us-005578-irn47452-irn596949
type: RecordSet
archival history: The patch was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2012 by Daniel Gans and Aviva Gans-Rosenberg, the children of Manfred and Anita Lamm Gans.
biographical history: Manfred Gans was born on April 27, 1922, in Borken, Germany, to Moritz and Else Fraenkel Gans. His family had been in Borken for over 300 years. Moritz was born on July 7, 1885. He was a German Army veteran who had lost a lung and a leg in Italy during World War I. Moritz was the only Jew ever elected to the city council. Else was born on September 1, 1891, in Volksen, Germany. In 1924, Moritz and Else established a prosperous textile manufacturing business. Manfred’s older brother, Karl, was born on May 23, 1920, and his younger brother, Theodor (Theo), was born on May 1, 1925. The brothers were raised Orthodox. They attended the Jewish elementary school and a Catholic high school. In January 1933, Adolf Hitler became the chancellor of Germany. Manfred and his brothers spent that summer at their Aunt and Uncle’s hachshara farm in Gut Neuendorf. While there, Manfred met Anita Lamm, the daughter of his father’s best friend. Anita was born on August 31, 1923, in Berlin, to Leo and Margaret Lamm. In 1935, as government persecution of Jews increased, Moritz began moving his money out of the country. In 1936, Karl immigrated to Palestine. In spring 1938, Moritz helped the Lamm family immigrate secretly to the United States. After they left, Anita and Manfred began writing to each other. In July 1938, Manfred went to England and stayed with a Jewish family, the Jacobs. He was supposed to return home in the fall, but his parents told him to stay. With the help of the German Jewish Aide Committee, Manfred relocated to Manchester and found work in a factory’s repair shop. Manfred wanted to continue his Orthodox lifestyle, so Mr. Jacobs introduced him to a Jewish family in Manchester, the Steinharts. They suggested that he stay at a relative’s boarding house, and often invited him to partake in religious activities and socialize with their community. After the November 9 - 10, 1938, Kristallnacht pogrom in Germany, Moritz and Else sent Theo out of the country to a boarding sc…
physical characteristics and technical requirements: Oval-shaped dark gray wool embroidered patch. The front of the patch features a machine-embroidered yellow colored, left-facing diving eagle clutching a swastika in its talons superimposed over a light gray wreath. The wreath borders the patch and has laurel leaves on the left side and oak leaves on the right side, bound by three bands at the bottom of the oval. On the reverse is a thin layer of backing fabric and the stitching is visible. There is overall dirt and discoloration on the surface and the backing fabric is frayed and peeling away from the edges.
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
date: after 1944 July-before 1944 October 25
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn596949
is or was included in: us-005578-irn47452
record resource extent: overall: Height: 2.625 inches (6.668 cm) | Width: 2.000 inches (5.08 cm) | Depth: 0.125 inches (0.318 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Luftwaffe (German Air Force) paratrooper badge, acquired by Manfred Gans, a German Jewish refugee who served as a Marine Commando for the British Army from May 1944 to May 1945. This type of patch was issued to German paratroopers who had successfully completed six jumps. Gans took the badge from a prisoner who claimed to have been the driver for Erwin Rommel during his command of the German forces in North Africa from 1941-1943. He sent the badge in a letter dated 27 October 1944 to his friend, Anita Lamm, who had immigrated to the United States. For Anita, the badge symbolized hope for victory and the end of the war. In 1940, Manfred enlisted in the British Army, where he spent two years assigned to a labor unit before being recruited for a Special Forces troop, which landed at Normandy on June 6, 1944. As his unit advanced through France, Belgium, and northern Germany, it was Manfred’s mission to infiltrate German positions to convince soldiers to surrender, interrogate prisoners, and gather intelligence. Manfred learned from his uncle that his parents had been imprisoned in Theresienstadt ghetto-labor camp in German-occupied Czechoslovakia, but he did not know if they were still alive. He drove across enemy lines to find out, and learned they had survived. They were reunited in Theresienstadt on May 11, 1945. His parents returned to the Netherlands in July and he was demobilized in August. Manfred married Anita in 1948 and moved to the United States in 1950.
title: Luftwaffe paratrooper badge with a yellow eagle acquired by a German Jewish refugee in the British army