1939 Black Wound Badge
Price: $95
BUY / RESERVE THIS ITEMDescription: 1939 pattern, die stamped, magnetic sheet metal construction, hollow backed badge with a black finish. The badge is in the form of an embossed, vertically oval, laurel leaf wreath encompassing an embossed profile of an M35 pattern helmet with a high relief, canted, swastika to the center, superimposed over crossed swords on a pebbled base field. Complete bend-over pin & catch assembly. 95% original black finish.
Background: The wound badge was originally established in1918 by King Wilhelm II to recognise the sacrifice of those wounded during WWI. 1939 A.H.r 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 Franco against the communist allied Republican Loyalist party in the Spanish Civil War. (July 1936-March 1939). With the outbreak of WWII, in September1939, he 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.
