Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A German Third Reich Eagle and Swastika Desk Piece Believed to have been Presented to Julius Streicher

A highly impressive desk piece, steel with silver and ruby decoration, 140mm high x 165mm wide x 100mm deep. The base has been produced from one piece of solid block steel, very finely machine engraved the complete circumference of the base with acorns and laurel leaves with museum accession series of number in white to the reverse of the base. The upper part of the base is decorated which could possibly be in German silver a series of leaf work with four applied plaques. One plaque is the side view of an officer wearing a political leaders’ shaped visor cap, this is identified as a political leader by the large side on view of the central wreath to the visor cap unique only to political leaders, the plaque produced in copper and brass, the opposite side is a side on view of a German soldier wearing the M.16 style steel helmet with the national tricolour showing on the helmet in copper and steel. To the front underneath the impressive all steel eagle is the Coat of Arms of the area of Franconia in copper, brass and possibly silver. On the reverse side behind the eagle is the Coat of Arms of the City of Nuremberg all in brass. Above the base is the Nuremberg-style down swept winged eagle also in steel finely cut with excellent detail to the eagle’s feathers, sitting on the wreath with a central cut out swastika. The base is lined in green baize. Inlaid to the base are 24 stones, possibly garnets, set into the steel, three of the stones replaced, otherwise extremely fine condition £2,600-£3,400

The quality of this piece cannot be exemplified. Presentation items from the Third Reich period are encountered in many different types of stone and metals but very rarely in cut steel.

There is various evidence relating this to be a desk piece from the home of Julius Streicher; firstly Streicher was the Gauleiter of Nuremberg Furth from 1925 to 1929 and then Gauleiter and SA Obergruppenfuhrer of Francen from 1929 to 1940. The piece was originally donated to the Canadian National War Museum having been removed from a large country house/estate outside Nuremberg along with other pieces also donated, and was subsequently offered for sale by the Canadian War Museum at auction. Since that sale further information has come to light of its associations to Julius Streicher and it is firmly believed that the piece was a 50th birthday present from Adolf Hitler to Julius Streicher and was presented personally to Streicher at the celebration of his birthday at Nuremberg City Hall.

Of the twelve Nazis condemned to death at the Nuremburg trials in 1945, only one civilian, Julius Streicher, the notorious proprietor and edition of the infamous, anti-semetic newspaper Der Sturmer, was found guilty of acts of inhumanity and hanged on the Nuremburg gallows in October 1946.

Sold with a large folder of research material relating to Julius Streicher, and much circumstantial evidence linking the piece to Streicher.