German Schutzwall Decoration

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Front and back of the protective wall decoration Front and back of the protective wall decoration
Front and back of the protective wall decoration

The German Schutzwall-Ehrenzeichen , also known as the Westwall Medal, was an award from the time of National Socialism and was donated by Adolf Hitler on August 2, 1939 .

Appearance and wearing style

The German Schutzwall-Ehrenzeichen is an oval, bronze medal, the front of which shows a bunker with a sword and spade crossed over it and an eagle with a swastika . On the back is written in capitals "For work to protect Germany". It was worn on a brown and white ribbon on the left side of the chest.

Award

The medal was awarded to people who had worked on the construction of German fortifications, such as the Ostwall or the Westwall . This could be soldiers as well as male employees and workers of the Wehrmacht . Mostly, however, they were members of the Reich Labor Service or the Todt Organization . On November 23, 1939, the day of the first award, Hitler presented this award to the following people:

On November 24, 1939, Fritz Todt awarded the first 200 protective wall decorations to 200 west wall workers in Pirmasens .

The honorary badge was to be awarded to people who were employed in the construction of the fortifications from June 15, 1938 to March 31, 1939. On November 13, 1939, this condition was added so that it could also be awarded to soldiers of the Luftwaffe if they had been deployed for at least 10 weeks in the construction of the fortifications. By January 31, 1941, the Schutzwall Decoration of Honor had been awarded 622,064 times. The badge of honor was often sent to recipients by post. As a result of the high number of awards, decorations were still served after the German attack on the Soviet Union in June 1941. Work on the Siegfried Line ceased in 1940.

The medal, although not actually intended, was also awarded to women. Women had to have worked for at least 15 weeks directly in the construction or 20 weeks in an office of the fortifications.

meaning

The founder of the Todt Organization, Fritz Todt, claimed in 1939 that the badge of honor could be worn with "the same right and the same pride" as the military award Iron Cross . The equation of the work on the Siegfried Line with a military achievement can also be found in the contemporary term “front worker”, which referred to the “front soldier”. The motivation of the workers at the Westwall against the background of the worsening foreign policy situation in 1939 is named as a function of the Foundation of the Decoration of Honor.

In view of the mass awards , the workers on the Siegfried Line disdainfully called the Order of Honor . According to a report by the security service of the Reichsführer SS (SD) from January 1940, company offers for so-called Westwall jewelry had surfaced. According to the SD, the population partly rejected the Siegfried Line as kitsch ; on the other hand, there is a need among the workers at the Siegfried Line to wear a visible memento. In February 1940, after an examination by the Propaganda Ministry, no objections were raised to the sale of a so-called Westwall ring.

Awards resumed in 1944

Depiction of the clasp for the protective wall decoration from 1944

After the Allies landed in Normandy in June 1944, work on the Siegfried Line was resumed. By decree of October 10, 1944, Hitler approved the renewed award of the protective wall decoration for participation in the construction of defenses on the western and eastern borders. Foreign volunteers could now also be awarded the medal.

People who had already been awarded the protective wall decoration in 1939 should receive a "clasp for the protective wall decoration". It is not known for sure whether the brace was ever made or loaned. According to another source, Reich Labor Leader Konstantin Hierl and some of his employees were awarded the clasp at the end of 1944. Martin Bormann , as the head of the party chancellery, announced in a circular on October 10, 1944 that when the clasp of the protective wall honor was awarded, only the ribbon and the certificate of award should be handed over to those on loan.

Others

In the Federal Republic of Germany, the protective wall decoration may not be worn (Section 6 (2) of the Order Act ).

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c d e Kurt-Gerhard Klietmann: Awards of the German Empire. 1936-1945. Motorbuch, Stuttgart 2002, pp. 60-63
  2. ↑ Christina Threuter: Westwall. Image and myth. Imhof, Petersberg 2009, ISBN 978-3-86568-365-6 , p. 104.
  3. ↑ Threuter: West Wall. 2009, p. 103.
  4. ↑ Threuter: West Wall. 2009, p. 105.
  5. ↑ Threuter: West Wall. 2009, pp. 105-108.
  6. ^ Jörg Fuhrmeister: The West Wall. History and present. Motorbuch, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-613-02291-5 , p. 88.