Original Item: One-of-a-kind. American soldiers were known for their love of souvenirs in the Great War; So, a lot of material history of the war came across the Atlantic with returning soldiers. Among collectors of military memorabilia from World War Two "HATE BELTS" are definitely items of interest.

This is a very nice WWII German Wehrmacht Heer (Army) Aluminum EM/NCO's Belt Buckle (Koppelschloß) with an original well used leather belt. The buckle is embossed with the Heer motto GOTT MIT UNS ("God (is) with us") inside a double rope border around a closed wing Wehrmachtadler (Armed Forces Eagle), with a partial oak leaf wreath at the bottom. Nice aluminum construction box buckle with a pebbled background. The buckle is in good condition, and is a single piece injection molded and crimped example. It does show some surface wear, common due to the softer aluminum alloy, but the design is still clear. This buckle was originally entirely painted standard Heer olive gray, and while this is worn on the front, the rear still still shows about 75%. We were not able to see any maker marking on the back, and the leather tab marking is worn away.

The leather belt is in good service used condition, and measures about 33” when fully extended. There are not any markings that we can see, and it has been cut down from the buckle end by several inches. There are only 5 sets of double holes on the adjustment tab, and the belt body is cut back a bit more than the tab. There are no tears or major damage, however it shows wear and surface dry rot on much of the belt.

The belt has been fitted with alternating German buttons and aluminum rank "Pips", for a total of six buttons and 4 pips (one pip is missing). A lovely souvenir "hate" belt, which would be a welcome part of any WWII collection.

More on Souvenir Hate Belts:
German soldiers' leather belts, and other belts from participating armies, that were festooned with buttons from soldiers uniforms are called Hate Belts / Souvenir Belts / Grave Digger Belts. These made for excellent collector's pieces.

"Hate Belt": the idea was that if an American soldier had killed or captured a German soldier, then he would have the button from the newly deceased or captured soldier attached to his belt as a kind of notch of conquest on his belt. This, no doubt, is the most intriguing explanation for those decorative belts.

"Souvenir Belt": this description is apt for many of the belts that are in circulation today. The souvenir belt would involve a German infantryman's belt being decorated with buttons and tabs from troops BOTH Allied and AXIS Powers and kept as a remembrance of The War.

"Grave Digger Belt" description is self explanatory, to a degree. Troops burying dead soldiers would sometimes remove buttons from those they buried as a remembrance. It is impossible to determine the origin of most belts, but some of these highly collectible belts provide some hints as to their origin. Nevertheless, these belts provide for excellent points of interest for collectors.