Driver's badge for the 1939 Latvia Rally and 1938/9 racing licence
The enamel car badge shown below was found a few years back on a certain internet auction site. Both it and the driver's racing licence, shown further down, came together. The badge is in great condition, and features a stylised 1930s car speeding along. My understanding of the Latvian language isn't the best, so if anyone can translate this for me, I'd be interested to hear from them - was the '39 event the 2nd running of this road race/rally ?
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1938/9 racing driver's licence - Georg Gotz
With the badge, came the racing license shown below, for driver Georg Gotz. The driver was born in 1900. It was issued in September 1938 (note the modified year date - it originally read 1937, so perhaps they were using up blank licences from the year before), so would have expired just as WW2 was getting going. The licence and photograph have been stamped by the O.N.S., which stands for the Oberste Nationale Sportbehorde, acting 'fur die deutsche Kraftfahrt', which was based in Berlin - Graf-Spee-Str.6. A close look at the driver's lapel badge suggests that Goetz may have been a member of a far right German political party of the day...
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If anyone can shed light on this 1939 event, and George Gotz, I'd be interested to hear from you so that I can add to this page.
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Update #1. Richard got in touch, and adds this information. At first I thought the driver may have driven a Steyr automobile, given that the name appears twice on the licence, but both actually refer to the town in which Gotz was born - Steyr, in Austria.
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"I can't add much to what you have on Georg Gotz - I've nothing on a competition career, if he had one - but there is one mistake on your page. He wasn't a Steyr driver, but the information on the licence indicates that he was born (and lived) in Steyr, a town in Austria. In 1938, Austria was incorporated into the Reich, which would account for the German licence: the date alteration might be due to having to replace all Austrian competition licences for 1938. The Nazi badge was more or less obligatory, as you couldn't get a racing licence unless you were a party member". Thanks for the info!
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Update #2. Andrew sent me a little more information, in 2013 (thanks for this):
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"The Latvian Badge is from an endurance race held for cars, that was run at least once, in 1938, I was not aware that the race was run in 1939. My Grandfather participated in the 1938 event. The 1940 race was run under red Soviet flags. Your ONS license for Mr. Gotz is apparently a licence to participate in round track races, although it notes that it is limited to an event [between, or in,] Berlin & Rome." (hence the "Gultig nur Berlin-Rom").
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Reading around, there was indeed a race from Berlin to Rome, held in 1938, so presumably Mr Gotz took part or was at least entered for it. The Latvian rally he must have taken part in the following year. Given that Germany and Italy formed the Rome-Berlin axis pact in late 1936, I imagine that the Berlin-Rome race was seen as a useful propaganda vehicle by the Nazi party.
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