Original Item: One-of-a-Kind. This is a lovely piece of German POW-made art, produced in one of the many POW camps, most likely in the United States, where many POWs were sent by the Allies owing to lack of space in the United Kingdom. This example is made from wood, and features a carved German Red Cross (Deutsches Rotes Kreuz) insignia, with the addition of a Rod of Asclepius overlayed on the Geneva Cross.

The wooden plaque measures 5" wide by 6 1/2" tall, and has a fixed wooden stand on the back. There is an attached plaque at the bottom that has what looks to be a name or location on it, however we are unfortunately not able to read it accurately, as it is highly stylized. We think maybe it reads "FRARZ", or something similar.

A lovely piece of POW-made art, ready to research and display!

The DRK, "Deutsches Rotes Kreuz" (German Red Cross), a voluntary civil assistance organization originally instituted in 1864, was officially acknowledged by the Geneva Convention in 1929. In December 1937 it gained status as a legally recognized organization by the NSDAP. As with other essential services in Third Reich Germany, it came under control of the NSDAP in late 1938 under the auspices of the Ministry of the Interior's Social Welfare Organization.

History of the "Red Cross" Symbol
It was important to clearly identify Medical personnel in the field. One of the early documents, such as the Amelioration of the Conditions of the Wounded in Armies in the Field signed August 22, 1864, by a number of Governments, already instructed that Flag and Arm Badges worn by Medical personnel would bear a Red Cross on a White Field. Both symbols when used on Hospitals, Ambulances, Evacuation and Aid Centers, were to be proof of their neutral status! These signs provided for neutrality of military and civilian protected personnel (it gave them non-belligerent status) exclusively engaged in removal, transportation, and treatment of wounded and sick, or the administration of sanitary formations and establishments, and entitled them to respect and protection from their enemies. The 1929 Geneva Convention which superseded the former agreement, was signed on July 27, 1929 by forty-seven countries (including the Axis countries, Germany, Italy, and Japan) and comprised numerous articles, among which Articles 9 and 21, recognizing that bearers of special identification cards and civilian protected personnel identified by armbands, and vehicles, and installations wearing Geneva Convention markings and markers, were all exclusively engaged in medical care activities, and consequently protected and respected by the Geneva Convention.