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Gau Baden Honour Badge (Gau-Ehrenzeichen Baden)
The Gau Baden Honour Badge was established in 1933 by Gauleiter Robert Wagner in the Gau Baden of the NSDAP, to commemorate the ten-year existence of the party organisation in the Baden region.
Its purpose was to reward early and loyal membership in the party. It was issued in two main classes: the silver version, for party members admitted before 27 October 1927, and the gold version, for those who had joined before 9 November 1923 — the date of the Munich Putsch.
Technically, the badge is an oval one-piece base-metal item, silvered or gilded, with the inscription “GAU BADEN” on the front, and on the reverse sometimes the maker-mark “Fr. Klett Karlsruhe”. Known measurements for the silver version are approximately 45 x 34 mm, weight around 12 g.
Historically, the Gau Baden had become the administrative and party region of the NSDAP in Baden from 1925 onwards, and from 1933 wielded power as part of the Nazi system of Gaue.
The Honour Badge was not a state-recognised decoration, but rather a party award, reflecting internal recognition of service and early membership.
Today, it is considered a very rare collector’s piece: examples in good condition with original maker’s mark command significant interest and value in militaria auctions.
In short: the Gau Baden Honour Badge is a politically-charged artifact of the NSDAP in the Baden region, symbolising early party membership, loyalty and internal recognition — and now of significant historical and numismatic interest.
