BACKGROUND: On March 16^TH 1936, one year to the day, after the reintroduction of conscription Adolf Hitler announced the revival of the Imperial German Army’s tradition of bestowing unit Standards, (Colors), as a symbol to perpetuate the lineage of the newly forming Wehrmacht, (Armed Forces), with that of the Imperial German Army. Most of the new Standards were designed by the renown German artist Paul Casberg who incorporated many of the Imperial Standards emblems with the inclusion of the NSDAP’s, Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, (National Socialist German Worker’s Party), swastika and the branch of service base coloration. The first Standards were bestowed by Generaloberst Hermann Göring to twelve Luftwaffe, (Air Force), units on April 21^ST 1936. On September 14^TH 1936 at the Reichsparteitage, (National Party Day), held in Nürnberg the first army unit Standards were bestowed by Generaloberst und Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres Werner Freiherr von Fritsch to sixteen assorted army units. Further bestowal of unit Standards continued through-out the pre-war years but they were discontinued, with a few exceptions, after the outbreak of the war. This miniature toy example was in likelihood either a "gift" from the annual WHW ,Winterhilfswerk, (Winter Assistance Work), charitable donation event of the NS-Volkswohlfahrt, (National Socialist-People’s Social Welfare Organization), in which all the assorted NSDAP organizations personnel would solicit donations from the public and reward the contributors with a wide variety of assorted "gifts", or an item to commemorate the annual Armed Forces Day. The miniature toy Standard is quite a precise replica of the actual unit Standard.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Roughly, 1 1/8" square, molded silver plastic construction, miniature toy Standard with embossed, recessed and painted detailing. The Standard features a central, embossed Luftwaffe style eagle facing the staff, (facing towards the enemy), encompassed by a horizontally oval, laurel leaf wreath with rays emanating outwards to all four corners, with recessed, canted, swastikas to each corner. The hoist edge of the Standard has the suspension staff with the Luftwaffe style eagle finial. The top, bottom and fly outer edges of the Standard have the appropriate simulated, fringe trim. The eagle, the laurel leaf wreath, the fringe, the staff and finial are all in the silver of the base plastic, the base has a golden yellow branch of service painted finish, the swastikas and the edge of the extended rays have a black painted finish while the rays have a white painted finish. All the paints are retained around 95%. The reverse of the Standard has embossed script, "Fliegertruppe", (Flight Troops), and an additional unknown embossed marking, "We1". The reverse has lost it’s original horizontal pin back device. Neat item.