Description: Beautiful RAD Gorget, top quality as worn by standard bearers of the German National Labor Service, the Reichsarbeitsdienst (RAD). The RAD was a compulsory labor organization that built bridges and highways and worked on all kinds of public projects, men were called up to the RAD prior to military service. This gorget was worn by the men who trooped to organization’s standard in parades and at rallies.
The RAD gorget is made of light weight metal with a bright nickeled finish, and measures 5-1/2″ high and 5″ wide. In the center of the backing plate is mounted the RAD emblem which features a swastika, a shovel, and sheaves of wheat. This emblem has a matte finish that sets it off nicely against the polished background. The top of the RAD gorget is hand engraved with the words “Arbeit adelt” (Work ennobles), the slogan of the RAD. This engraving was done with tremendous skill, in Germanic script. The condition is outstanding, with only minor traces of wear and use, nothing distracting. The reverse features a backing cloth of finely woven bottle-green wool. There is a single hook for affixing the RAD gorget to the uniform, it bears the stamped marking of the manufacturer- “IMME & SOHN.” Overall near mint condition, nearly impossible to upgrade.
Historical Background: Gorgets were originally part of a knight’s armor during medieval times. Long after suits of armor were abandoned, the gorget continued to be used in many European armies as a form of military insignia. In the Imperial German Army until 1914, gorgets were worn as a special mark of distinction by certain elite units. Following WWI, German paramilitary and police organizations used gorgets for standard bearers, as insignia, and to denote personnel assigned special tasks. Following the Nazi rise to power, there was a vast increase in the number of uniformed organizations, and a variety of new gorgets were instituted for use by these civil, political and paramiliary organizations, as well as by the military. Standard bearers of most organizations, who were entrusted with carrying flags at rallies and in parades, wore gorgets. Other gorgets indicated assignment to guard or security forces. The military police personnel of the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS had their own gorgets as a part of their uniforms, and were nicknamed “chained dogs” by the troops due to the chain used to suspend the gorget around the wearer’s neck. Because gorgets were never general issue to all personnel of any organization or military branch, they were manufactured in limited numbers, and are generally scarce to encounter today,
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