WWI Wound Badge Documents

[Ed Maroli]

Does anyone know why in many WWI EKII, HC, Wound badge document groupings the wound badge document seem to be dated around 1940?

Thanks, Ed

[Chris Boonzaier]

I think the badge was introduced so late, many guys did not apply during the war... then in the 30s and 40 when everyone was getting back into uniform a lot of guys applied that had not gotten it during the war.

[Guest Rick Research]

If it's in a group with an EK and circa 1935 Hindenburg, then assuming the recipient was a German who stayed German and not a Sudetenlander etc who couldn't have gotten one until after re-absorption into the Thousand Year Reich...

the regulations changed in 1936, standardizing severity rather than number of wounds, so there were many "upgrades." As Chris notes, I suspect the majority of black class badges were to former servicemen invalided out before the Wound Badge was introduced in 1918, so they were not in uniform then to have received one.

Occupations can be a major clue, since the late ones often show occupations typical of handicapped people at the time with limited options for making any sort of living back then.

I wish I knew WHAT had changed for Amtsrat Drews here:

He was a senior civil servant in the Prussian Ministry of State, working a couple of blocks from the Brandenburg Gate. The "usual reasons" for upgrades were retroactive changes for amputations or blindness. I cannot conceive of him losing a limb from a war wound this late, and he was not blind since he got a citation for heroism fighting an air raid in 1943.

The only thing I can think of is that his hearing must have deteriorated over time until he was legally deaf. That is the only delayed injury increase which would NOT seem to have excluded him from his government job-- and yet exempted him from Wehrmacht call up too.

[dond]

Could some of these be for wounds received during WW2, ie from the Allied bombing campaign?

[David Gregory]

Could some of these be for wounds received during WW2, ie from the Allied bombing campaign?

Don,

I've only ever seen this type of document issued to men wounded in WW1.

Conversely, I have only ever seen the more or less standard 1939-45 format document (except for expedient types issued in the field) for awards of that era, including those to members of various organisations serving in Germany: TENO, Beamte, firemen, railway workers, etc., who were injured during bombing attacks.

Although I hesitate to say "never" when it comes to collecting militaria, I would be very surprised to see one of these documents issued for wounds/injuries sustained in 1939-45.

David

[Guest Rick Research]

Army/Navy (the one not applying XXXXd out) only applied to the 1918 badges. Civilian issue indicates that these were issued in relation to disability/pension sorts of questions.

[dond]

Thanks for the clarification. Now, if a guy had a wound badge from WW1 and was wounded in WW2 what kind of wound badge would he get?

[Guest Rick Research]

The WW2 one.

[dond]

And if he had his black with 2 wounds from WW1 he would get the silver, ie. it would just add on to his previous badge?

[Guest Rick Research]

Yes, for "light" wounds. Somebody blinded or with an amputation would skip right to the grade specified by that disability from 1936 to 1945. Once the regulations changed, severity of the injury was as important as number of occasions on which someone was wounded. So from 1936 on even ONE wound--if horrible enough--could result in an instant Gold Wound Badge.

[Ed Maroli]

Thank you all for the answers. What is the earliest date that these appear?

~ED

[Guest Rick Research]

1936.