Winterhilfswerk: Winter Relief for the Unfortunate!

Above:  Top members of the NSDAP, including Joseph Goebbels and Adolf Hitler, enjoy an eintopf meal durring the Winterhilfswerk drive.

The Winterhilfswerk (Winter Help Work) program was the most famous charity effort undertaken by the NSDAP.  One goal of the National Socialist Party in Germany during the 1930s and 1940s, was the elimination of poverty and homelessness.  As a means to make certain that Germans who were not financially well off could survive the cold season, the Winterhilfswerk was developed by the Nationalsozialistische Volkswohlfahrt (National Socialist People’s Welfare Organization).  The WHW program whose motto was "None shall starve nor freeze" proved to be quit successful.

 Above:  An off-duty soldier donates to the Winterhilfswerk.

This annual drive took place in Germany from 1933 to 1945 through the months of October and March.  Donations of coal, food, clothing or anything else useful to a family were accepted at WHW stations throughout the country.  During the drive, each of the various branches of the National Socialist Party were assigned alternating weekends to go out into the streets and collect donations.  Each organization would have its own gift to exchange in return for a donation, and each gift was only available for that particular weekend the group was taking donations.  Greater donations were awarded with nicer gifts.  Basic gifts included things like small decorated informational booklets (an example here), or holiday cards.  Nicer gifts included small toys, badges or lapel pins.  The pins illustrated various themes of life in Germany and its various regions.  Famous historical figures, images of nature and various animals were also common illustrations.  These products varied widely in composition.  Some being made from wood, others from glass, paper, metal, Terracotta or plastic.  At least 8000 of these various pins and trinkets were produced before World War Two came to a close in Germany, and they are highly collectible today.

The Hitlerjugend and Bund Deutscher Madel were the most active in collecting for the WHW drives, and members from both organizations would regularly go from door to door asking for donations.  In keeping with the socialist concepts of community over the individual, the total donations each individual was able to raise were not reported.  Only the total raised by the relevant organization of that region.  Donators were given cards to place on their window in order to not be bothered by the next group of collectors.  Wearing the current pin of the week would keep collectors away as well.  Failing to donate on the other hand, might get your name posted in the local paper as "someone who forgot"! 

 Above:  Two women offer donations to an SS officer on a snowy day.

The highlight of the drive would occur on National Solidarity Day (December 3rd)
when high ranking party officials would take to the streets and ask for donations themselves.  Famous figures including Hermann Goering and especially Joseph Goebbels, were noted for taking part in this annual event.  Another popular aspect of Winterhilfswerk was the eintopf (a special kind of cheap stew).  A family would eat an eintopf meal for dinner one night per month during the drive, and donate the money they saved doing so to the WHW.

Above:  Volunteers sort donations to the WHW.  Most of those in the photograph appear to be canned and dry goods.

The Winterhilfswerk drive was not only useful for bringing aid to Germans in need, but also for continuing to unify the nation and people.  The concepts promoted by the WHW drive helped develop trust between people and state, and provided an easily identifiable example of Volksgemeinshaft to the German people, and the rest of the world.  

The Assault Badge

 Above:  An Assault Badge in Silver from my personal collection.  The image is of a K-98 Rifle with fixed bayonet, surrounded by a wreath of oak leaves, and overlooked by an eagle clutching a swastika.

The German Assault Badge was instituted on December 20th 1939, by Commander of the Army (Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres) Heinrich Alfred Walther von Brauchitsh. It was designed by the C.E. Junker firm in Berlin, but was produced by a wide variety of manufacturers.  The vast majority of these medals were never numbered and this is true for the example above, the back is totally smooth excepting the pin.  This medal is 6.3 centimeters high, 4.9 centimeters wide, slightly convex, finished with silver, intricately detailed, and typically worn on the breast pocket.

The assault badge was awarded to enlisted men, NCOs and officers of non-motorized infantry units, including mountain troops.  To qualify one had to achieve one or more of the following.

- To have taken part in three or more infantry assaults.
- To have taken part in three or more infantry counterattacks.
- To have taken part in three or more armed reconnaissance operations.
- To have engaged in hand to hand combat while in an assault operation.
- To have participated on three separate days in the restitution of combat positions.

For multiple attacks in one day only one credit was earned, all the attacks had to take place on separate days.  The regimental commander was responsible for issuing an Assault Badge and it was customary to receive the award in the field, with the men of one’s own unit.  The first two assault badges given out were done so on a special occasion on May 28th 1940, by the field marshal Brauchitsh himself.

Above:  An Assault Badge in Bronze.  Photo from the web.

On June 1st 1940, a decision was made to allow members of the Waffen SS to qualify for the medal, and at the same time a new Assault Badge was commissioned for members of the motorized infantry and Panzer crews.  The requirements being the same, but acknowledging the motorized nature of their fighting style.  This was the Assault Badge in Bronze, which by design is identical to the original version (except being finished in bronze).  It was decided in November of 1942, to allow Order Police units (Ordnungspolizei) to qualify for the badge in silver.

Above:  A variety of Nahkampfspange, bronze, silver and gold.  Photo from the web.

During that same year in October; however, the Assault Badge in both its silver and bronze form were made obsolete with the introduction of the Close Combat Clasp (Nahkampfspange).  This clasp used a different method entirely for qualification, and came in a wider range of variations indicative to the degree of the deed performed.

While National Socialist symbolism was outlawed in Germany after its defeat and subsequent occupation, it was recognized that German servicement had contributed a great deal to their country, and sacrificed much.  As a result of this and other pressures the Ordens-Gesetz, or Medal Law, was instituted in 1957.  This allowed modified versions of medals such as the assault badge to be produced and worn again, providing recognition to the men who earned it.