AFRIKA CORPS IRON CROSS SOUVENIR/TRENCH ART FROM BIZERTE, TUNISIA

Description

HAND CARVED TWO-PIECE SOUVENIR OR POW "TRENCH ART" OF/FROM BIZERTE, TUNISIA. ITEM FEATURES GENUINE 1939-1945 WW2 IRON CROSS BY RUDOLF SOUVAL. CROSS IS GUARANTEED WARTIME ISSUE AND NOT POSTWAR REPRODUCTION.
I REMOVED THE CROSS TO CLEAN IT AND SEE WHAT WAS BEHIND IT. AS EBAY DOES NOT ALLOW THE DISPLAY OF SWASTIKAS, I HAVE SHOWN THE REVERSE SIDE OF THE CROSS, PLEASE CONTACT ME IF YOU NEED TO SEE THE OBVERSE
MEASURES L 3.75 X W 3.5 X H 4.5 INCHES
During the Second World War,
the German
and Italian armies
occupied Bizerte until they were defeated by the Allies
on 7 May 1943.
It is possible
that it was made by locals for the occupying German troops, or even a bored soldier. I found this in Germany, so it might have been something made for the soldier's family.
This item could be POW art as I was told that some Afrika Corps POWs were kept in Bizerte but I cannot find proof of that; most went to the USA. German POWS were initially allowed to keep their medals but that soon changed and they were either confiscated or denazified. I have seen other POW art items that included untouched medals but that is unusual.
The only other possibility
that it was made by locals as a souvenir for the occupying Allied forces after the surrender of the Axis armies. The fact that it has a genuine Iron Cross would indicate that the medal was given up by a German soldier. Many soldiers threw away their medals before capture as it wouldn't serve them well to show off how good they were at killing Allied soldiers!