A rare version of the French armband D.P. - Défense Passive - which was stamped with a Nazi stamp after their occupation of France. France, early 1940s. Rare.
The French Defense Passive Unit (DP) was established in 1933. Its role was to protect civil society in times of war. Originally called the "Union for Air Defense and Protection of Civilian Populations" (UNDA) under former French President Gaston Doumergue, the unit dealt mainly with civil defense measures in the event of air attacks.
Subsequently, its functions were expanded and the unit was engaged in setting up a network of warning sirens, building shelters, promoting awareness of the dangers posed by airstrikes through the media, and use of gas protection. During World War I, the unit was mainly engaged in providing first aid to civilians wounded in the home front. After the German occupation of France, they took over the French Civil Defense Organization under the same name D.P. - Defense Passive - and during the war its role was to check the quality of the shelters and help protect French cities and factories in occupied France between 1940 and 1944.
Before us a rare armband from those years when the French organization was under complete Nazi control, and in fact operated under the orders of a Nazi commander. The Nazi stamp on the right marked the transfer of control of the organization to the Nazi occupier.
20x10 cm. (closed), Faded band. Good Condition.
