German WWII paperweight “Meine Ehre Heist Treue”

German WWII paperweight “Meine Ehre Heist Treue”

Size: 2.5 cm H x 5.5 cm diameter

In a National Socialist context, the phrase Meine Ehre heißt Treue refers to a declaration by Adolf Hitler following the Stennes Revolt, an incident between the Sturmabteilung (SA) and the Schutzstaffel (SS) in Berlin. In August 1930, elements of the SA under Walter Stennes stormed and ransacked the offices of the Berlin Gau of the National Socialist German Workers' Party, which prompted Joseph Goebbels, the Gauleiter of Berlin, to flee with his staff. A handful of SS men led by Kurt Daluege were beaten trying to unsuccessfully repel the SA. After the incident, Hitler wrote a letter of congratulation to Daluege and his men, stating "... SS-Mann, deine Ehre heißt Treue!" ("Man of the SS, your honor is loyalty"). Soon afterward, Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, adopted the modified version of this phrase as the motto of the organisation, inscribed on the SS belt buckle.