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Reichskriegflagge [National War Flag] Naval ensign with a swastika and iron cross acquired by a US soldier

Object | Accession Number: 2013.292.1

National War Flag, Naval ensign, with a swastika and an iron cross on a red field, obtained by an American soldier during his service in Germany in 1945. This type of flag was used aboard German warships from November 7, 1935 - May 8, 1945. The US soldier who brought the flag home landed at Utah Beach during the D-Day invasion in June 1944 and helped liberate and secure the city of Paris in late August. He fought with General Patton's Third Army in the Siege of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge in December. While searching for German soldiers on a farm in Germany, he was struck by a barn door which broke a vertebra. After recovering in a London hospital, he returned to combat and had advanced with his unit into Czechoslovakia when the war ended in May 1945.

Date
found:  1945
Geography
manufacture: Berlin (Germany)
Language
German
Classification
Identifying Artifacts
Category
Flags
Object Type
Flags (lcsh)
Credit Line
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Julie Stewart

About This Object

Physical Description
Large, rectangular, machine woven wool flag with a red field and a mobile black swastika, outlined in white then black, within a white circle placed off center towards the hoist. The circle is edged with black and is the intersection for the arms, 3 short, 1 long, of a cross. The arms have 4 white and 3 black stripes of varying widths and extend to the 4 edges of the flag. In the upper hoist corner, or canton, is a black iron cross outlined in white then black, within a white border. The hoist corners are reinforced on the back with red cloth. A white cloth channel is sewn to the hoist side with a braided rope halyard inserted and secured by cross stitching at both ends. The halyard has a looped top end and a loose bottom length. The design is visbile on both sides. There are manufacturing and military stamps on the back of the channel.
Dimensions
overall: Height: 57.250 inches (145.415 cm) | Width: 93.500 inches (237.49 cm)
Materials
overall : wool, cloth, dye, rope
Inscription
back, on channel, left edge, stamped, black ink : [eagle clutching swastika symbol] / M [ Reichsadler / Kriegsmarine]
back, on channel, left edge, stamped, black ink : Reichskriegsflg. 150 x 250 [National War Flag]
back, on channel, left edge, stamped, inside rectangle, black ink : Berliner Fahnenfabrik / e & Co Berlin [Berlin Flag Factory]
Contributor
Manufacturer: Geitel & Co. Berlin
Issuer: Kriegsmarine

Keywords and Subjects

Administrative History

Legal Status
Permanent Collection
Provenance
The flag was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2013 by Julie Stewart.
Funding Note
The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.

Rights and Restrictions

Conditions on Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions on Use
No restrictions on use
 
Record last modified: 2021-02-10 09:28:30
This page: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn49130