Third reich era home made wooden swastika plaque

[Jb4046]

A local pick up with some amount of provenance of word.

From the local dealer I picked it up from said it was a burnt swastika plaque from a boat. When I asked if it was attached to some one from the area I was told it belonged to a John buchan from Peterhead who was part of the navy reserve by means of his boat being requisitioned. Apparently taken off a German boat during( or maybe after) the war. Not sure where specifically it would of been

I quite like this piece to be honest. Although I feel it’s just a home made piece from the war for placement anywhere not just for a boat.

Things that I like about it ( for it being a genuine piece of the era)

1) in hand it does give me a good old feeling ( not a recent produced piece) and the woodwork is good
2) old dead wood worm holes confirm it’s a relatively old piece that sat around for a while
3) the burn marks only effect the front and not the drill holes or back so it was burnt while attached to something. Not that helpful but does show it wasn’t just modern made and burnt in a open fire and maybe was in area that was set on fire from bombs?
4) the remaining ( of course red white and black) paint looks quite old and confirm it’s connection to the third reich

Things that don’t make me feel comfortable


1) just the word swastika written on the back. Of course could of been the sailor just writing it down for some reason or it feel into the hands of a younger relative messing around
2) the fact it’s probably home made and hasn’t got a war time German published equivalent in a sales catalogue (I haven’t checked those yet)


I would like to hear your guys opinions, I feel more confident it’s a piece made at home during the war as a fixture in someone’s home or public space in german. All the factors I have said I liked knocks out the idea of recent manufacturing. But I could of missed something. In any case nothing too extreme was paid and still makes for a good display piece

[Luftwaffe 1941]

Hmm, this is certainly a first for me.

I personally like the piece. It shows a good deal of character. Being homemade we can't really compare it to another example to see how it stacks up. At the end of the day I suppose you just have to go with your gut feeling on this one. I'm curious to see what the other members have to say.

[Jb4046]

My gut is leaning towards period construction but again something I don’t think anyone could ever 100% be happy with

[Luftwaffe 1941]

I also wanted to mention this. The 'Swastika' marking on the back almost reminds me of a war trophy/souvenir type of thing. About two years ago I got a small group of German war trophies from the daughter of a U.S. WW2 vet. The pieces had remained in the vets closet since he came back from the war. One of the pieces was a Luftwaffe aluminum spoon. On the back of the spoon a piece of old tape was stuck to it. Written on the tape was simply 'German Souvenir' so it kind of reminds me of this situation. Maybe it was marked like this to categorize it or something?

[Jb4046]

Oh yeah that does make sense. I just threw it off as a post war embellishment as boredom by someone!

Thanks for the help

[KMMorris]

if this came from a boat and I assume it almost has a greater chance of being a "good luck" swastika or a cultural/religious one more so than anything TR.
Because it is a home made item, its hard to ever put a "what it is" label on it . So as long are you like it and did not pay much for it its a good item.

Morris

[Jb4046]

I don’t think it’s a good luck era piece as it was sourced from a soldier living family ( I am pretty sure) who served. Would be a weird coincidence for it to be the exact colour scheme as the NSDAP flag (especially the same as your enemy! If we treat the provenance as true) Keep in mind there is burn damage. But I do remember a thread with a pre war American company with a red white and black swastika so I guess I should be open to all ideas!

[Luftwaffe 1941]

A swastika is a swastika in my book. Whether a Third Reich example or not, the swastika as a symbol itself is a fascinating piece of history. I personally feel like your piece is somehow connected to the Third Reich, but that’s just my gut feeling. You’ll find swastikas all over the place, especially from the prewar period. Just look at what I found on the beach here in Texas while relic hunting.

[Jb4046]

I guess the combination of black white and red in pre war charm and decor use is more common than I thought! Thanks for sharing that

I can definitely scroll out religious connection. Local demographics rule that one out!

[Luftwaffe 1941]

I guess the combination of black white and red in pre war charm and decor use is more common than I thought! Thanks for sharing that

I can definitely scroll out religious connection. Local demographics rule that one out!

Your swastika is facing the correct/typical direction for having a Third Reich connection. So that's a good sign alone.