Two Certificates Westerwald-Verein & Kyffhäuserbund Hermann Wirbelauer,

21 x 30 cm each. Date of item: 1952/53. Condition: excellent, with water mark on Westerwald-Verein certificate.

The Westerwald-Verein, Ortsgruppe Wiesbaden (Westerwald club, local group of Wiesbaden) appoints Hermann Wirbelauer an honorary member on his 80th birthday, Aug 1952. The Westerwald-Verein was founded in 1888 in the town of Selters and today has 7.000 members in 40 local groups. It is a so called “Heimatverein” (homeland club), devoted to the maintenance of regional traditions and characteristics, like regional history, vernacular, treasury of songs, and folk dances. It also supports local tourism initiatives and is part of the Union of German Mountain and Hiking Clubs. The local group of Wiesbaden does no longer exist.

The Kyffhäuserbund (Kyffhäuser League) awards a certificate to comrade Hermann Wirbelauer for his 50 years of loyal membership, Dec 15th, 1953, city of Wiesbaden. On the top of the page there is a drawing of a nature scene with the Kyffhäuser monument in the background. The Kyffhäuser monument (also known as the Barbarossa monument) is commemorating Emperor William (1797–1888) and was erected between 1890 and 1896. It stands within the Kyffhäuser mountain range in the state of Thuringia, central Germany. The Kyffhäuserbund was founded as an umbrella organization for War Veterans’ and Reservists’ Associations in 1900, took an anti-social democratic stand, and was nazified in the Third Reich. After the German defeat in the Battle of Stalingrad, Hitler unceremoniously disbanded it himself. After WWII, in the efforts of denazification, all Nazi party branches, which included the Kyffhäuserbund, were outlawed. It was newly founded in 1952, and today emphasizes its role as a shooting sports association. However, taking a rather right winged, very conservative stand, it is not without its controversies.