German Medal of Honor of the World War (German Legion of Honor)
The German World War I Memorial Coin is one of the most famous, non-state, German World War II commemorative awards from the time of the Weimar Republic .
prehistory
Even during the war, around autumn 1917, official circles in the German Reich discussed the intended creation of a war memorial. After the emperor and the German federal princes had approved the plan, work began on the specific design of the medal in July 1918. The proposals submitted included a design by the renowned painter Franz Stassen . Due to the tumultuous events of the war, the revolution and the complete reorganization of the political situation, the project was no longer pursued.
In the Weimar Republic, for various political reasons, the establishment of an official commemorative symbol of the 1914-18 World War was not established, whereas most other states (including those on the losing side) created appropriate decorations. For the losing states, such an award for the frustrated returning soldiers was a downright psychological necessity. It served their reintegration into the changed society and into the new state and created, beyond all political considerations, a feeling of personal recognition and acceptance of the achievements. This was neglected in Germany, which resulted in great dissatisfaction, disaffection with the state and a strong ideal vacuum among the war veterans.
This gap was filled by numerous smaller and larger associations with private foundations of World War I symbols of honor and memory and a “patriotic supporting program”. Among them, the German Memorial Medal of the World War holds a special position, not only because it was one of the most popular of these awards, but because the awarding "Ordensrat" considered it to be the "only official" one, according to its self-image, and the decoration also always " iV "awarded; "In representation for the emperor or the government".
All those, often very elaborate and lavishly designed, non-official World War Medals were banned by the foundation of the (rather modest and only one-sidedly embossed) State Cross of Honor of the World War in 1934, their awarding stopped at this point at the latest, and further wear prohibited. Occasionally, these “private” decorations were awarded illegally for some time (until 1935), and in fact they were often carried on with tacit tolerance alongside the official medals and decorations.
Foundation and award
In 1921, in the absence of an official, state, German decoration in memory of the 1914-18 World War, the "Association of Nationally Minded Soldiers" took up the idea of a war memorial that had already been set up during the war. As an institution within this "Association of Nationally Minded Soldiers" a "Order Council" came into being, which received the medal i. V., i.e. should lend on behalf of the emperor or the state. Shortly before the "Association of Nationally Minded Soldiers" was banned, this Order Council broke away from the association and became an independent institution. At the same time he moved his seat from Berlin to Buxheim an der Iller, in Bavaria. The Order Council was constituted on September 21, 1921 as a registered association and members of all ranks of the old army were represented in it, not just officers. At the head of the Order Council were the Honorary Marshal, the Chancellor and the Board of Directors. Initially, Colonel General Karl von Eine acted as Honorary Marshal , and as Chancellor and driving force of the Medal Foundation Hauptmann a. D. Rudolf Hering-German Defense.
The holders of the medal were - on a voluntary basis - united in the so-called "German Legion of Honor". This designation was deliberately based on the famous "French Legion of Honor " and the association was initially, like this, divided into legions and cohorts as subgroups. The board of the Order Council was automatically also the board of the "German Legion of Honor"; otherwise the organizations were independent of one another.
The statutes of the German Honor Medal of the World War stated as of December 1, 1922:
"
- The German Honor Medal of the World War, DEdW, is an award that was created to commemorate the dead, honor the living, and emulate the coming. It is the historical award that would have been awarded if the victory of the glorious German arms had not been insidiously thwarted. It is awarded on application or proposal by the Order Council iV for the DEdW.
- The DEdW is worn as a war award on a black-white-red ribbon, immediately behind the German war medals.
- The DEdW can be awarded to all men and women whose worthy of this award is justified by the written, honorary declaration that they tried to do their duty for the German fatherland to the best of their knowledge and belief during the World War and its subsequent years.
- Men who insure on honor and conscience that they have faced the enemy as front fighters will award the DEdW battle badge , consisting of sword and oak wreath. "
If one reads the claused and flexible award conditions carefully, it turns out that the medal could be acquired by practically anyone (male or female, soldier or civilian). There was no need for proof of special acts to receive the medal, or documentation of combat activities as a front soldier (e.g. through the pay book) to acquire the combat badge. Basically only the “patriotic attitude” was required as the award criterion. The award of the medal was obviously aimed at creating a national association with as many members as possible, united by the same decoration as a distinctive mark and organized in the "Legion of Honor". In addition, the Order Council also awarded "honorary" medals to people who had not made an effort, but were found to be "worthy". These were mostly well-known personalities who should feel honored by it, but in fact not always were, as they easily saw through the significance of the medal. The emperor living in exile distanced himself e.g. B. emphatically from the medal, the German Legion of Honor and the Order Council, which, so to speak, awarded the medal in its deputy. It even got to the point that in 1925 other officers founded the " Ehrenbund deutscher Weltkriegteile eV " and the war honor cross associated with it as competition, because they denied the operators of the German honorary coins of the World War any higher legitimacy and branded their statements in this regard as fraud.
