Description
A very nice early (rarely found 1927 issue)
Issued to Heinrich Suhre, from Hannover, born in 1.08.1909 and joined the NSDAP in August/October of 1930. The booklet was issued on the 24th of August 1931 in Munich and features a stamped Adolf Hitler Signature.
Suhre paid his NSDAP membership from 1931 till 1940 the booklet displays each corresponding payment to the Nazi Party.
—-
According to page 22 of the booklet the entry states that from January of 1931 till the 1st of May 1932 – Suhre was the rank of Zellenleiter for Hannover – South.
The original political rank of Zellenwart was used to supervise local Nazi political leaders during a time when the Nazi Party was attempting to gain power in the Weimar Republic. After the establishment of Nazi Germany in 1933, the political position of Zellenleiter became a type of political strongman and was usually the highest Nazi official that the general population would have direct dealings with on a day-to-day basis.
Uniform of a Zellenleiter below:
Suhre was also a member of the Sturm Abteilung : SA Standarte 13 Hannover .
Interestingly, this Standarte in Hannover is covered online in the article about where they used to meet and was known as a local for clashes with Communists and Workers:
KREUZSTRASSE: SA STURMLOKAL – A TAVERN WHERE THE SA MET
“Situated at Kreuzkirchhof, the “Zur Kreuzklappe” restaurant, which opened in 1887, enjoys a very dubious reputation in the 1920s and, it being on the fringe of the local red light district, is frequented by criminals and prostitutes. Even before 1933, the tavern was renamed “Restaurant Alt-Hannover” and becomes the notorious meeting place for SA-Sturm 3/13. The owner advertised himself as a PG (a “Parteigenosse”, i.e. a party comrade) and SA man. Within the Hanoverian workers’ movement, they still use the tavern’s old name but with just a slight change: “Haken-Kreuzklappe” [Hakenkreuz = swastika]. According to the social democratic newspaper ” Volkswillen”, it is the “worst dive in Hanover”. At the beginning of 1932, the newspaper repeatedly alleges that Nazis are organising “regular police patrols” against political opponents from his pub. The same happens on Ascension Day in 1932 in neighbouring Calenberg Neustadt: an SA-Sturm stationed at the “Duvestübchen” [a pub] on Duvestrasse engages in a street battle with left-wing workers in front of the pub and surrounding streets. Three of them are wounded, some seriously, by gunfire. When the police arrive, the handguns have vanished.”
Included in this booklet is a loose but very rare document issued by Hannover SA Standarte 13 – Hand signed signed by Standartenführer August Ihle (seen below in the middle of the Picture). The document allows Scharführer Suhre to wear the “Ärmelstreifen für altgediente SA-Männer” which is a 4mm armband only worn by long serving SA Men – this document is quite rare.
What happened to Suhre?
He joined the Wehrmacht in 1941, married and was later captured by US Troops.
According to the Genealogy research his grave is located in Hannover, Stöckener Friedhof. He died in February 2008 at 98 years old.
Comments:
An interesting booklet, usually these are quite boring in terms of history, the average party member did not serve as a Zellenleiter this makes this one quite interesting, along with the SA service in Hannover paints a picture of the political chaos of the time.
