Winterhilfswerk: Winter Relief for the Unfortunate!

Above:  Top members of the NSDAP, including Joseph Goebbels and Adolf Hitler, enjoy an eintopf meal durring the Winterhilfswerk drive.

The Winterhilfswerk (Winter Help Work) program was the most famous charity effort undertaken by the NSDAP.  One goal of the National Socialist Party in Germany during the 1930s and 1940s, was the elimination of poverty and homelessness.  As a means to make certain that Germans who were not financially well off could survive the cold season, the Winterhilfswerk was developed by the Nationalsozialistische Volkswohlfahrt (National Socialist People’s Welfare Organization).  The WHW program whose motto was "None shall starve nor freeze" proved to be quit successful.

 Above:  An off-duty soldier donates to the Winterhilfswerk.

This annual drive took place in Germany from 1933 to 1945 through the months of October and March.  Donations of coal, food, clothing or anything else useful to a family were accepted at WHW stations throughout the country.  During the drive, each of the various branches of the National Socialist Party were assigned alternating weekends to go out into the streets and collect donations.  Each organization would have its own gift to exchange in return for a donation, and each gift was only available for that particular weekend the group was taking donations.  Greater donations were awarded with nicer gifts.  Basic gifts included things like small decorated informational booklets (an example here), or holiday cards.  Nicer gifts included small toys, badges or lapel pins.  The pins illustrated various themes of life in Germany and its various regions.  Famous historical figures, images of nature and various animals were also common illustrations.  These products varied widely in composition.  Some being made from wood, others from glass, paper, metal, Terracotta or plastic.  At least 8000 of these various pins and trinkets were produced before World War Two came to a close in Germany, and they are highly collectible today.

The Hitlerjugend and Bund Deutscher Madel were the most active in collecting for the WHW drives, and members from both organizations would regularly go from door to door asking for donations.  In keeping with the socialist concepts of community over the individual, the total donations each individual was able to raise were not reported.  Only the total raised by the relevant organization of that region.  Donators were given cards to place on their window in order to not be bothered by the next group of collectors.  Wearing the current pin of the week would keep collectors away as well.  Failing to donate on the other hand, might get your name posted in the local paper as "someone who forgot"! 

 Above:  Two women offer donations to an SS officer on a snowy day.

The highlight of the drive would occur on National Solidarity Day (December 3rd)
when high ranking party officials would take to the streets and ask for donations themselves.  Famous figures including Hermann Goering and especially Joseph Goebbels, were noted for taking part in this annual event.  Another popular aspect of Winterhilfswerk was the eintopf (a special kind of cheap stew).  A family would eat an eintopf meal for dinner one night per month during the drive, and donate the money they saved doing so to the WHW.

Above:  Volunteers sort donations to the WHW.  Most of those in the photograph appear to be canned and dry goods.

The Winterhilfswerk drive was not only useful for bringing aid to Germans in need, but also for continuing to unify the nation and people.  The concepts promoted by the WHW drive helped develop trust between people and state, and provided an easily identifiable example of Volksgemeinshaft to the German people, and the rest of the world.  

Symbology: The Fasces

Above:  One of many possible examples of a Fasces.

The Fasces was the chosen symbol of the Benito Mussolini lead Italian National Fascist party (Partito Nazionale Fascista or PNF).  The PNF sought to reclaim the glory of the Roman Empire through social and political revolution, and the acquisition of territory both in and around the Mediterranean Sea, including significant portions of Libya.  The Fasces was chosen to represent this organization not only because of the nature of its symbolism, but also on merit of its ancient status and Roman affiliations.

The Fasces originates in the oldest cultures of the Mediterranean, and probably migrated to Italy through ancient cultures such as the Etruscan civilization.  The Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire used the Fasces as an indicator of power.  A Lictor (social servant with authority) would own a number of Fasces indicative to his rank, and often display them ceremoniously at state functions.

Above:  Italian torpedo bombers (perhaps the Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero, or "Sparrowhawk").  Each displaying a trio of stylized Fasces on the wing.

The Fasces is comprised of 12 sticks or rods fastened together into a tight bundle, with an axe fastened to one side of the bundle.  Individually the rods are weak, but when fastened together they are nearly impossible to break.  This arrangement easily promotes the socialist concept of "strength through unity."  The Roman culture attached an axe to the Fasces to represent the authority of the state, specifically the states power over life and death imposed through the application of the death penalty.  While within the city limits of Rome Lictors kept the axe blade turned inward so as to be hidden within the bundle, symbolizing that the Roman people maintained power over life and death through state functions and assemblies.  Outside the boundaries of Rome or in a state of emergency, a Lictor might display his axe outward from the bundle, indicating that he has full authority to enact capital punishment if need be.

Above:  The Lincoln Memorial.  Notice the Fasces under each of Mr. Lincolns arms.

Many western governments and organizations have incorporated the Fasces into their iconography.  The United States of America uses the Fasces extensively.  Many unit insignias for the United States military bear the Fasces.  A few other examples include the Mace of the United States House of Representatives, which is occasionally used to maintain order among unruly house members.  The state seal of Colorado displays the Fasces, and so does the statue of George Washington at the Virginia state capital.

It is from the Fasces that the term Fascio was established in the early 20th century, which is a colloquial term for a small political party.  It is from among these various Fascio of that same era that the PNF rose to prominence, and from the PNF itself we have the term Fascism, a reference to the "fastened" power of people and state.  Today the Fasces remains a potent symbol for many western cultures, and exists as a link between the principals of the ancient Roman state, and our own modern principals of both democratic and authoritarian government.