Beschreibung:

16.25" in diameter. Front marked with "Der Stahlhelm" insignia along with dedication in Sutterlin script "Unserem Fuhrer/ Volkskanzler Adolf Hitler/zur Einnerung/an den 23 September 1933/in Hannover." Reverse marked with "800" German silver stamp, "W" and mark of the firm of Louis Werner Another mark is present, which due to the fineness of the silver should comprise a crescent moon and crown. However, this marking has lost much of its fine detail and appears ambiguous. "Stahlhelm, Bund der Frontsoldaten", or simply, "Der Stahlhelm", was founded in 1918 as both a veterans' organization and paramilitary force in the wake of the social and political upheavals in post-First World War Germany. Initially serving as the armed branch of the conservative German National People's Party (DNVP), it was responsible for security and ground control at political events and rallies. Its members fancied themselves as a military reserve organization to bolster the post-war Reichsweher, whose size was limited by the Treaty of Versailles. While it distanced itself politically from the NSDAP ("Nazi") party, it was similar in that its policies were decidedly nationalistic, expansionist, and anti-Semitic. Growing to at least 500,000 members by 1930, it was the largest of the paramilitary organizations in the short-lived Weimar Republic. After the Nazi seizure of power in January 1933, Der Stahlhelm's founder, Franz Seldte, joined Hitler's cabinet as Reich Minister for Labor. Despite this high-profile appointment, the organization still officially considered itself a separate entity from the SA and SS organizations. However, in April that same year, Seldte officially declared Der Stahlhelm as subordinate to Hitler's command. Dated September 1933, this platter would have been presented to Hitler at one of Der Stahlhelm's reunions well after Seldte's membership in the Nazi Party and the SA was confirmed, but during the period in which the integration of Der Stahlhelm and the SA was underway. It is likely it was presented as a further assurance of loyalty and "acceptance" of then-Chancellor Hitler's leadership by the organization. Included with the platter is a photograph of Adolf Hitler seated beside British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and their interpreter, as well as a photocopy of a 1985 handwritten letter describing the platter as having been "liberated" from Hitler's Munich apartment in 1945 during its use as a United States Army headquarters building. Condition: Good. Some light scratches and minor areas of tarnishing to finish.