Winterhilfswerk (winter help work) Lower Danube badge and mailman figure: Mrs Mathilde Heinle (enemy alien)

Embroidered German Winterhilfswerk (Winter Help Work) Lower Danube badge in painted metal frame. The obverse design is of a German woman in traditional dress holding keys. Embossed along the bottom edge is 'NIEDERDONAU' which translates to Lower Danube.

Smalle ceramic (?) figure of a mailman holding a letter. A spot of residue on the back implies it may have had a pin attached.

This Winterhilfswerk badge was confiscated from enemy alien M Heinle in South Australia. This item forms part of a large collection of illegal material that was confiscated from enemy aliens and Fascist organisations in Adelaide at the start of the Second World War. This material was held by the Adelaide Attorney-General's Department for the duration of the war. Decades later, effort was made to reunite the confiscated material with its owner where they could be found, with the remaining material acquired by the Memorial.

The Winterhilfswerk was an annual months-long compulsory charity drive. It was established as early as 1931 by the Heinrich Bruning government, and was adopted and championed by the National Socialist German Workers' Party or Nazi Party as early as 1933. The drive took place through the months of October to May to raise funds for basic needs for the poorest during winter. Food, clothing, coal and other items were handed out by the Nationalsozialistischm Volkswohlfahrt (National Socialist People’s Welfare Organization), whose slogan was 'none shall starve nor freeze'. Various groups including the Hitler Youth went door to door soliciting donations from the public, and in return gift the latest lapel design or booklet. At times the designs would change as often as weekly so that the public were pressured into contributing money frequently by wearing the latest badge. By 1945 over 8000 different badges had been produced, in a variety of material and techniques including wood, glass, paper, metal, plastic, leather and amber. People who were not wearing the latest lapel were publically shamed and their names printed in the newspaper. Community pressure ensured constant donations from the German people.