Winterhilfewerk and VDA tinnies

This a a new thread for Winterhilfe and VDA tinnies. (they are not to be confused with Reich Parteitagen badges. Tinnies often come in sets .

The Winterhilfswerk (WHW, English: Winter Relief, lit. "winter help work") was an annual drive by the Nationalsozialistische Volkswohlfahrt (National Socialist People’s Welfare Organization) to help finance charitable work. Its slogan was "None shall starve nor freeze". The drive was originally set up under the government of Heinrich Brüning in 1931, though Hitler would later claim sole credit.[1] It ran from 1933-1945 during the months of October through March, and was designed to provide food, clothing, coal, and other items to less fortunate Germans during the inclement months. Similar initiatives were started in countries in German-occupied Europe, known in French as the Secours d'Hiver and in Dutch as the Winterhulp.

As part of the centralization of Nazi Germany, posters urged people to donate rather to give directly to beggars.[2]
The Hitlerjugend and Bund Deutscher Mädel (boys' and girls' associations, respectively) were extremely active in collecting for this charity. As part of the effort to place the community over the individual, totals were not reported for any individuals, only what the branch raised.[3]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winterhilfswerk
The Winterhilfe already existed under the Weimar regime as this 1931 picture shows.




1) The first tinnies were quite "innocent" looking and looked like little home made toys (made by orphnas and HJ members) . This includes lillte farm animal figurines and flowers; street signs etc...





The second generation was already more nationalistic (based on folkore and heritage) and included traditionnal German clothing figurines, Nordic shields.
There was also a set of Von Shirrach's Youth Hostels




Then when the war had started they became propaganda tools and included representations of annexed territories. (regional houses including Alsace for example) . Toys became more martial with soldiers and weapon collections .



The final ones were collections of Nazi symbols.

 

2) the VDA (Volksbund für das Deutschtum im Ausland)

[SIZE=13.63636302948px] The VDA was a sister related orgnanisation which aimed to promote the German culture and settlers in annexed territories and the Lebesraum. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=13.63636302948px]The HJ made many sets for instance with city shields icluding, Strasbourg, Danzig, Memel etc.....[/SIZE]



What is less known is that the VDA related movements existed before 1933 by the Weimar Republic and in independent Austria.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verein_f%C3%BCr_Deutsche_Kulturbeziehungen_im_Ausland

During WW2 It also supported regional movements in France , for instance Bretagne, Flanders etc....



It was forbidden in 1945 .

 

The following tinnies are from my personnal collection:

 

More:

 

A sample of my VDA tinnies . 58 of these were issued between 1934 and 1945. I owe quite a few.

 

More : fragile glass ones!

 

Skipper,Nice. Rich A. in Pa.

 

Great collection Skipper!!

 

Thanks for the kind words chaps. I thought it was about time to have a specific thread for these. Some I really like ar ethe shoulder tap sets. Here is also a WH soldier and a cavalry horse

 

A poster promoting the WHW :

 

My W.H.W. things. Rich A. in Pa.

 

These are great Skipper.

 

Thanks . they are about the only German insignias which are still affordable.

There is more on this side, including a nice collection box

 

Probably quite rare because made in Porcelaine!

This Vda Tinie promotes Germans abroad. source delcampe.

 

Great collection of these tinnies etc Skipper!

Mostly I recall that the Winter Hilfe was a morale raising trick by Göbbels who himself was happy to read the info on the people they though that their coats were sent to the front for instance winter 1941.

 

Me too until I read some similar movements existed in decades before (see the picture with Weimar soldiers) and that similar movements existed in France (secours d'Hiver ) and Holland (Winterhulp) .

 

everything is very interesting..the collection box and poster are phenomenal.!!....I really enjoy these 'non' war?/unique items....your collection is enviable ..

 

Most tinnies were issued after 1939 so they are wartime objects. they are also propaganda related, a bit like Signal Magazine . The main difference is that these objects were mainly sold by the HJ, the Mädels and the Jungbunds children to German households, but so were Postcards, plates, and stamps.

 

More: these were briefly for sale on Ebay , but they were taken away before they were sold.

 

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