The official participant badge of the NSDAP Foreign Organization (AO) Italy Country Group commemorating Adolf Hitler's state visit to Italy in 1938 represents a significant historical document of German-Italian relations in the prelude to World War II. This round pin badge with a diameter of 45 mm was produced to mark one of the most important diplomatic events in National Socialist foreign policy.
Adolf Hitler's state visit to Italy from May 3-9, 1938 marked a high point in relations between National Socialist Germany and Fascist Italy under Benito Mussolini. This visit occurred just weeks after the “Anschluss” of Austria in March 1938 and was intended to further solidify the Berlin-Rome Axis. During this journey, Hitler visited Rome, Naples, and Florence, where elaborate receptions and military parades were staged in his honor.
The NSDAP Foreign Organization (AO) was founded in 1931 and was responsible for supporting German citizens and party members living abroad. The organization was divided into various country groups, with the Italy Country Group holding special significance due to the close political relations between both fascist regimes. The AO reported directly to the Reich Leadership of the NSDAP and was led by Ernst Wilhelm Bohle from 1933 onward.
The badge displays on its obverse a large sovereignty eagle combined with two fasces (lictor's bundles), the symbols of power from ancient Rome adopted by Italian Fascism. This iconographic connection between National Socialist and Fascist symbolism visualizes the political alliance between both regimes. The inscription on the badge commemorated the historic character of the state visit.
Particularly noteworthy is the reverse of the badge, which identifies the German manufacturer Julius Nottbrock, Via Fattina 147, Rome. The Nottbrock firm was an established German jeweler and goldsmith in Rome who specialized in producing orders, decorations, and badges. The fact that a German manufacturer in Rome was commissioned with the production underscores the well-organized infrastructure of the German community in Italy and the importance attached to this event.
The design was created by S. Fuchs, about whom limited information exists in historical sources, but who evidently worked as an official or commissioned designer for the NSDAP-AO. The professional execution and quality of the badge suggest an experienced designer familiar with the ideological requirements and symbolic language of both regimes.
Such participant badges were frequently issued for significant political events during the NS era. They served multiple purposes: on one hand, they were souvenirs for participants in historical events; on the other, they functioned as proof of legitimacy and signs of belonging to the “Volksgemeinschaft” (people's community) abroad. For Germans living abroad, such badges were important symbols of identification and expressions of their connection to National Socialist Germany.
The state visit itself was a choreographed spectacle of power. In Rome, Hitler was treated to pompous receptions, including nighttime illuminations of ancient monuments and a parade of 50,000 Italian soldiers. Media coverage in both countries portrayed the visit as proof of the unshakeable friendship between Germany and Italy. In reality, however, tensions already existed, particularly regarding the South Tyrol question and the German annexation of Austria, which Italy had initially viewed critically.
From a collection history perspective, such badges are today important sources for researching the NS Foreign Organization and the diplomatic history of the 1930s. They document the NS regime's efforts to integrate Germans living abroad into the National Socialist system and mobilize them for propaganda purposes.
The badge, with its combination of German and Italian symbolism, exemplifies the attempts by both fascist regimes to symbolically underpin their alliance. The use of ancient Roman fasces together with the National Socialist sovereignty eagle was intended to suggest a continuity of imperial power and underscore the ideological affinity of both systems.
Today, such objects serve as material witnesses to a fateful political alliance that ultimately led to World War II and catastrophe for Europe. They remind us of how symbolism and propaganda were used to legitimize authoritarian regimes and prepare populations for aggressive expansion and war.