The award of the medal and the organization of the German Legion of Honor continued unabated. The Order Council moved from Bavaria to Mecklenburg in 1924 and was finally back in Berlin from 1927. The body was reshaped several times. The initiator, Captain Hering-Deutschwehr, resigned as early as 1924. In return, the dazzling General Erich Ludendorff came first, several generals and high-ranking officers with well-sounding, well-known names (e.g. Paul von Bülow , General Max Schlee Pascha and Gerhard Roßbach ) supported him.
The Order Council of the DEdW reacted immediately and officially to the foundation of the Cross of Honor of the World War in 1934, stopped the awards in accordance with the new legal situation without ifs and buts and voluntarily dissolved. The existing profit capital in the amount of RM 15,000 was transferred to the Reich government in favor of victims of the war. On July 28, 1934, the last meeting of the Order Council took place, at which it dissolved. The "German Legion of Honor" initially continued to exist, but later joined the " Reichskriegerbund Kyffhäuser ", whereby its independent existence ceased.
Appearance
The Order Council used the draft of the artist Franz Stassen for the planned war memorial from autumn 1918 for the design. The painter designed a new front, which now showed a soldier and a goddess of peace instead of the portrait of the emperor , the back remained the same. Franz Stassen also designed the medal ribbon and the combat badge. The medal is made of bronze, is also brightly gold-plated and tinted copper, as is the battle badge. It has a diameter of 32 mm and an elevation at the top with a hole for the ring. The elevation is decorated with bay leaves on the front and oak leaves on the back. The medals were awarded with varying decorative certificates, which also mention this when the combat badge is also awarded. Honorary ceremonies were made with large-format decorative leaf certificates, which were also designed by Franz Stassen.
- front
A goddess of victory with wings, in a long robe, stands on the left on a smooth surface within a narrow, raised edge. She has raised her arms and is about to put a laurel wreath on the head of the soldier standing in front of her. The soldier in front-line combat gear from World War II stands on the right. In his right hand he holds the steel helmet and presses it to his hip, with his left hand he holds his rifle standing on the ground, spreading backwards. The Iron Cross 1st Class can be clearly seen on his chest .
- back
The front of the Iron Cross from 1914 is depicted on a smooth surface within a narrow, raised edge. Below, following the curvature of the medal, lie two oak branches, which protrude slightly onto the lower arm of the Iron Cross. Above the Iron Cross, in large Fraktur letters, also following the curvature of the medal, the inscription: FÜRS FATHERLAND .
Carrying method
The award was worn on the left chest, on a ribbon, with a wide, black central stripe (8 mm), on the right and left of it an approx. 1 mm wide white stripe. Adjacent to this, right and left, the imperial colors black / white / red in tricolor form lying next to each other. The band has two outer white edges of approx. 1 mm on the sides. Women wore the medal on a women's bow from the same ribbon.
Battle badge
Front soldiers were able to attach the battle badge, a hollow pressed clasp, which represents a sword pointing upwards to the right and stuck through a laurel wreath, on the ribbon. Below is the sword under the wreath, above it.
Special
The Order Council of the German Memorial Coin of the World War issued to cover the first incurred expenses and to create a share capital, 1921/22 "emergency money". They were sold as vouchers, were multicolored and artistically beautifully designed. The designs were provided by the well-known animal painter and book illustrator Moritz Pathe (1893–1956), whose signature they also bear on the front. They could be used as official means of payment by veterans' associations, but in reality they were more elaborately designed donation receipts and collector's items - theoretically, however, they could be redeemed at any time. The emergency money was sent as a direct mail in a set of 6 notes of 2 M each (face value 200 Pfennig each) in a separate bag and shows the medal and an oak tree on the front, and city views from the areas separated after the World War (Strasbourg, Metz , Danzig, Thorn, Posen, Hadersleben).
Between 1926 and 1934 a separate magazine was also published with the title: "German Legion of Honor" with a circulation of around 5,000.
In 1928, a "Knight's Cross of the German Legion of Honor" was donated for deserving members of the German Legion of Honor, a silver-plated, front-side enameled cross, with the corresponding lettering in the center, but which is purely a club award.
literature
- Kurt-Gerhard Klietmann : The German Medal of Honor of the World War - German Legion of Honor.
- Ludwig Arndt: Military associations in Northern Germany. Club life, badges, awards, monuments. BoD, Norderstedt 2008, ISBN 978-3-8334-8966-2 .
- The world stage . Complete reprint of the years 1918–1933, page 842, Athenaeum, Königstein / Ts. 1978.