Original German WWII Early Military Blockade Runner Badge by C. Schwerin & Sohn of Berlin Original Items

Original Items: Only One Available. This is a textbook example of a fine quality Blockade Runner badge (Blockadebrecherabzeichen) in circular silver plated tombac alloy. The obverse shows a large ship breaking through waves with a large Reichsadler eagle clutching a swas (hook cross) on its stern, surrounded by a border of silvered chains being broken by the ship near the bottom. The reverse is plain, with a barrel hinge attached pin, retained by a bent round wire catch. 

Like most early war badges, this example is fully maker marked on the back with:

FEC. OTTO PLACZEK BERLIN
AUSF. SCHWERIN-BERLIN

“Ausf.” is short for Ausführung, meaning “execution” or “made by”, so this is example was made by C. Schwerin & Sohn of Berlin, a known maker of this badge. Otto Placzek is the designer of the badge. It measures approximately 1.92 inches (48.8 mm) across.

The badge is offered in very good condition, with little sign of wear, and the silver plating almost fully retained, with no areas where the base metal is visible. Originally these would be mostly “blacked” with the eagle left bright silver, however the front side has been cleaned, removing this finish from the ship, which now shows a bit of light tarnish.

A very good example from a desirable maker.

The Blockade Runner Badge or the Badge for Blockade Runners (German: Abzeichen für Blockadebrecher) was a World War II German military decoration awarded for service on warships or merchant vessels that attempted to break through the British sea blockade of Germany. It was instituted on 1 April 1941 upon the order of AH and first awarded on 1 July of the same year to Hugo Olendorff.

Design
The badge was designed by Otto Placzeck in Berlin. It was in either tombac or zinc and featured a ship with a large German eagle grasping a swas (hook cross) on its bow. Around the circumference of the badge is a chain, through which the ship is cutting through. The eagle was silvered whilst the rest of the badge was a dark gray color.

The badge was worn on the left breast pocket of the uniform. A smaller half-size version was awarded for use by civilians and members of the merchant marine.