On January 6, 1945 the Luftwaffe authorized women to receive the Flakkampfabzeichen, or Anti-Aircraft Artillery War Badge. The Luftwaffe Flak Badge was the only German war badge of the Second World War authorized for females. Until now there has been no evidence of a woman ever earning such a decoration.
This photo is from a small grouping of a Horcher, or sound locator unit, operating in Germany. While the photo is not definitive proof of a woman being officially awarded the Flak Badge it does provide strong circumstantial evidence this was the case. The photo was clearly posed for and she is the central figure, wearing the badge quite prominently. Although women were known to don the uniforms of friends and family for fun photo sessions this is not likely the case here. First, it would be highly unusual for Germans to be so openly playing with something as serious as a war badge in front of members of their unit. Second, none of the Luftwaffe men in the group had Flak Badges or award loops on their uniforms, making it unlikely one of the women took a man’s badge for fun.
One oddity of the photo is the badge in question is clearly broken. The eagle should be easily visible in the photograph, but it is not. This certainly raises some questions as to the origin of the badge, though it does not rule out the likelihood the bearer received it. Perhaps the only badge available at the location was a broken one, or perhaps she had been awarded the badge at some time in the past and as it is clear she wore it on work overalls perhaps it had broken off. Add to this the likelihood it was a late war zinc badge which was more brittle than the early Neusilber or Tombak versions.
Regardless of the answer to our many questions posed by this photo, one fact is clear; with the thousands of women fighting as Flakhelferinnen there must have been at least several hundred that met the criteria to receive the badges. We will always wonder whether a woman was truly awarded a war badge until an authentic award document is produced. For a woman to have received a combat badge would be a monumental discovery.
This photo is from a small grouping of a Horcher, or sound locator unit, operating in Germany. While the photo is not definitive proof of a woman being officially awarded the Flak Badge it does provide strong circumstantial evidence this was the case. The photo was clearly posed for and she is the central figure, wearing the badge quite prominently. Although women were known to don the uniforms of friends and family for fun photo sessions this is not likely the case here. First, it would be highly unusual for Germans to be so openly playing with something as serious as a war badge in front of members of their unit. Second, none of the Luftwaffe men in the group had Flak Badges or award loops on their uniforms, making it unlikely one of the women took a man’s badge for fun.
One oddity of the photo is the badge in question is clearly broken. The eagle should be easily visible in the photograph, but it is not. This certainly raises some questions as to the origin of the badge, though it does not rule out the likelihood the bearer received it. Perhaps the only badge available at the location was a broken one, or perhaps she had been awarded the badge at some time in the past and as it is clear she wore it on work overalls perhaps it had broken off. Add to this the likelihood it was a late war zinc badge which was more brittle than the early Neusilber or Tombak versions.
Regardless of the answer to our many questions posed by this photo, one fact is clear; with the thousands of women fighting as Flakhelferinnen there must have been at least several hundred that met the criteria to receive the badges. We will always wonder whether a woman was truly awarded a war badge until an authentic award document is produced. For a woman to have received a combat badge would be a monumental discovery.
Comment