Original Third Reich German SS SD EM/NCO’S SLEEVE DIAMOND. (SD Mitglied Ärmelabzeichen) Certified

SOLD

Original Third Reich German SS SD EM/NCO’S SLEEVE DIAMOND. (SD Mitglied Ärmelabzeichen) Certified. The wearing of specific, identifying, trade or speciality badges was an old tradition in the German army and was adopted by the SS to distinguish personnel who had successful completed the appropriate course and had achieved proficiency at a particular trade, specialty or function. The SS-Sicherheits Dienst, (SS Security Service), was instituted in June 1931 as the German national counter-espionage agency and was entrusted with control of internal national security under the auspices of the Sicherheitsdienst des Reichsführer-SS, (Security Service of the National Leader of the SS). In October 1935 SD personnel serving with the SS-Hauptamt, (SS Central Office), were conferred an identifying sleeve diamond to be worn on the lower left sleeve of the service uniform. Wear of this insignia was later expanded to included all SS personnel serving with the SD. In June 1936 the SS assumed control over the German Police and the power and influence of the SD grew proportionally. Of Note: The RZM, Reichzeugmeisterei, (National Equipment Quartermaster), was official founded in June 1934 in Munich by the NSDAP as a Reich Hauptamt, (State Central Office), and was based on the earlier SA Quartermaster’s Department. The functions of the RZM were not only to procure and distribute items to Party formations, but also to approve chosen designs and to act as a quality control supervisor to ensure items manufactured for the Party met required specification and were standardized. Starting in late 1934 items manufactured for the SS came under the quality control of the RZM and were marked with a RZM/SS approval/acceptance tags. In 1943 the Waffen-SS assumed full control over their uniform item production and no longer fell under the authority of the RZM. Roughly, 70mm tall, 48mm wide, vertical, black wool diamond base featuring machine embroidered, block Latin letters, “SD”, indicating, Sicherheits Dienst, (SS Security Service), in silvery/grey rayon threads. The reverse of the insignia has a protective black fabric backing.   Perfect textbook example.  Nice used example showing the expected age and wear (see photos) almost mint. It does have the remnant of a paper tag on the back (most likely from an RZM tag)  100% Guaranteed to be authentic Brought home by a U.S. solider as a trophy of war. SS items are very collectible and difficult to find in good condition. Complete museum documentation (COA) Provided. Certified by The Gettysburg Museum of History. The Gettysburg Museum of History does not support or condone Adolf Hitler or the Nazi Party and is only offering this as a historic relic. Please see our other items. Also note when browsing our web site there are several pages of items, at the bottom of the list look for other page numbers. A VERY RARE SS Insignia! First one we had in a few years!