I remember that well. I wasn't that into the band and didn't own a VW, so I was not too affected. I did own a Golf when I lived in Germany, but never lost the badge. I had a Beetle too for a while. I'm sure when it was happening that someone tried wiring the badge to the battery to give thieves a shock.
Anyway, good to see you posting :)
!BEER
I think the badges are now made of plastic rather than the steel which they were at the time, ... they are good cars, I had a Passat which I drove into the ground,...I ended up selling it for 1 Euro in France which was better than paying for it to be towed away. (it had been sitting in the company car park for 9 months with moss growing on it.) ... thanks for your encouragement as always. :)