Name/Title
FDGB Membership Pin (Freier Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund — Free German Trade Union Federation, East Germany)Entry/Object ID
2025.2.25Description
A small rounded-square (squircle) lapel badge, slightly domed, with a gilt raised border. The field is red enamel. Across the upper two-thirds, "FDGB" appears in tall white block capitals with gilt outlines. Below, two clasped right hands (a handshake) are rendered in gilt relief, the cuffs squared off at left and right.Use
Obtained in Cuba by Anna Veltfort and brought to New York City with her when she moved back to the US.Context
The FDGB was East Germany's single, SED-controlled trade-union federation, claiming nearly universal worker membership (about 9.6 million members, ~98% of the workforce, by 1986). The handshake was its standard device, signifying worker solidarity; red-enamel "FDGB + handshake" pins were issued as ordinary membership/lapel badges. As a foreign (GDR) object in a Cuban collection, it most plausibly arrived through the close socialist-internationalist ties between East Germany and Cuba — fraternal union exchanges, solidarity brigades, and delegation gifts between the FDGB and the Cuban CTC — or, more especifically, via a visit that Theodore Veltfort paid to the GDR while living in Cuba (tentative).Collection
Anna Veltfort collectionAcquisition
Accession
2025.2Source or Donor
Anna VeltfortAcquisition Method
GiftMade/Created
Time Period
1960sPlace
* Untyped Place
G.D.R.Region
Central EuropeContinent
EuropeNotes
Maker/Attribution: Unmarked on the visible face; maker not identified (reverse not seen). German Democratic Republic.
Date: GDR period, circa 1946–1990.Inscription/Signature/Marks
Type
InscriptionTranscription
FDGBParts
Single enamel-on-metal badge.Materials
Material
MetalMaterial Notes
Stamped metal (brass/tombac) with red and white vitreous enamel and gilt detailing (border, letter outlines, handshake).Relationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Anna Veltfort, Theodore Ernest VeltfortNotes
ownerPerson or Organization
Freier Deutscher GewerkschaftsbundNotes
imageryRelated Places
Place
City
HavanaCountry
CubaRegion
Caribbean, Central AmericaNotes
preservation, possibly acquisitionPlace
* Untyped Place
G.D.R.Region
Central EuropeContinent
EuropeNotes
possibly acquisition, productionCreated By
María A. Cabrera ArúsCreate Date
March 31, 2022Updated By
María A. Cabrera ArúsUpdate Date
June 18, 2026