Ritterkreuzträger with NSDAP Golden Party Badge (Goldenes Parteiabzeichen der NSDAP)

The NSDAP Golden Party Badge (Goldenes Parteiabzeichen der NSDAP), officially known as the Goldenes Ehrenzeichen der NSDAP, stood as one of the most prestigious political awards of Nazi Germany, authorized by Adolf Hitler via decree on 13 October 1933 and first bestowed on 9 November 1933 during the 10th anniversary of the Beer Hall Putsch. Reserved exclusively for the earliest members of the party—those with unbroken membership and registration numbers from 1 to approximately 100,000 as of late 1933—it symbolized the elite status of the so-called "Old Fighters" (Alte Kämpfer) who had joined before the Nazi Party's rise to power, distinguishing them from later, often opportunistic recruits. Crafted in two sizes—a larger 30–30.5 mm version for wear on military or service uniforms and a smaller 24–25 mm variant for civilian attire—the circular badge featured a central black swastika on a white field encircled by a gold wreath, with the recipient's unique number engraved on the reverse along with the maker's mark (primarily Deschler & Sohn or Josef Fuess of Munich). Wehrmacht officers and soldiers who qualified through prior party membership proudly displayed the large version on the left breast pocket of their tunics, positioned below or alongside military decorations like the Iron Cross, reflecting the regime's fusion of political loyalty with military service; meanwhile, SS members, particularly in the Waffen-SS and Allgemeine SS, wore it more liberally on both uniforms and civilian clothing, as the SS embodied the party's paramilitary vanguard and allowed greater integration of political insignia. Worn by high-ranking figures including Reinhard Heydrich and various decorated frontline commanders, the badge not only conferred prestige and preferential treatment but also served as a visible marker of ideological purity and early devotion to National Socialism amid the total war effort of World War II, until its public display was banned following Germany's defeat in 1945.

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WAFFEN-SS

SS-Obersturmbannführer Vinzenz Kaiser (1904-1945), born on 28 February 1904 in Waltersdorf near Judenburg in Styria, Austria, and killed in action on 20 April 1945 near Nuremberg in Bavaria, Germany, was an Austrian SS officer whose military career in the Waffen-SS spanned from the pre-war SS-Verfügungstruppe through major campaigns on the Eastern Front, culminating in the award of the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes for his decisive leadership during the Third Battle of Kharkov. After early involvement in the Austrian Nazi movement, including founding SA troops and SS units in Styria, arrests by the Austrian authorities, and flight to Germany as a political refugee in 1933, he completed training with the Austrian SS Legion at Lechfeld and advanced through various SS training and leadership roles before the war, eventually serving as a company commander in SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 4 "Der Führer" of the 2. SS-Panzergrenadier-Division "Das Reich". On 12 March 1943, as SS-Hauptsturmführer and Führer of the III.(gepanzerten) Bataillon of SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 4 "Der Führer", during the bitter fighting to retake Kharkov, he found himself in a critical sector where the I. Bataillon of SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment "Deutschland" had established a bridgehead in the first rows of houses in the Zalyutino suburbs after the 16. Kompanie breached a deep Soviet anti-tank ditch, only for heavy enemy counterattacks to threaten its collapse in the early morning hours. Rather than simply reinforcing the defensive line as initially planned while awaiting the arrival of tanks, Kaiser proactively decided to launch an immediate attack from the bridgehead with his SPW-equipped battalion to relieve the hard-pressed I. Bataillon "Deutschland" and expand the foothold; his bold initiative and personal leadership turned the situation completely, enabling his forces to push the Soviets back, advance to the railway station area, link up with reconnaissance elements of the SS-Panzergrenadier-Division "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler" near the Red Square, and then pursue the retreating enemy in a Kampfgruppe of armored personnel carriers that inflicted heavy losses and captured approximately forty artillery pieces in the woods southwest of the city. Kaiser himself personally destroyed four enemy tanks at close range with handheld weapons during the fighting, earning him four silver Tank Destruction Badges, and his tremendous personal bravery, tactical decisiveness, and proven combat leadership were singled out in the recommendation submitted by acting divisional commander SS-Standartenführer Kurt Brasack, leading to the award of the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 6 April 1943 (the 1684th such award). He later rose to the rank of SS-Obersturmbannführer, commanded units in formations including the 17. SS-Panzergrenadier-Division "Götz von Berlichingen", and met his end during a reconnaissance mission in the final defensive battles around Nuremberg in April 1945.

Source :
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q640988