-
-
07-09-2011 12:21 PM
# ADS
Circuit advertisement
-
-
Re: Can anyone identify this badge?
Thanks Ade, is there anything you DON'T know?
So the soldier would either have bought this badge off a WHW seller or received it in return for a donation to the WHW? Perhaps he kept it as a lucky charm, not that it did him much good in Stalingrad.
-
Re: Can anyone identify this badge?
Hi Glenn, he would have dropped his money into the street collectors tin and picked up a badge from the tray. The Nazis were a clever bunch, perhaps the best marketing men in history. By issuing these items in sets it encouraged you to donate more to get the complete set.
It often makes me wonder too why such items ended up in the frontline? Your guess is as good as mine....
Cheers, Ade.
-
Re: Can anyone identify this badge?
Hi Glenn! There were actually two versions of this. The 6WHW-4RSS donation badges (T173-182) were from a collection called Verkehrszeichen (traffic signs), and were made of light metal (alloy) and distributed on the 28/29.1.39 by the Polizei, TN and the Feuerwehren. However, the same badges were remade in zinc for the 2KWHW-RSS Tag der Polizei collection (T350-359). They were released on 15/16.2.41 by the Polizei and the TN. Depending on what sort of metal yours is made of, it is either T178 or T357.
-
Re: Can anyone identify this badge?
Hi Troy,
Great information! I would have to say my badge is the T357 as it feels reasonably heavy for its size and comes in at a hefty 8g on the wife's trusty digital kitchen scales. It makes for an interesting addition to my Stalingrad relic collection, especially since it really shouldn't have been there unless it was kept as a lucky charm or keep sake for whatever reason.
Cheers
Glenn
-
Re: Can anyone identify this badge?
Now worries mate! From what I've been led to understand, some soldiers did indeed keep them at the front as good luck charms (not that it would in all likelihood have been that lucky on the Eastern Front!), as they were inherently given to children, who may then have given one of their collection to their dad, before he marched East. Yours being zinc may also account for the poor quality. I've seen photos of ground found light alloy items that still looked pretty good after a clean, whereas the zinc items didn't fare so well. Still, it's a Stalingrad find
-
-
Re: Can anyone identify this badge?
Cool items Glenn
Nick
"In all my years as a soldier, I have never seen men fight so hard." - SS Obergruppenfuhrer Wilhelm Bittrich - Arnhem
-
Bookmarks