Germany – Third Reich: WHW Winterhilfswerk des Deutschen Volkes ( Winter Relief of the German Peoples Donation Badge for the Pommern (Pomeranian) region during the winter of 1933-1934. The obverse design, titled ‘Die Schnitterin’ (The Female Reaper), depicts a woman holding a rake. Such badge were typically sold during the donation drive. As produced in porcelain, the reverse inscribed Thüringen. Lacking pin fitting to reverse. A relatively scarce example.
Condition: lacking pin fitting to reverse, otherwise good condition with only light marks.
Das Winterhilfswerk des Deutschen Volkes ( Winter Relief of the German Peoples , literally winter help work ), commonly known by its abbreviated form Winterhilfswerk or WHW, was an annual drive by the Nationalsozialistischm Volkswohlfahrt (National Socialist People’s Welfare Organization) to help finance charitable work. Its slogan was None shall starve nor freeze . The drive was originally set up under the government of Heinrich Bruning in 1931, though Hitler would later claim sole credit. It ran from 1933-1945 during the months of October through March, and was designed to provide food, clothing, coal, and other items to less fortunate Germans during the inclement months. Similar initiatives were started in countries in German-occupied Europe, known in French as the Secours d'Hiver and in Dutch as the Winterhulp.
