GERMAN DEUTSCHE WEHRMACHT ARMBAND IN GOTHIC SCRIPT FROM ARNSBERG

This is an original Deutsche Wehrmacht armband with black gothic print lettering on yellow cotton.  It also has a stamp on it from Arnsberg which is a town in the Hochsauerland county, in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. 

The Army Mobilization Order of March 12th 1937, introduced a wide variety of armbands that were worn to identify personnel performing specific duties or functions for the Armed Forces. Most of the armbands were worn on the upper left sleeve of uniformed or non-uniformed personnel and were worn only while the individual was performing the specific duty or function identified by the armband. The "DEUTSCHE WEHRMACHT  ", (German Armed Forces), armband was one of the armbands introduced with the Army Mobilization Order of March 12th 1937 and was designed for wear by non-uniformed personnel serving with the Armed Forces.

Often, these were worn by men of the Reichsarbeitsdienst (RAD) and Reichsbahn who were operating with the German Army in the occupied countries.