As early as 1934, soon after Hitler's rise to power, it became evident that German Freemasonry was in danger. In that same year, the Grand Lodge of the Sun (GroßLoge zur Sonne) in Beyreuth, realizing the threat they faced, adopted the little blue Forget-me-not flower as an informal substitute for the traditional square and compasses. It was hoped the flower would provide the Brethren with an outward means of identification while lessening the risk of possible recognition by the Nazis, who were engaged in wholesale confiscation of all Masonic Lodge properties. German Freemasonry went undercover, and this delicate flower assumed its role as a symbol of the Fraternity, surviving throughout the reign of darkness.

The Forget-me-not distinguished the lapels of countless Brethren persecuted in concentration camps throughout Europe, who staunchly refused to allow the symbolic Light of Masonry to be completely extinguished.

(It may be an apocryphal legend, but it is often said the Forget-me-not was an ironic choice, in that it was believed to be Hitler's favorite flower! Who would suspect someone who wore one in his lapel?) 

When the Grand Lodge of the Sun was reopened in 1947 by Past Grand Master Fritz Beyer, a little pin in the shape of a Forget-me-not was officially adopted as the emblem of that first annual convention of the Brethren who had survived the bitter years of semi-darkness to rekindle the Light by which all Masons work.

At the first annual convention of the new United Grand Lodges of Germany AF&AM (Die Vereinigte GroßLoge der Alten Freien und Angenommenen Maurer von Deutschland, VGLvD) in 1948, the pin was adopted as an official Masonic emblem in honor of the thousands of valiant Brothers who had carried on their Masonic work under adverse conditions. The following year, each delegate to the Conference of Grand Masters in Washington, D.C., received one of these pins from Dr. Theodor Vogel, Grand Master of the VGLvD.

Thus did a simple flower blossom forth into a symbol of our Fraternity, and become perhaps the most widely worn emblem among Freemasons in Germany. In the years since its adoption, tens of thousands of the Brethren have worn it with meaningful pride.

The Forget-me-not pin is available through the National Sojourners, Inc., a Masonic military order, many of whose members have served in Germany and have worn this gentle Masonic tribute with pride.