NAZI SA Cap for Gruppe Hochland 1933

The Sturmabteilung (SA), often called storm troopers in English were the Nazi Party's paramilitary wing and one of the oldest organistions within the Nazi party. They played a significant role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s by providing protection for Nazi rallies and assemblies, disrupting the meetings of opposing parties and fighting against members of opposing parties, especially the Communist Party. By 1933 their members numbered over 2 million and many considered themselves the new German army. Once Hitler became chancellor in 1933 he started to see such a large body of men (many of whom were more loyal to their leader Ernst Rohm than they were to Hitler) a threat. This led to an event known as the night of the long knives in 1934 when many high ranking SA leaders were ‘disappeared’ over night and Rohm himself was arrested and eventually murdered. The SA’s power and influence was greatly reduced after that with Himmler's SS taking a more significant role.

The SA were also called the "Brownshirts", from the colour of their uniform. Brown-colored shirts were chosen as the SA uniform because a large number of them were cheaply available after World War I, having originally been used for troops posted to Germany's former African colonies. This cap dates from the significant year of 1933. Different SA groups had different coloured band and this blue band represents the Hochland district. Being a mountain group the Hochland group were one of the few to also wear an edelweiss badge on the cap, worn by groups in alpine and mountain regions.

Picture 4 shows 2 members of the SA during the boycott of Jewish shops in 1933