The German armed forces of WWII employed a wide variety of materials to construct the different items needed by their troops. Among the articles are badges, medals, belt buckles, awards, etc.

This section of the website provides a list of some of the materials. Photographs are also included to provide a visual of the topic. A basic list of the items that were produced from each material are also provided.

This service is brought free of charge to the visitor/enthusiast courtesy of MilitaryItems.com, a company dedicated to the preservation of military history and to providing quality military antiques and collectibles to museums, institutions and the general public.

BADGE MATERIALS	MATERIAL	ITEMS PRODUCED
	Aluminum Used from the 1930's to around 1941.	Belt buckles Dagger parts and fittings Insignia and tinnies Hat and breast eagles Badges
	Steel	Belt buckles Fighting knives Bayonet parts Badge pins
	Zinc Used from mid to late war years. Very brittle material. It was used primarily because other materials were being employed in the production of weapons. See example of aging zinc badge	Badges Dagger hangers dagger parts and fittings Sword components
	Tombac This material is a copper alloy that ressembles brass. Also spelled Tombak or Tomback. Replaced the use of Nickel-silver and aluminum.	Badges
	Nickel silver Used from the 1930's to around 1941. High quality badges.	Badges Dagger and sword parts

UNIFORM MATERIALS	MATERIAL	ITEMS PRODUCED
	German Army Dress Tunic	Dress tunics
	German Army Inside of Dress Tunic	Dress tunics
	German Luftwaffe Paratrooper Jump Suit	Combat Uniforms
	German Hitler Youth Shirt	Field tunics
	German Desert Shirt	Field tunics
	German Navy Shirt	Work tunics
	German Political Shirt	Field Shirt

CLOTH INSIGNIA MATERIALS	MATERIAL	ITEMS PRODUCED
	Wool	Labor union patches
	Cotton	Military and civilian patches