BACKGROUND: The Volkssturm, (People’s Militia), was raised by decree on September 25TH 1944 to act as a local defensive militia and consisted of all "able-bodied" men between the ages of sixteen and sixty years old, who were not in the military. The Volkssturm personnel generally consisted of those too young, too old or unfit for military service. These Volkssturm units were intended to be utilized in the local district where they were raised but many were thrown into battles in a piecemeal fashion in attempts to halt the Red Army’s advance into Germany near the end of the war. The formation, administration, training and operational utilization of the Volkssturm was a haphazard affair with NSDAP, Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, (National Socialist German Worker’s Party), political leaders responsible for appointing all leaders, the Waffen-SS ,(Armed-SS), in charge of training and the Wehrmacht, (Armed Forces), in control of actual operations. Although the Volkssturm were legally classified with the status of soldiers they were only outfitted with the minimum of equipment and had no officially sanctioned or supplied uniforms. When the Volkssturm was raised an identifying armband was introduced to be worn by all personnel on the upper left sleeve while actively performing Volkssturm duties.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Official pattern armband with a multi-colored, printed design featuring horizontal, red bordered, top and bottom edges and a black/white/black center stripe. The armband has white printed Latin script, "Deutscher Volkssturm Wehrmacht", (German People’s Militia Armed Forces), in two lines, to the front center which is flanked by a white national eagle, with out-stretched wings, clutching a wreathed, canted, swastika to either side. Nice clean example.