German Wound Badge information/Verwundetenabzeichen handbuch

[daniel1234]

German Wound Badge information/Verwundetenabzeichen handbuch

Here is a quick guide to German wound badge information. If you have any information to add please do to help the site grow.

The wound badge( Das Verwundetenabzeichen) was instituted on March 3rd 1918 it was issued to German army solders who became injured in combat, it was issued to both Imperial German solders although issued towards end of the war many got their badge after the war had ended and Third Reich solders.
The badge came in three classes:

Black/Schwarz_ awarded for being wounded twice by enemy action.

Silver/Silber_Awarded for being wounded 3,4 times or loosing a foot,hand or eye from enemy a
action.

Gold/Gold_Awarded for being wounded 5 times or losing your man's area, becoming blind or
being brain damaged from enemy action.


The variations of the badges are as follows...

Imperial wound badge in Black



Imperial wound badge in Silver



Imperial wound badge in Gold




Imperial 'cut out'wound badge in Black




Imperial 'cut out' wound badge in Silver




Imperial 'cut out' wound badge in Gold




Condor wound badge in Black





Condor wound badge in Silver




Condor wound badge in Gold




Reich wound badge in Black




Reich wound badge in Silver




Reich wound badge in Gold




19 July 1944 Wound badges



1957 wound badges





I hope this guide helps you, if you wish to add to it please post a comment on my mistakes. I do not own the badges in the photos so copyright of the photos goes to their respected owners. Please dont use this guide as a comparison to see if your Wound badge is original, if you are unsure ask on the forum and they will help you.

[bigmacglenn]

Here are two from my collection...
Glenn

[daniel1234]

Thanks Glenn, i need somehow sort of the pictures as they are all over the place lol

[Adrian]

Good start to the thread Daniel, can you post any larger images of the small obverse pics?

[HPL2008]

Here is a quick guide to German wound badge information. If you have any information to add please do to help the site grow.

The wound badge( Das Verwundetenabzeichen) was instituted on March 3rd 1918 it was issued to German army solders who became injured in combat, it was issued to both Imperial German solders although issued towards end of the war many got their badge after the war had ended and Third Reich solders.
The badge came in three classes:

Black/Schwarz_ awarded for being wounded twice by enemy action.

Silver/Silber_Awarded for being wounded 3,4 times or loosing a foot,hand or eye from enemy a
action.

Gold/Gold_Awarded for being wounded 5 times or losing your man's area, becoming blind or
being brain damaged from enemy action.


I hope this guide helps you, if you wish to add to it please post a comment on my mistakes.

Do allow me to remark on the badge's history and classes, then.

In World War 1, there were actually two different types of Wound Badge: One for the Army (instituted by the Kaiser on 3 March 1918, with eligibility expanded to the Colonial Troops on 8 July 1918) and one of different design for Naval personnel instituted on 24 June 1918.
With these World War 1-era Wound Badges, the severity of the injuries had no relevance for the class awarded: Black was for being wounded once or twice, Silver for three or four times, Gold for five or more times.

This system was continued when the Wound Badge for German Volunteers in the Spanish Civil War [Verwundetenabzeichen für deutsche Freiwillige im spanischen Freiheitskampf 1936/1939] was instituted per a Führer decree of 22 May 1939, although only the Black and Silver Classes were instituted this time. (Even Silver was awarded only once; there was no need for a Gold class.)

The World War 2-era Wound Badge, instituted per a decree of 1 Sept. 1939 once again had the original three classes with the same number of wounds required as in 1918.
Wounds from previous wars that had been recognized with the award of a wound badge counted for the fulfilment of these requirements, too: If a twice-wounded WW1 veteran wore the 1918 Wound Badge in Black and was wounded again in WW2, he qualified for the Silver Class of the 1939 Wound Badge.
For the first time, the severity of the wounds could be relevant, too:
Silver could now also be awarded for the loss (or permant loss of function) of a hand/arm, a foot/leg, or an eye, for deafness or a severe hearing impairment bordering on deafness, for brain injuries, for disfiguring facial injuries and loss of fertility.
Gold could be awarded if at least two requirements for the Silver Class were fulfilled (for example, loss of both hands, loss of a hand and a foot, loss of an eye and deafness etc.), for paraplegia, for severe brain injuries leading to full disablement/care dependency, for loss of fertility from double testicular loss and for blindness.
Injuries suffered in accidents did not qualify for the wound badge, not even if these accidents were suffered in the line of duty while in a combat zone, with the sole exception of blindness from accidents suffered while on active wartime military service.

The final and by far rarest incarnation of the Wound Badge was the special Wound Badge of 20 July 1944 [Verwundetenabzeichen des 20. Juli 1944], awarded in three classes to those injured by the detonation in the failed assassination attempt on Hitler.

Under the statutes of the Federal German law on orders and decorations [Ordensgesetz] of 1957, the WW1- and WW2-era wound badges were allowed to be worn; although - as with the other permitted Third Reich-era awards and decorations - the 1939 Wound Badge could only be worn in a modified new version eliminating the Swastika. The Wound Badges for the Spanish Civil War and for 20 July 1944, however, were banned from wear in any form.

[daniel1234]

Good start to the thread Daniel, can you post any larger images of the small obverse pics?

Certainly I can, could you sticky this thread so it does not get lost?

[daniel1234]

Thank you for the detailed improvement hpl.
You have a great knowledge of the wound badges history.
I'm sure it will be very helpful for those reading and looking for learn.

[oradour]

Gents, as HPL2008 quite rightly states no history wether tutorial or pictorial is complete without the 57er awards....here are all three grades from my collection, very early St u L made pieces, with wartime pins and hinges....I have the Imperial versions, but alas no Imperial Marine ones !
Prost ! Steve.

[oradour]

Gents, some better shots of the Black 57er wound badge, as it not clearly visible on the hasty photographs I took the other night !
Prost ! Steve.

[HPL2008]

A few more humble examples of the Wound Badge through the ages:

First, the Imperial-era Verwundetenabzeichen in Schwarz [Wound Badge in Black], as the full-sized award, the stickpin version for civilian wear and a ribbon bar combining the 1918 EK2 ribbon with a miniature Wound Badge device:






A few Third Reich-era examples as worn by WW1 veterans, combining the miniature Wound Badge with other awards and decorations:






The Federal-era ribbon bar and civilian wear stickpins of a WW2 veteran serving in the Bundeswehr featuring the 1957 version of the Wound Badge in Silver: