'Askania' Forced Labourer Employee Badge

Description

'Askania' Forced Labourer Employee Badge (Zwangsarbeiter Abzeichen). Around 1940, Askania grew into a gigantic company with approximately 20,000 employees, distributed across various factories in Berlin (including in Weißensee and Tempelhof). Askania played a key role in the production of onboard radios and advanced air defense radar (such as the Lichtenstein system) for German fighter aircraft. As was customary with large German war enterprises, thousands of forced laborers and prisoners of war were employed during the war to maintain production levels. Due to the heavy Allied bombing of Berlin, parts of the production had to be relocated or housed in specially built bunkers. This is a zinc-type badge worn by foreign forced laborers, marked with a capital letter "A" for 'Ausländer'. The badge bears a unique number and the Askania company logo. The badge is complete with its functional safety pin on the reverse, the needle is slightly bent. A rare original item!