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Awards of the German Armed Forces in WWII
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Germany produced an extensive array of medals, badges, awards, and
decorations between 1935 and 1945. In fact, the history of German
awards and medals is very extensive, with hundreds of colorful
awards being awarded since the early 1800's. Early in Germany's history,
before the individual German States were unified in 1872, and even after
that time up to 1918, the majority of German awards were state level awards
designed and presented under the guise of the individual states, and not
the German Nation as a whole. Under the Third Reich this was changed
when Adolf Hitler declared that all German awards would be presented as
National Awards henceforth. Many previously established awards were abolished,
new awards were created, and traditional awards reinstituted in various forms.
Hitler reserved the right to authorize all awards, but in time of war, the
right to authorize military related awards was often delegated down to various levels of command, depending on the
award in question. Certain awards, like the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross,
were still bestowed through Hitler and the OKW, while others, like the
Iron Cross IInd Class, were authorizied by local unit commanders. All military
awards were presented in the name of Adolf Hitler and the German people, and
all were national level awards. There were strict laws regulating who could
design, produce, manufacture, distribute and sell German awards, as well as
how they could be worn and displayed. Penalties were often very strict
for wearing or displaying awards incorrectly or illegally.
The entire breadth of awards instituted and presented before and during WWII is very great indeed,
and this section of the site limits itself to stricly the military related
awards and medals of the German Wehrmacht, Waffen-SS and the auxiliary services.
Nearly all the military medals listed here at right were instituted after
September 1st, 1939. Most military and combat related awards were not instituted
prior to 1939, their existance coming into being as WWII took its course.
German awards in general drew upon deep foundations of German history,
combining both traditional symbols and politically charged
NSDAP imagery to create some of the most powerful awards of
the 20th Century. Awards in general
serve to reinforce concepts of what it is to be a citizen, to be a member of
a social group, or to be a member of the armed forces. But they also serve
more than just the needs of the nation, they are deeply meaningful in that
they exist to represent the sacrifices and achievements of individuals
above and beyond that which is expected. In general, statistics show that
the distribution of German combat decorations was done in a largely unbiased
manner - those that received combat awards deserved them, and unlike the
politcal decorations of the time, former members of the German Wehrmacht are
allowed to wear and display modified versions of their combat medals to
this day - proof positive that these awards were in the highest degree
honorable.
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