army badge from WW2, can you tell me what it means?

Question

i was goig through my grandpas war stuff(he was in WW2) and i found a badge. it was green and shaped like a diamond and had a red bird holding a gold circle with his feet and it had a reef on its neck. and on the badge it said standschutzen bataillon IMST. im pretty sure its german or itilian. can you tell me what it means?

sorry, the circle is white, i think. and the red bird has its wings spread out.

Answer 1

Yes, it is a German (Austria was annexed by Germany) uniform patch from WWII. Imst is the unit's location in Austria (the red eagle is the Austrian Tyrolean eagle). The Standschuetzen were a last ditch home guard defense unit, or militia, composed mainly of hunting and rifle club members - they were not regular military. Similar patches sell for US $10.00 - 100.00; the sentimental value is for you to decide.

See the site below for an image of another, similar patch:

http://www.germanwarbooty.com/cloth%20STANDSCHUTZEN%20BATALLION%20MERAN%20Defense%20Unit%20Patch.htm

Answer 2

It was a little play on words, but a least for the time if means that if you appease tyrants and otherwise aggressive countries to have their way, they continue the threaten and bully their way into getting what they want, which is usually only in their best interest and catastrophic for everyone else. An Example of this was the appeasement of Hitler. All that did was embolden him and STILL lead to war. Pacifism in the face of tyranny doesn't work. Although catchy a better motto would be "Peace though strength." Now, historically in ages past, it was easier to actually practice creating peace through war. Destroy that kingdom that has been giving you nothing but problems and you have peace. The Mongol conquest of Asia created a stable environment to allow for the Great Silk Road that allowed for trade between Europe and China. The Edo period, won by Tokugawa had 250+ years of peace. This has worked best if the government of your enemy is the real problem and people don't have a real problem with you coming and taking over or in fact, would prefer it. You might also be substituting one tyrant for another, but at least there's peace. Would there be any doubt that things would be more peaceful after North Korea were taken out? There would be a reunification with the South and after some economic adjustment, most of the North Korean people would be better off. If Theocratic government of Iran were removed, the whole Middle East would breath a sign of relief, Israel and Arabs alike. At the same time, military conquest is is not necessarily fair or just. Tito's Yugoslavian boot was on the neck of Serbs and Croatians. It kept the peace. When the Federation went away, those two ethnic groups went into bloody war. Does all this mean making war to make peace is justified, fair or should be done? No. It's just a lesson from history that this often worked. Peace through strength is the more appropriate version of this these days.

Answer 3

I believe that you had a medal, not a patch. Both exist from this GERMAN bataillion; the web site below will show info and a picture of your medal. Good Luck with your search!

http://www.germanwarbooty.com/medals%20standschutzen.htm

Continued research turned up a reproduction of the badge which is on speed bid. You might want to look at that. That is the better representation of the description you gave.--

http://www.speedbid.com/lot.cfm?lotID=377300

Answer 4

That is a Germany Army patch that signifies the battalion unit to which the member belonged.

I'm not up on German Army patches, but understand a German word when I see it. Most likely, your grandfather ripped the patch from a dead German soldier's uniform.

Answer 5

its an austrian militia battalion I've included a link that has a different town but is the same description you have given. www.johncasino.com/JohnInsignia.htm if you go to that link you'll see a similar badge ( different town)

Answer 6

it is german,look up german military medals