Condition: Excellent
Maker: Steinhauer & Luck
Base Material: Zinc
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Product Description: This Luftwaffe Paratrooper Badge is struck from fine zinc. As is very often the case with these zinc pieces, the original finish has faded, and it has largely reverted to the gray color of the base metal. The eagle is a separate piece, fastened to the wreath with two rivets. The badge shows only slight wear, and there is lots of exquisite detail. There is an old, uncleaned patina. The reverse of this Luftwaffe Paratrooper Badge is unmarked. This variant is attributed to the firm of Steinhauer & Lück, in Lüdenscheid. There is and has been an ongoing debate over whether these badges were made during or after the war. The construction of these badges is entirely consistent with wartime production. However, it is known that S&L produced badges after the war for sale to souvenir-hungry GIs during the occupation. This example is textbook for the type, with a round wire pin, block hinge, and catch with catch plate. There is no damage, and no repairs, and the attachment pin remains functional. It’s a nice representative example of an S&L Fallschirmjäger badge, that remains in excellent condition.
Historical Description: The German Paratrooper Badge (Fallschirmjäger Abzeichen) was first instituted on the 5th of November 1936, by order of Hermann Göring. It was originally awarded to Luftwaffe personnel after the completion of their training and the required six jumps. On September 1, 1937 the Heer (Army) version of the badge was instituted to recognize members of the Heer who had successfully qualified. However, by 1939 the Luftwaffe gained full control of all trained paratroopers and the small number of Heer Paratroopers were then absorbed into the ranks of the Luftwaffe.
The design of the badge features a diving eagle surrounded by a wreath. With this guideline in place, initially the Heer and Luftwaffe each had their own respective version of the Fallshirmjager Badge to call their own. The Luftwaffe’s version featured a gilded diving eagle clutching a swastika which was surrounded by a darkened wreath of laurel and oak leaves. (Please note that a specific maker exists which utilized a silvered wreath instead of the typical darkened wreath.) The earliest examples of the Luftwaffe Fallshirmjager badge were made of superior metals such as brass and nickel silver. As the war progressed, and the need to save precious metals became more of an obstacle, aluminum and zinc were substituted as replacements. The Heer Fallshirmjager Badge design was a silvered diving eagle surrounded by a wreath of gilded oak leaves with a national “Hoheitszeichen” positioned at the top of the wreath. The first Heer Paratrooper Badges were constructed of delicate aluminum, whose hardware was very prone to breaking. Early deluxe versions of the badge can be found made of “800” silver, such examples are extremely rare. The only known maker of the early Heer Paratrooper Badges is C.E. Juncker. The Heer Paratrooper Badge was discontinued in 1939 after the absorption of the Heer Fallshirmjager into the Luftwaffe, However, the badge was reinstituted in 1943 for members of the Heer who previously qualified and also for members of the Waffen-SS who qualified. These later badges were manufactured strictly in zinc. The only known manufacturers of the later Heer Paratrooper Badge is the firms of C.E. Juncker and Friedrich Linden, Ludenscheid (FLL). Cloth versions of both types of paratrooper badges exist in various forms of embroidery and bullion.
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