L/58 Marked FJ Badge.

[Willi Z.]

I received this badge directly from a FJ veteran who is a rather close friend of mine. Comments please......on the badge and not the story.

[Willi Z.]

He brought it back from Germany when he came to the US in 1949, after being released from a POW camp in England.

[Willi Z.]

...

[Frank Heukemes]

Dear Willi,

It is a design pattern used for para fakes with other maker marks as well. Also, Souval is not known to have made Luftwaffe badges pre 1945. No original para badge has this eagle or wreath.

[Peter J.]

Hi Willi.

Here's a cousin to your badge. Same L/58-mark and typical Souval-catch.

KR
Peter

[Chris]

These are both good examples of early postwar badges, made "after hours" circa 1946-1948, to supply the insatiable appetite of occupation soldiers for "souvenirs." Reduced to third world poverty levels immediately after the war, the Germans quickly discovered that a badge like this could be traded for a pack of cigarettes, as some Americans had no idea what was genuine and what was not, and were more interested in having a badge than in learning good from fake. As I see from a current thread about a silly fake Army para badge, some things haven't changed much in that regard in the intervening 60 years.

[Willi Z.]

Thanks guys. I knew the badge was fake. There was a reason I brought this up. The FJ veteran picked it up in Germany when he returned from England in 1948, to replace his lost badge. His gesture is still something I cherish.

Does the bubbling on the back of this support anyone's theory?