Images(2)

Button

Object number2015.42.24

Date1918-1935

OriginGermany

MediumLead/Metal

Credit LineGift of Susan Muir

DescriptionCircular metal convex button. Front has helmet in relief with inscribed text on side in German. Textured metal surrounds helmet and there is a raised border around the perimeter. Back has shank button eye and inscribed text in German surrounding the shank.Dimensions0.813 x 0.875 x 0.375 in. (2.1 x 2.2 x 1 cm)
MarksBack has inscribed text in German that is difficult to decipher, it includes "...BUNDESLEITUNG..."
Translation: "BUNDESLEITUNG" = FEDERAL LEAD.
Historical NotesStahlhelm, Bund der Frontsoldaten ("Steel Helmet, League of Front Soldiers"), also known as Der Stahlhelm, was a WWI German Veteran organization that existed from 1918 to 1935. Part of a collection of WWII-related artifacts from the military service of Gabe Torisky of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who served with the 99th “Checkerboard” Infantry Division during the Ardennes campaign in Belgium. Martin Gabriel "Gabe" Torisky was of Slovak ancestry and was born on November 11, 1911, in Uniontown, PA. He moved to Pittsburgh in the 1920s and was drafted and sent to 99th Division during World War II. The 99th Division is especially important in relation to Pittsburgh, as the Division was originally headquartered in the city in 1942, and the unit insignia, a black shield with a checkerboard band of nine alternating white and blue squares (for “99”) was derived from the coat of arms for William Pitt and thus, also the city seal of Pittsburgh, on which the checkerboard also appears. Donor Susan Muir is Gabe Torisky's daughter.

Previous owner Martin Gabriel Torisky (born 1911)

Related institution Stahlhelm, Bund der Frontsoldaten

Related institution 99th Infantry Division

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