FAKE PARTISAN WARFARE BADGE WITH DIAMONDS –– EPILOGUE

A comment posted by a reader identifying himself as the grandson-in-law of the veteran said to have brought back to the United States in 1945 the BKAiGmB hailed by Dietrich Maerz as genuine and featured on Page 322 of his book he Awards of the Heer, Vol 1 prompts some further comment. The veteran's grandson-in-law, calling himself "Chris",  wrote: "I take great offense to writing lies in an attempt to prove a point. Mr. Stump states above:" the fact is that this so-called provenance cannot be established as tracing further back than the mid-1960s. This is a lie. The badge was brought to the US in 1945 by my father-in-laws father who stored it in his basement until bequeathed to his son. There it remained in my father-in-laws basement until the entire collection was auctioned by Mohawk Arms in 2010. Having an opinion is fine, lying to support your opinion is fraud.".

This badge, described as being rediscovered in September 2010, was knocked down by the Mohawk Arms auction house on 20.11.2010 for $22,000 against a starting bid of $20,000, which seems cheap for such an astonishing piece of exotica. The catalogue blurb stated: "Anti-Partisan War Badge - with Brilliants. Age darkened patina on the oak leaf wreath and finely detailed intertwined snakes. Quality defined sword with brilliants set into the grip as well as between the arms of the sun wheel swastika. Dished reverse, with a nice plum patina. Center is stamped "800". Wide silver pin. Upon close examination with a loop, one can see traces of gold - which would indicate that this piece was a silver-gilt construction. Depending on which reference book is used, estimations are that somewhere between 4 and 20 were specially made. (Acquired by an American G.I. serving with the 80th Signal Co., 80th Infantry Division, in Munich at the end of WWII. This piece, along with other medals, badges, etc. were kept in storage until the first week of September 2010 when the entire souvenir chest was consigned to Mohawk Arms militaria auctions by the family.) From our experience, this offered Anti-Partisan Badge with Brilliants, is the only known original example in this country.". 

Presuming for the sake of argument that this piece pre-dates May 1945, it does not look like a piece of which the notoriously vain and insecure Himmler would have approved and were it a piece offered for approval by a manufacturer tendering for the contract, it would probably have been kept by Himmler's office. Himmler, as the record shows, did not travel to southern Germany until 11.5.1945, after the surrender, and when he did, there is no record that he was in Munich, which was by then occupied by US forces. 

Members of 80th Signal Company receiving decorations on 6.7.1945

The 80th Infantry Division certainly passed through Bavaria on its advance into Austria where it saw the end of the war. None of the divisional histories seem to mention any time spent in Munich at any point and nor does the history of the 80th Signal Company. 80th ID entered Bavaria on 19.4.1945, moving through Nuremberg on 22.4.1945, Ziegelsdorf on 29.4.1945, Ergoldsbach on 30.4.1945, Frontenhausen on 2.5.1945, Simbach on 3.5.1945 and into Austria on 5.5.1945. At no point was 80th Signal Company subject to any attachments or detachments that would have seen the unit spending any time in Munich. 

Efforts to establish the identity of the veteran have so far been unsuccessful, which is a shame as a complete list of members of the 80th Signal Company during their European campaign in 1944 and 1945 can be found on the Internet. "Chris" has been asked to produce any documentary evidence supporting the stated provenance of this badge or, failing this, any evidence placing his late grandfather-in-law in Munich in 1945. This does not preclude, of course, the possibility that the veteran in question did not spend time in Munich at some point before being shipped back to the United States. Perhaps he won this badge in a card game? Or perhaps he acquired it in the 1960s. 

[Editor's Note: 'Chris' never responded to the request for more information concerning his claims –- June 2020.]