Forget Me Not Lapel Pin

The Nazi regime went after many groups in Germany between 1933–1945. The Freemasons became a target early on because of their perceived “dangerous” international connections as well as their more liberal leanings. Freemason lodges were pressured into “voluntary” dissolution. Those Freemasons who refused to comply would be excluded from society. 

German wartime propaganda, particularly in the army, charged that the Jews and Masons had provoked World War II and were responsible for the policies of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Because many of the Freemasons who were arrested were also Jews and/or members of the political opposition, it is not known how many individuals were placed in Nazi concentration camps or were targeted solely because they were Freemasons. 

Primarily used as a symbol of charity, the forget me not flower pin would provide brethren with an outward means of identification, while lessening the risk of possible recognition in public by the Nazis. 

Small enameled pin with butterfly pin back