum, the DHV members actively supported the Nazi Party since it shared many of their same basic beliefs.
This backing of the NSDAP, in conjunction with the support from many other like-minded groups within the Weimar Republic, helped lead to Hitler’s chancellorship in 1933. Once the Nazis were in power, the DHV was made a part of the ‘Deutsche Arbeitsfront’ – the umbrella organisation for all trade unions.. When later reorganising the DAF in 1934 to gain total control over all the German trade unions, Hitler dissolved the DHV, leaving its former members represented by the larger state-sponsored workers’ front organisation, until the end of the Third Reich.
