Original Item: Only One Available. Brown was to become the official color of the N.S.D.A.P. and S.A. by circumstance rather than design. A large stockpile of discounted, surplus WWI tropical brown shirts and fabric, intended for wear in East Africa, were located in Austria in 1924 and purchased by the NSDAP as a temporary measure to bring uniformity of dress to their party members. In November of 1926 the brown shirt was officially introduced, and retained, as the basic uniform item for the N.S.D.A.P. and S.A., and was eventually adopted by other political organizations such as the H.J., D.A.F., and the N.S.K.K..
This is an excellent condition German WWII Brown Wool Mantel, usually called a greatcoat or overcoat, as used by both the NSDAP and SA. It is constructed with an outer shell of heavy brown wool, and is definitely intended for the colder time of year. The interior is lined on the top with brown twill fabric, with what looks to be black brushed cotton in the sleeves. It has two external waist pockets which have top flaps but no buttons, and has an early pattern SA / NSDAP wool and rayon multi-piece Ärmelbinde (Armband) sewn to the left sleeve. The double breasted front closure features 6 pebbled buttons on each side, all of which look to have RZM maker codes on the back. These are sewn directly to the fabric, and do show some pulling and deterioration of the stitching holding them in place. There is also a hook and loop fastener at the collar.
The inner left breast pocket still bears its original fabric RZM tag, which is also in great shape. The tag identifies the overcoat as an SA. und MSA.-MANTEL W, and features the SA logo on the left as well as the RZM logo on the right. The tag is marked with the ink stamped numerical designation of the Hersteller (manufacturer) D2 / 60744 over lot 154136. While officially issued to the SA, these were still often used by members of the NSDAP, as they often were members of both organizations, at least in the early years.
Condition wise, this would really be hard to improve upon. There is little wear of any kind on the greatcoat, with no mothing we can see, definitely a rarity for wool item of this age. There is a bit of age toning to the armband, and the buttons do show a bit of oxidation due to age, but nothing major.
This is a great example of a genuine WWII NSDAP / SA brown wool greatcoat and would display fantastically.
Overcoats in various forms have been used by militaries since at least the late 18th century, and were especially associated with winter campaigns, such as Napoleon's Russian campaign. The full-length overcoat was once again popularized by the use during World War I of the trench coat.
Stereotypically, overcoats used by the army tended to be single-breasted, while navies often used double-breasted overcoats. Overcoats continued to be used as battle dress until the mid-1940s and 1950s, when they were deemed impractical. However, in colder countries, such as the former Soviet Union, they continue to be issued and used. When more efficient clothing and synthetic fibers became readily available, the overcoat began to be phased out even there.
The S.A.-
TheSturmabteilung, literally Storm Detachment, was the NSDAP Party's original paramilitary. It played a significant role in Adolf AH's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s. Its primary purposes were providing protection for NSDAP rallies and assemblies, disrupting the meetings of opposing parties, fighting against the paramilitary units of the opposing parties, especially the Red Front Fighters League (Rotfrontkämpferbund) of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD), and intimidating Romani, trade unionists, and, especially, Jews – for instance, during the NSDAP boycott of Jewish businesses.
The SA were also called the "Brownshirts" (Braunhemden) from the color of their uniform shirts, similar to Benito Mussolini's blackshirts. The SA developed pseudo-military titles for its members, with ranks that were later adopted by several other NSDAP Party groups, chief amongst them the Schutzstaffel (SS), which originated as a branch of the SA before being separated. Brown-colored shirts were chosen as the SA uniform because a large number of them were cheaply available after World War I, having originally been ordered during the war for colonial troops posted to Germany's former African colonies.
The SA became disempowered after Adolf AH ordered the "blood purge" of 1934. This event became known as the Night of the Long Knives (die Nacht der langen Messer). The SA continued to exist, but was effectively superseded by the SS, although it was not formally dissolved until after NSDAP Germany's final capitulation to the Allies in 1945.
