Law on the Foundation and Awarding of State Awards

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Basic data
Title: Law on the Foundation and Awarding of State Awards
Type: National law
Scope: GDR
Legal matter: Constitutional law
Original version from: April 7, 1977 (Journal of Laws I p. 106)
Entry into force on: January 1, 1978
New announcement from: Law of June 17, 1990 (Constitutional Principles, Journal of Laws of I p. 299)
Expiry: No federal law according to the Unification Treaty of August 31, 1990 (Federal Law Gazette II p. 889)

As state law, it will continue to apply after October 3, 1990, unless changed or repealed by the states.

Please note the note on the applicable legal version.
Order III-6-4 4225-76 Ag 127-1636-77-100 - Honor plaque of the Minister for Higher and Technical Schools of the GDR for "services to the higher education and technical college training"

The law on the foundation and award of state awards was a law for the award or withdrawal of orders, awards and honorary titles, which was enacted on April 7, 1977 in the GDR . Before that, from October 2, 1958 to August 8, 1974, 29 ordinances "on state awards" were issued. The law will continue to apply as state law even after German reunification , unless it has been repealed or changed.

history

After the ideological inflation of the religious system in the time of National Socialism , the Allied Control Council Act of November 30, 1945 (Art. IV) prohibited the awarding, acceptance and wearing of military and civil medals, decorations and decorations of all kinds. The constitution of the GDR from October 7, 1949 saw "militarist propaganda" as a crime, which means that regardless of the occupation rights of the Soviet Union (which were not repealed until 1953), it was forbidden to display or publicly disseminate previous medals and decorations.

A first regulation of the awarding of awards in the activist and competition movement was therefore only created in October 1953. On April 21, 1954, the Law on Appreciating Outstanding Achievements by Awarding State Awards and the Law on the Foundation of the Patriotic Order of Merit were enacted. In 1958 the law on the repeal of legal provisions in the field of state awards followed. From then on, state awards were regulated by ordinance until the law on foundation and awarding of state awards was enacted on April 7, 1977. Well over 8,000 state and social awards have been created on its basis.

content

On the one hand, the law should clarify the question of which organs of the GDR were allowed to donate and bestow medals, awards and honorary titles; Details of the award state decorations were in the order specified. These regulations were issued by the state organs, which then also donated the state awards. The regulations were identified by a state-determined identification number.

By awarding state awards, the GDR recognized the outstanding achievements and merits in the all-round strengthening and consolidation of the German Democratic Republic .

With the award of a state award, a certificate signed by the awarder was handed over. The bestowal of state awards from the GDR were usually associated with a badge of honor (order, honor plaque or medal). These decorations were not allowed to be sold and were not transferable. The award of state awards could be associated with a cash donation that was tax-free and not subject to social security contributions.

Founder of state medals, awards and honorary titles in the GDR

The following basic decisions were made by law:

  1. The State Council of the GDR donated state medals, awards and honorary titles
  2. The Council of Ministers of the GDR donated state prizes, honorary titles and medals
  3. The National Defense Council of the GDR donated state awards for achievements and merits in protecting the German Democratic Republic
  4. The Council of Ministers of the GDR awarded jointly with the Federal Board of the Free German Trade Union Federation (FDGB) as an award for "outstanding achievements in socialist competition" hiking flags .

Award bodies for state medals, awards and honorary titles of the GDR

All state awards donated by the State Council of the GDR were presented by the Chairman of the State Council.

The state awards donated by the Council of Ministers were presented by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the GDR . The Council of Ministers was able to instruct the ministers and heads of other central state organs, the chairmen of the councils of the districts and districts, the heads of the economic governing bodies, combines, companies and institutions as well as the boards of socialist cooperatives to bestow state awards.

Presentation of state awards from the GDR

  • Individuals and collectives
  • Combines, companies, institutions, socialist cooperatives and social organizations
  • Associations, units and facilities of the armed organs
  • Cities, municipalities and associations of municipalities

The law on the foundation and awarding of state awards also stipulates that state awards are also given to individuals, collectives; Companies, institutions, cooperatives and social organizations as well as associations, troop units and institutions of the armed organs of other countries could be awarded.

Posthumous award

In the GDR, state awards could also be awarded posthumously in exceptional cases.

