Hate Belt

[Georg of Ohio]

I would like to post photos of my hate Belt, it have 26 buttons ( mostly German) . can any one help with the ID of the swirl brass buttons, or the two small navy buttons.?

Edited January 11, 2009 by Georg of Ohio

[Georg of Ohio]

m

Edited January 11, 2009 by Georg of Ohio

[Georg of Ohio]

m

[Chip]

Georg,

These souvenir belts could have just about anything shiny on them. The swirl buttons on your belt are just civilian buttons that struck the belt maker's fancy. The two small navy buttons could be the chin strap buttons for a naval visored cap.

Chip

[Kev in Deva]

I have to agree, the term "hate belt" is a bit of poetic license in my opinion.

I never heard the belts called that until they started being offered for sale on Evil Bay.

Firstly being taken prisoner with such an item probably would get you shot

after a hell of a beating.

Secondly there is no real way to dating when these items were put together,

during the war, immediate post WW1, trench art, rear-lines art, civvy street art.

I have seen some with Allied, French, German buttons all mixed together.

Kevin in Deva.

[Guest Rick Research]

Ah, you're just not creakingly ancient enough, Kev.

These are all POST-war exchange of souivenirs circa 1919 items.

They were called-- quite ironically for the swapping was entirely amicable on even the formerly opposing sides participants-- "hate belts" even when I was a lad in the faroff 1960s.

They MIGHT better be called "Armistice Souvenir belts" but "hate belts" have been what they were called since the original souvenir gatherers were still alive, so.....

There were two varieties, now impossible to tell apart since the original owners are all dead. One type was gathered by the on the spot Glad To Be Alive Afterwards veteran who swapped his own surplus buttons or badges with allies or ex-enemies rather like trading baseball cards later on... or they were 1920s sorts of commercially manufactured souvenirs popular with battlefield tourists. That's where all those arte nouveau hammered empty howitzer shells come from.

I'm old enough to remember the now-departed from when they were still hale and hearty and running things. They often had very vivid stories about each item-- "Trdaed a cigarette for this German button" or "had a couple of drinks with this Poilu with a great scar across his face for this" or the like. Kind of like telling rosary beads of memory. Ahhhh, long ago days. :catjava: