Description

German WWII Black Wound Badge-This wound badge retains the majority of its original black finish. It has great details. There is a slight bit of finish loss on the reverse near the catch, but this won't affect the display. The pin setup works as intended. This is a very good example.History: The wound badge was originally established on March 3rd, 1918, by Kaiser Wilhelm II to recognize the sacrifice of those wounded during WWI. The badge was instituted in three classes of black, silver and gold with the class bestowed reflecting the number or severity of the wounds received.Black (3rd class, representing Iron), for those wounded once or twice by hostile action (including air raids). Silver (2nd class) for being wounded three or four times. Gold (1st class, which could be awarded posthumously) for being wounded five or more times.On May 22nd, 1939, Adolf Hitler re-instituted a slightly modified version of the wound badge with the addition of a swastika to the WWI pattern badge for award to German volunteers who had been wounded supporting the Spanish Nationalist Falangist Generalissimo Francisco Franco against the communist allied Republican Loyalist party in the Spanish Civil War. (July 1936-March 1939). With the outbreak of WWII, on September 1st, 1939, Hitler once again re-instituted another slightly modified version of the wound badge by altering the WWI pattern helmet on the badge to the newly designed M35 style helmet. The badge was awarded to both military and uniformed non-military personnel and later, (March 1943), to civilian personnel who received wounds as a result of enemy actions. The black wound badge was the lowest of the three classes and was awarded for one or two wounds.

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