Among the most significant pieces of military insignia from the Second World War, the personal Autostander (car pennant) of Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring occupies a unique position. As the personal vehicle flag of the sole holder of the highest military rank in Nazi Germany, this object combines extraordinary craftsmanship with unparalleled historical significance.
Historical Background: The Creation of the Reichsmarschall Rank
On 19 July 1940, following the German victory in the Battle of France, Adolf Hitler held a ceremony during which he promoted twelve generals to the newly bestowed rank of Generalfeldmarschall. During the same ceremony, Hermann Göring was elevated to the specially created rank of Reichsmarschall des Großdeutschen Reiches (Reich Marshal of the Greater German Reich). The rank of Reichsmarschall was an honorary military rank and the de jure highest rank in the Wehrmacht. It was a symbolic move designed to highlight Göring’s seniority over all other Wehrmacht commanders and to fulfill his ambitions for prestige, though it conferred no additional authority. Hermann Göring remained the only man to hold this rank throughout the entire Second World War.
As Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe, Göring was one of the most prominent figures in the Nazi hierarchy. His promotion to Reichsmarschall necessitated the creation of new insignia and personal standards befitting this unique rank.
The Function of Command Flags
Command flags such as this car pennant served a specific and practical purpose within the military apparatus. They were mainly used as car and vehicle flags and never replaced the unit’s colours or standards. Rather, they represented only the commanding officer as his personal vehicle flag. In the case of the Reichsmarschall, this pennant was used to mark Göring’s presence in official vehicles. The standards were employed from approximately 1940 until 1945 to denote the Reichsmarschall’s presence.
Design and Variants
Two known patterns of the Reichsmarschall’s personal standard exist. The first pattern, used from July 1940 to February 1941, featured on its reverse a large Iron Cross extending to the border with four Luftwaffe eagles in the corners. In February 1941, a second pattern was instituted to reflect the new design of the national eagle. In this revised version, the large 1939 Iron Cross was replaced by an Iron Cross of about half the previous size, now surrounded by a gold laurel wreath.
The present example corresponds to the post-February 1941 design, identifiable by the laurel wreath encircling the Iron Cross on the reverse. It is a hand-embroidered example in square form. The obverse displays, on a light blue field, a gold Nazi national eagle grasping a gold wreath with swastika, behind which crossed marshal’s batons appear. The reverse features the reduced 1939 Iron Cross surrounded by a gold laurel wreath. The border design is elaborate: from the inside, a thin yellow line is followed by a broader light blue stripe, in the center of which runs a line of yellow laurel leaves and berries. The outer stripe is gold and somewhat narrower than the blue stripe. In each corner appears a white-bordered black Balkenkreuz (bar cross).
The pennant is crafted from blue silk fabric and is hand-embroidered on both sides in metal threads. Elaborate examples such as this employed a mixture of bullion, aluminum, brocade and yarn threads. Gilded metal and Cellon threads form the eagle on the obverse, silvered metal threads render the Iron Cross on the reverse, and gold thread combined with Cellon embroidery creates the laurel border. The standard represents an extraordinarily elaborate work of textile art.
It should be noted that printed versions of the Reichsmarschall command flag also existed, making this hand-embroidered example a particularly prestigious variant of the design.
Post-War History
The fate of this pennant is inseparable from the fall of its owner. On 8 May 1945, Hermann Göring – Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe, President of the Reichstag, head of the Gestapo, Prime Minister of Prussia, and Hitler’s designated successor – was taken prisoner by the U.S. Seventh Army in Bavaria. He was subsequently tried at the Nuremberg Trials and charged with various crimes against humanity. Despite a vigorous attempt at self-acquittal, he was found guilty and sentenced to be hanged. Before the sentence could be carried out, however, he died by suicide by swallowing a cyanide tablet. Göring was the only person ever awarded the rank of Reichsmarschall during the Nazi era, and the rank was abolished following the fall of the regime.
This car pennant spent decades in an American collection before returning to Germany. As one of the surviving original examples, it serves as both a testament to the elaborate insignia culture of the Nazi military apparatus and a tangible artifact from one of history’s darkest chapters. For the serious collector, it represents a convergence of supreme craftsmanship, unique military rank, and profound historical weight.