Right of nomination and rules for multiple awards

The right to propose state awards had:

  • The Council of State, the Council of Ministers, the National Defense Council,
  • The ministers and heads of the other central state organs
  • Leading organs of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED)
  • The leadership of the other parties and social organizations united in the National Front
  • The ministers and heads of the other central state organs, the chairmen of the local councils, the heads of the economic management organs, combines, companies and institutions as well as the boards of directors of socialist cooperatives (each for their area of ​​responsibility).

The selection of the proposals for the bestowal of state awards usually took place in the organs, companies or institutions in which the person to be proposed was employed. The leaders had to work out the proposals together with the party organization of the SED and the trade union organization, based on the opinion of the work collectives.

State awards have also been awarded several times.

Deprivation

State awards of the GDR could be withdrawn if the recipient proved to be unworthy of the award, if facts subsequently became known that would have excluded the award at the time of the award, or if a citizen had been denied civil rights by judgment of a court.

Details of the procedure for withdrawing state awards were uniformly regulated by the Council of State, the Council of Ministers and the National Defense Council.

particularities

  • State awards that were awarded only once or that were no longer awarded, retained their character as state awards.
  • Anyone who deliberately, contrary to the facts, stated that they had been awarded a state award or had brought about the award to themselves or someone else through false information or who wore or used decorations or certificates unauthorized, copied or copied, publicly wore or used or marketed them brought, could be proven with a reprimand or a fine. The competent council of the district was responsible for carrying out the administrative penal proceedings .
  • Awards awarded by the German Democratic Republic can be continued or carried according to the Unification Treaty (Annex. 1, Chapter 11, Subject A, Section 11, No. 2 (Official Note) UnificationV), unless this violates Germany's public policy becomes. The same applies to foreign awards approved for acceptance by the German Democratic Republic.

Final decisions of the Council of Ministers

On January 25, 1990, the Council of Ministers of the GDR passed a resolution on the law on the foundation and award of state awards, which assumed that it no longer corresponded to the current social conditions. High state awards from the GDR were usually suspended as a result of this decision.

Public policy

Whether there is a violation of public policy in Germany depends largely on whether the result of the GDR's application of the law - to the basic ideas of today's German legal and statutory regulations - as well as to the central ideas of justice inherent in them are in such strong contradiction - that it is considered unsustainable by our society.

The following GDR awards (extract) are prohibited or concerns about public policy in Germany:

The Saxon State Chancellery was informed at the request of the Ordenskanzlei of the Federal President's Office that against wearing the " Badge of Honor of the German People's Police ", as well as the " Merit Medal of the Organs of the Ministry of the Interior " ( MdI ), the " Medal for excellent performance there are concerns in the armed organs of the Ministry of the Interior ”and against the“ medals for faithful service of the Mdl ”. In 1990, the Bundeswehr issued a preliminary instruction by telex to all units in this context, stating that soldiers both on duty and in civilian clothes are prohibited from wearing the GDR decorations and badges. This instruction applied inside and outside the military facilities of the Bundeswehr.

In the Decoration of Honor Act of the State of Brandenburg - ("It is permitted to wear other awards from the field of fire and disaster protection") - the following decorations of the GDR were permitted:

It is therefore the duty of every holder of GDR awards to check carefully whether the passing on of GDR medals violates public policy. As in other administrative offense law, the carrier bears the risk of persecution in Germany due to an administrative offense according to § 16 of the law.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ GBl. 1953 p. 1009, p. 1133 and p. 1142, 1954 added p. 144
  2. ↑ Journal of Laws of 1954 pp. 445 and 447
  3. ↑ Journal of Laws of 1958, p. 769
  4. ^ Journal of Laws of 1977 p. 106
  5. ^ Text of the GDR Awards Act , accessed on September 2, 2018.
  6. ↑ Stefan Hornbostel: Honor or tin blessing? The labeling system of the GDR . In SFB 580 Mitteilungen (2002) 3, pp. 33-36 online , accessed on September 2, 2018.
  7. ^ German Society for Religious Orders
  8. ↑ a b c d Enno Bernzen, Klaus H. Feder: Carrying awards of the GDR in a united Germany - wearing permission for GDR awards
  9. ^ State archive Saxony-Anhalt
  10. ^ Information from the Federal Commissioner for the Records of the State Security Service of the former German Democratic Republic
  11. ↑ Telex from the Federal Ministry of Defense of September 26, 1990, MsgNr. 041975
  12. ↑ § 8 of the Decoration of Honor Act of October 18, 2011 (GVBl. I No. 25), previously the law on the foundation of the Fire Brigade Decoration of Honor of February 17, 1994 (GVBl. I p. 25), expired on October 19, 2011