De-Nazified combat badges: Original?

[JimboCymru]

Good morning everyone :-)
What are your thoughts on this de-Nazified Luftwaffe FLAK badge? (Flakkampf-Abze​ichen der Luftwaffe entnazifiziert) and WH Infanterie Sturmabzeichen Abze​ichen in Bronze (Infantry Assault badge in Bronze). How collectible are the de-Nazified versions? From my perspective it shows that a soldier not only wore the badge during wartime, but was sufficiently proud enough of his service to go to the extent of removing the offending swastika to comply with the post-war regulations. I would expect that many vets couldn;t be bothered and simply didn't wear them at all.

Kind regards,
Jimbo

[KMMorris]

These de-Nazified i would say are probably as collectible as the 1957 reissues or possibly a bit more collectible because they are war time made. But the removal of the swastika usually dose slash the price a fair bit.
Morris

[JimboCymru]

Thanks Morris

[JimboCymru]

Are both badges original though? The Infantry Assault looks good to me, but the Luftwaffe FLAK is not one that I've had much experience with. The detail looks crisp esp around the gearing and the Adler.

Any help appreciated!
Cheers,
Jimbo

[KMMorris]

I have no problem with the Infantry Assault badge but I am not 100% on the Luft Flak.
Morris

P.S Nice to see a new Australian member

[drmessimer]

Postwar "de-Nazified" awards are nothing more than fakes, which to a collector are worthless. The politically correct idea that covering or utterly eliminating the swastica is somehow "proper" is pure BS and silly to the extreme. History is history, things happen and they aren't always nice. But being so silly as to believe that shutting one's eyes to reality and being content to collect "de-Nazified" items is ridiculous. I would rather have a really well made copy than an emasculated sanitized "Nachbau." Dwight

[JimboCymru]

Thanks for the feedback lads :-)

[sargetom]

Gee I guess we're all entitled to our opinion!

[big ned]

Are both badges original though? The Infantry Assault looks good to me, but the Luftwaffe FLAK is not one that I've had much experience with. The detail looks crisp esp around the gearing and the Adler.

Any help appreciated!
Cheers,
Jimbo

Hi Jimbo,

Both badges are good IMO. The IAB is by an unknown maker, and I believe the Luft flak badge is an unmarked example of an early Gustav Brehmer in buntmetal. It's a bit of a shame that they are 'emasculated', especially the Brehmer, but they are what they are and honest with it.

Regards, Ned.

[JimboCymru]

Thanks, Ned :-)

I really appreciate the feedback from everyone and most certainly people are entitled to their opinions about things. I'm of the opinion that if somebody was so proud of their wartime achievements that they de-Nazified their own awards so that they could wear them publically post-War, then that award certainly meant a heck of a lot to them (esp remembering that you could, and still can, be jailed for public display of the Swastika). To say that they are worth nothing to collectors is a bit of a generalisation; collectors as individuals have different aims, budgets and reasons for collecting. Personally I prefer to have combat worn pieces and the idea that a fake, no matter how good, could stand in for an original piece, even if de-Nazified does not gel with me. It's not about the condition of the piece of metal for me, it's the emotion and the experience that's intertwined with it that propels me as a collector. That being said, each to his own :-)