This non-portable participant plaque documents a remarkable event in the history of the German Automobile Club (DDAC) during the late 1930s: the 6th Skagerrak Memorial Drive, which took place on May 31, 1939 aboard the former battleship S.M.S. Westfalen in Wilhelmshaven.
The DDAC was established in 1933 through the forced coordination (Gleichschaltung) of the traditional ADAC (General German Automobile Club) and placed under the authority of the National Socialist Motor Corps (NSKK). As an organization of the Third Reich, the DDAC served not only to promote automotive affairs but also to ideologically penetrate Germany's motorization. The club was divided into various Gaue (districts) corresponding to the territorial administrative units of the NSDAP. Gau 19 Nordsee (North Sea) encompassed the northern German coastal regions and had a special connection to the area's maritime history.
The Skagerrak Memorial Drives were conducted from the mid-1930s onwards to commemorate the Battle of Jutland (known in Germany as the Skagerrakschlacht) of May 31 to June 1, 1916. This naval battle between the German High Seas Fleet and the British Grand Fleet was the largest naval engagement of World War I. Although the battle ended tactically inconclusive, the British naval blockade remained in place, strategically constituting a British success. In Nazi Germany, however, the event was glorified as a heroic struggle of the Imperial Navy and instrumentalized for propagandistic purposes.
The choice of venue was highly symbolic: S.M.S. Westfalen was a battleship of the Nassau class, commissioned in 1909, which had participated in the Battle of Jutland. After World War I, the ship was decommissioned due to the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles. In the 1930s, it served as a stationary training ship in Wilhelmshaven before being scrapped in 1939. The memorial drive in May 1939 thus took place at a time when the ship was shortly before its final end.
The present plaque was manufactured by the renowned maker Lehmann & Wundenberg from Hannover, a company specialized in the production of badges, orders, and plaques. The plaque is made of silver-plated base metal and measures 68 x 102 mm. With its two drill holes, it was designed as a non-portable commemorative plaque, presumably intended for mounting on walls or in display cases.
A noteworthy detail is the absence of swastikas on this plaque, which is unusual for an official DDAC object from 1939. This could have various reasons: Perhaps the focus was meant to be more strongly on the historical commemoration of the naval battle, or it was a deliberate design decision by the manufacturer. In some cases, maritime memorial events were less heavily laden with Nazi symbolism than other organizational events.
The timing of the event on May 31, 1939 is of historical significance. Only three months later, on September 1, 1939, World War II began with the German invasion of Poland. The memorial drive thus took place during a phase of intense military rearmament and increasing international tensions. The glorification of the Imperial Navy and the remembrance of maritime traditions served to psychologically prepare the population for a new war.
Wilhelmshaven as a venue had held central importance as a naval base since the Imperial era. The port was massively expanded in the 1930s and served as the most important base of the re-established Kriegsmarine. The combination of historical commemoration and current military presence made the city an ideal location for such propagandistic events.
Such participant plaques today document the commemorative culture and propaganda practices of the Third Reich. They show how historical events were instrumentalized to promote militarism and national identity. For collectors and historians, these objects are important sources for understanding the mobilization of society and the role of clubs and associations in the National Socialist system.
The Gau 19 Nordsee organization regularly conducted such memorial drives, combining automobile tourism with political-ideological education. Participants were typically DDAC members and sympathizers who used these events both for social networking and to demonstrate their loyalty to the regime. The plaques served as mementos and proof of participation, while also functioning as decorative items that could display one's political alignment in private or professional settings.
