History

Armbands were usually used to identify a soldier’s special duty position or function. It would normally only be worn in the carrying out of said duty or function. It could also be used to identify a civilian as an official employee of the army.

Most armbands were worn on the left upper sleeve, but there were exceptions to this rule.

Members of the German People’s Militia (Deutscher Volkssturm) wore black/white/red armband with two white national eagles on each side and two lines of white letters, “Deutscher Volkssturm Wehrmacht”. Many variations are known to exist.