Overview
- Brief Narrative
- SA [Sturmabteilung] uniformed toy soldier manufactured by O. & M. Hausser in Ludwigsburg, Germany, between 1930 and 1943. It was purchased by Hans Pauli in Nuremberg, Germany, at an unknown date before 1991. Hausser made realistic toy soldiers and figurines to scale from a trademarked mixture called Elastolin. During the 1930s, figurine sets accurately representing NSDAP (Nazi Party) leaders and organizations were popular collectibles. The SA was a Nazi Party paramilitary organization, also called Brownshirts, founded by Hitler in 1920, and led by Ernst Rohm. Stormtroopers were known for their brutality and violence and were potent instruments of street terror during Hitler's rise to power. By the early 1930s, SA membership reached three million, and outnumbered the German Army. After Hitler became Chancellor in 1933, the SA's demands for political power and the placement of fanatical Nazis in all key positions threatened Hitler's plans and he turned against them. Between June 30 and July 2, 1934, the SA leadership was purged to end the embarrassing conduct and political intrigues. The SA remained a popular and murderous wing of the Nazi Party, but it would no longer be an independent political force.
- Date
-
manufacture:
approximately 1936
- Geography
-
manufacture:
Ludwigsburg (Germany)
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Hans Pauli
- Markings
- base, underside, pressed : ELASTOLIN / GERMANY
- Contributor
-
Manufacturer:
O. & M. Hausser
Physical Details
- Classification
-
Toys
- Category
-
Miniature objects
- Object Type
-
Character toys (lcsh)
- Genre/Form
- Toys
- Physical Description
- Handpainted, molded Elastolin figurine of a uniformed man in a light brown kepi, jacket with patch pockets, gray collar insignia, black tie, belt with chest strap and pouch, jodhpurs, and knee high boots. His right arm is at his side, now missing the hand, and his left is bent across his waist. He steps forward with his right leg as his left heel lifts behind him. He has a light complexion with brown hair, black eyes and eyebrows, small, round nose, and closed mouth. On the upper left arm is a red armband with a black swastika on a white circle. He is attached to a gray painted oval base. Large cracks and missing sections expose the wire frame and red-brown Elastolin, a mixture of sawdust, glue, kaolin, plaster, and linseed oil.
- Dimensions
- overall: Height: 2.875 inches (7.302 cm) | Width: 1.000 inches (2.54 cm) | Depth: 1.250 inches (3.175 cm)
- Materials
- overall : composite material, paint, metal
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- No restrictions on access
- Conditions on Use
- No restrictions on use
Keywords & Subjects
- Corporate Name
- SA (Organization)
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The toy soldier was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1991 by Hans Pauli.
- Funding Note
- The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
- Record last modified:
- 2024-05-15 16:04:26
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn4362
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