Badge of Honor of November 9, 1923, so-called “Blood Order”, No. 3511, 2nd Model in Presentation Case

Silver medal, unworn, original toning 100% preserved, reverse with award number “3511” above silver hallmark “800”, with original sewn ribbon and suspension hook, also unworn. Complete in matching presentation case for the Blood Order 2nd Model, exterior with imprint “8./9. November 1923”. Underside with original label “3511 Kleins...”. The Blood Order is in mint condition, the case condition 2. Very rarely found in this quality.

The recipient was Josef Kleins... from St. Veit an der Glan, who was arrested and convicted for an attempted bomb attack on a bridge. After 1938, the recipient resided in Wien and appears on Blood Order nomination list No. XXIV dated February 14, 1941. 
The complete name of the recipient will be provided to the buyer.

The Badge of Honor of November 9, 1923 was instituted on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the “National Socialist uprising of November 9, 1923” by the leader of the NSDAP Adolf Hitler. The manner of wearing was regulated by decree on February 11, 1934.
On May 30, 1938, awards that had been discontinued on April 1, 1935 were resumed and the circle of recipients expanded. This included all prisoners who had served a prison sentence of at least 1 year in the Weimar Republic for their struggle for the NSDAP movement in Germany and Austria.
Of the 1st Model of the Blood Order, only 1500 awards were made from 1934 to 1935. Of the 2nd Model, pieces with award numbers up to approximately 4300 are known. Official records end with the year 1942.
The Blood Order was considered the highest decoration of the NSDAP.
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Badge of Honor of November 9, 1923, so-called “Blood Order”, No. 3511, 2nd Model in Presentation Case

The Badge of Honor of November 9, 1923, popularly known as the "Blood Order" (Blutorden), represents the highest decoration of the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP). This prestigious medal was instituted by Adolf Hitler on the 10th anniversary of the failed putsch attempt in Munich on November 9, 1923, an event that was glorified in National Socialist mythology as a "national uprising."

The November 1923 putsch attempt was a decisive moment in the early history of the NSDAP. After the failed march to the Feldherrnhalle, in which 16 putschists and four police officers lost their lives, Hitler was arrested and sentenced to five years in fortress confinement, of which he served only nine months. The manuscript "Mein Kampf," written during this imprisonment, laid the ideological foundations of the movement.

The institution of the Blood Order took place on November 9, 1933, exactly ten years after the putsch attempt. Originally, the decoration was exclusively intended for the immediate participants of the march to the Feldherrnhalle. The award criteria were strictly defined: only those persons who were demonstrably present in Munich on November 8 or 9, 1923, and actively participated in the putsch attempt were eligible.

The regulations for wearing the decoration were established by decree on February 11, 1934. The order was to be worn as the highest party honor on the left breast, above all other decorations. The silver medal displayed on its obverse an eagle with swastika above the Feldherrnhalle, surrounded by the inscription "Und ihr habt doch gesiegt" (And yet you were victorious). The reverse bore the engraving "9. Nov. 1923" as well as the individual award number.

Of the first model of the Blood Order, only approximately 1,500 pieces were awarded between 1934 and 1935. This first series was reserved for direct participants in the putsch attempt. On April 1, 1935, the awards were initially discontinued, as the originally intended circle of recipients had been largely exhausted.

A significant turning point occurred on May 30, 1938, when the awards were resumed and the circle of recipients was considerably expanded. With the second model, persons who had been imprisoned during the Weimar Republic for their "struggle for the movement" were now also to be honored. The new criteria required a minimum prison sentence of one year. This expansion occurred temporally parallel to the "Anschluss" of Austria in March 1938 and explicitly included Austrian National Socialists who had been convicted in their homeland for their political activities.

The second model differed slightly in design from the first. It continued to be manufactured in silver (800 fineness) and bore on the reverse, in addition to the inscription, the silver hallmark as well as the individual award number. The medal was delivered with a sewn ribbon and suspension hook and was presented in a special presentation case that bore the inscription "8./9. November 1923" on the outside.

Of the second model, specimens with award numbers up to approximately 4,300 are known. The official award documents, which have been preserved in various archives, end with the year 1942. The conferral was made on the basis of nomination lists compiled by the regional leaderships and forwarded to the Reich leadership of the NSDAP. Each application had to be supported by extensive documentation, including certificates of imprisonment, court verdicts, and witness statements.

The bearers of the Blood Order enjoyed special privileges within the National Socialist hierarchy. They were considered "Old Fighters" and formed an elite within the party. Possession of the order was associated with considerable material and social advantages, including preferential treatment in appointments to the civil service and party positions, as well as financial benefits.

After 1945, the Blood Order, together with all other National Socialist decorations, was banned by Control Council Law No. 1 of September 20, 1945. Public possession and wearing of such orders was criminalized. Today, these objects are important contemporary historical documents preserved in museums and archives for scientific and educational purposes. Their trade is subject to strict legal regulations in Germany to ensure that no glorification of National Socialism takes place.

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