Nazi radiator badge?

[Gooner90]

First of all I'm not sure if this is in the right thread but it's a radiator badge believed to be from a car? I'm not too sure but has the writing around the edge "sieg heil unseren fuhrer" then has at the bottom 12 3 1938. I know that was when Germany invaded Poland but does anyone else have any info what this may have been used for if it's genuine etc? Provenance was from a woman's late husband captain Anstey who fought in Austria & Germany.

Thoughts on this one would be great. It's also slightly bent in the middle.

[Gooner90]

Sorry invaded Austria don't know why Poland was in my head

[Saladin]

It could be from any period of time Gooner.
I haven't seen anything like it on any period pictures but some members on here may have some.
You may struggle to find any conclusive evidence on this piece.

I'll help and have a dig around the www

Good Luck
Doug

[big ned]

Sorry invaded Austria don't know why Poland was in my head

Don't worry, they got there eventually........

[bigmacglenn]

I can only speculate that this one of many unofficial Patriotic items in celebration of the Austrian Anschluss...
It's a nice item!
cheers, Glenn

[Larboard]

Yes, the Anchluss, things were just starting to warm up then...



"Hitler announces an Anschluss with Austria


On this day, Adolf Hitler announces an “Anschluss” (union) between Germany and Austria, in fact annexing the smaller nation into a greater Germany.

Union with Germany had been a dream of Austrian Social Democrats since 1919. The rise of Adolf Hitler and his authoritarian rule made such a proposition less attractive, though, which was an ironic twist, since a union between the two nations was also a dream of Hitler’s, a native Austrian. Despite the fact that Hitler did not have the full approval of Austrian Social Democrats, the rise of a pro-Nazi right-wing party within Austria in the mid-1930s paved the way for Hitler to make his move. In 1938, Austrian Chancellor Kurt von Schuschnigg, bullied by Hitler during a meeting at Hitler’s retreat home in Berchtesgaden, agreed to a greater Nazi presence within Austria. He appointed a Nazi minister of police and announced an amnesty for all Nazi prisoners. Schuschnigg hoped that agreeing to Hitler’s demands would prevent a German invasion. But Hitler insisted on greater German influence on the internal affairs of Austria-even placing German army troops within Austria–and Schuschnigg repudiated the agreement signed at Berchtesgaden, demanding a plebiscite on the question. Through the machinations of Hitler and his devotees within Austria, the plebiscite was canceled, and Schuschnigg resigned.

The Austrian president, Wilhelm Miklas, refused to appoint a pro-Nazi chancellor in Schuschnigg’s stead. German foreign minister Hermann Goering then faked a crisis by engineering a “plea” for German assistance from inside the Austrian government (really from a German agent). On March 12, 1938, German troops marched into Austria. Hitler announced his Anschluss, and a plebiscite was finally held on April 10. Whether the plebiscite was rigged or the resulting vote simply a testament to Austrian terror at Hitler’s determination, the Fuhrer garnered a whopping 99.7 percent approval for the union of Germany and Austria.

Austria was now a nameless entity absorbed by Germany. It was not long before the Nazis soon began their typical ruthless policy of persecuting political dissidents and, of course, all Jewish citizens."

[BOB COLEMAN]

possibly for mounting on a door to show support.

[bigmacglenn]

[QUOTE=Larboard;1501438]

"German foreign minister Hermann Goering then faked a crisis"
"Austria was now a nameless entity absorbed by Germany"


German/Austrian Unification Aspirations pre-date 1919 by far...the ethnic connection is rather significant...
I'm not sure where this is taken from, but Goering wasn't Germany's Foreign Minister, and Austria wasn't "nameless" at all, referred to as the "Ostmark"...
The Anschluss was approved by the overwhelming majority of Austrians, no question about it, despite strenuous postwar efforts to claim Rape-Status...
cheers, Glenn

[Larboard]

Apologies, something I found on the net, should have saved the page and included a link. In retrospect maybe it does seems a little simplistic and/or extreme. Someone's view, no doubt. Very complex issues... There was a crisis (real or false) which prompted the inevitable annexing of Austria, don't remember the exact details, some German citizens were attacked by a few radicals (the wrong kind), no sure Goering had anything to do with it. History can too easily be skewed...

[BOB COLEMAN]

Something I found on the net, should have saved the page and included a link. In retrospect maybe it does seems a little simplistic and/or extreme. Someone's view, no doubt. Very complex issues...

The inaccurate statement regarding Goring indicates the author did not do very accurate historical research.