Membership cards Reich Colonial League Eduard Reinholtz & Christian Porschen, foldable, 8 x 11.5 / 23.8 x 11.5 cm; Date of item: 1937/39; Condition: very good, signs of aging.
Two membership cards of the Reichskolonialbund (Reich Colonial League). It was an organisation that worked towards restoring the former German colonies that were lost after WWI. It was disbanded in 1943 by a decree from Hitler, as it was deemed irrelevant to the war. The first card is from Berlin and belongs to one Eduard Reinholtz, a sales agent from Berlin-Weißensee. It is stamped and signed by the league’s leader Franz Ritter von Epp. Von Epp (1868–1947) was a highly awarded general and politician, who was awarded his knighthood in 1916 and the Pour le Merite in 1918. Before WWI he was a company commander in the colony of German South-West Africa (modern day Namibia). He served as the Commissioner of the Reich for Bavaria between 1933 and 1945. On the inside, starting in Feb 1937, for each month there is a sticker showing that Reinholtz paid his membership dues. Only Oct through Dec of 1938 and Dec 1939 are missing. The stickers stop after Dec of 1942. There are also slots for voluntary donations. These however are empty. It is signed by Reinholtz and stamped, signed, and dated to Feb 14th, 1937. The card contains an inlay, a certificate that states that Reinholtz buys the Völkischer Beobachter (People’s Observer), the Nazi party’s official newspaper. It is stamped, signed, and dated to Mar 1st, 1939.
The second card is for one Christian Porschen from Hamburg, a painter. Instead of a signature by von Epp it only carries a stamp of his name that only partially made it onto the document. The inside lacks any stamps, however, a handwritten note states Porschen either doesn’t have to pay or already has paid until June 1941. Instead of slots for voluntary donations, there’s an excerpt from the statutes of the league.
It is signed by Porschen, stamped, signed, and dated to July 1st, 1939.