Forget-Me-Not Badge

thingiverse

Human: The forget-me-not has held a very special place in the hearts of freemasons in Germany for centuries. In Nazi Germany, freemasonry was strictly forbidden, and any sign of community other than a Nazi organization was illegal. The "Winterhilfswerk des Deutschen Volkes" was a public trust that collected money to relieve the distress caused by unemployment and poverty - led by the Nazi government. As you gave money, you received a pin, which you could wear on your reverse as proof. In the collection campaign in March 1938, they gave a forget-me-not among others. The brethren remembered a sign made out of porcelain that was released as a badge for one of the last grand-lodge meetings in Bremen in 1926, which showed a single flower. As new pins of the "Winterhilfswerk des Deutschen Volkes" were released for the next collection, some brethren decided to keep the forget-me-not as a secret sign. This was possible because it was an official pin and they could simply say that they were still wearing it because it was so beautiful. After World War II, the freemasons still remembered the forget-me-not. The first badge from 1926 was released in a new edition and is worn to this day as a reminder of the brethren who suffered under Nazi tyranny - and as a distinctive mark. I loved the shape of the Nazi pin: Three is a meaningful number, so is the triangle. This pin is, by mistake, even more masonic than the single flower from 1926! That's why I used it as a basis for my design. On the first picture, you see it cast in tin, about 18 mm wide. The model for the cast was printed in resin (0.025 layer). The second picture shows a 17 mm wide version (0.06 mm layer height, 0.3 mm LW), cast and painted. Another one - original size - is in the background. I drilled a small hole and added a pin with some epoxy so I can wear it on my collar - next picture. The following picture shows the raw print (0.075 mm layer height), a colored print, and the first casted version. I hope you like it.