Ivory bracelet carved with gold painted swastikas and SS lightning bolts
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 2.875 inches (7.303 cm) | Width: 2.625 inches (6.668 cm) | Depth: 1.250 inches (3.175 cm)
Archival History
The bracelet was acquired by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2001.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection
Scope and Content
Ivory cuff bracelet presented to an SS member, engraved with swastikas and Munich, Germany, 1933. The SS (Schutzstaffel; Protection Squadrons), commanded by Heinrich Himmler from 1929, considered itself an elite corps of the Nazi Party based on race-nationalist visions of racial purity. In 1936, the SS established the Lebensborn (Fount of Life) program that decreed that every SS man should father four children, in or out of wedlock. Lebensborn homes were created to house and care for the illegimate children and their mothers.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Elephant ivory bracelet with a polished smooth exterior with raised narrow bands around the top and bottom edge. The wide, central band is carved with alternating Nazi insignia: 4 swastikas and 4 SS lightning bolts, painted gold. The interior is slightly rough and has darkened to a golden brown. It is carved with a year and city name. A small, circular hole is pierced through one side.
interior, carved : MÜNCHEN 1933
Corporate Bodies
- Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiter-Partei. Schutzstaffel
Subjects
- National socialism.
- Nazis--Germany--Munich--History--20th century.
- Germany--Politics and government--1933-1945.
Genre
- Jewelry
- Object