SA Sports Shirt Emblem-This SA Athletic Insignia is a great display item. This pattern of insignia was worn on sports clothing by members of the Sturmabteilung, Hitler’s paramilitary force in the 1920s-30s and into WWII. It is machine embroidered. The colors are very vibrant. The front features a large version of the runic emblem of the SA, with the lettering “HE” that indicates SA Group Niederrhein. Unlike most organizations, which used one pattern of sports insignia for all units and branches, the SA sports patches indicated the specific SA group with the group name abbreviation and also colors, in this case navy blue for the Gruppe Hessen. The reverse shows the emblem in reverse, and the backing has been neatly hemmed around the patch’s edges. This is how it would have been applied to the front of an athletic shirt. There is some indication that this patch was worn, we do not believe it to be unissued. The condition is good, there is some staining, where it appears that the navy blue may have gotten wet and bled onto the white. There is also some discoloration to the right side of the patch. The navy color is still vibrant, and the off-white is quite bright. There are a few spots of discoloration on the reverse. This patch measures approx. 14cm in diameter. We have found a postcard with a sketch of a member wearing his sports uniform, and will include a photocopy of this. Overall, this is in excellent condition!
History: Physical fitness and competition were two concepts that were highly valued in the ideology of the Third Reich. All kinds of sports clubs and organizations flourished in the years before WWII, with larger Reich level organizations supervising athletics, promoting events and issuing awards for sport achievement. The various Nazi era civil, political, military and paramilitary organizations also promoted or even mandated exercise and sports for their members. To facilitate this, these organizations instituted sport uniforms, which typically included sport shoes, and for warm weather, shorts and a knit tank top with a woven emblem specific to that organization. In cold weather, the sport uniform generally includes dark colored knit trousers and a sweatshirt, usually also with the sports-specific organizational emblem. The woven organizational emblem patch used on the sports patch was often a rather large patch, making these appealing souvenirs for Allied troops as they swept into Germany. Some types of sports patches are very common today, though intact sports clothing is rarer, and some sports emblems for smaller organizations, made in limited numbers, are very rare.