Life saving medal of the GDR
The GDR Lifesaving Medal was a state award of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), which was donated on May 28, 1954 in one step by the GDR Council of Ministers . The conditions for awarding the medal were subject to more or less constant changes during the period in which the medal existed. The most important point, however, remained that the medal is awarded for the salvation of people from mortal danger if the underlying rescue act was carried out by the rescuer at his own risk. As a rule, the medal was not awarded for exemplary work in an attempt to save a life or an act of rescue that did not put the rescuer in immediate danger. Instead, the rescuer received a letter of appreciation from the Minister of the Interior. When the medal was awarded, it also included a bonus or a gift in kind, the latter usually in the form of a watch.
Appearance and wearing style
First form
The oval 38 × 48 mm rescue medal was made of silver and showed on its obverse the symbolic depiction of an act of rescue, a man in swimming trunks carrying an unconscious naked woman in front of him. This symbolism is surrounded by a wreath of oak leaves and the above tape with the inscription: FOR LIFE RESCUE . The reverse of the medal, on the other hand, shows a hammer and compass with 7 sunbeams behind them and two ears of corn that are curved to form a circle and open at the top. The letters MB , which stand for Berlin Mint and the 900 punch, can be read below the hammer handle. In the lower intersection of the upturned ears, an 8 × 2 mm smooth surface can be seen in the early production, in which the award number was stamped. However, this field was subsequently dropped. The medal was worn on a 35 × 50 mm white ribbon until 1968 on the upper right side of the chest.
Second form
In 1968 the layout of the medal was changed slightly, the now round 30 mm diameter medal was only silver-plated and showed a slightly different symbolism of an act of rescue on its obverse, whereby the rescuer and the rescued remained relatively the same, only smaller and in a modified form of posture. The inscription and the oak leaf wreath have also been preserved, but look clumsy compared to the first form. The reverse of the medal continued to show the GDR national coat of arms, surrounded by the inscription: GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC . The medal was worn on a blue covered 24 × 14 mm clasp on the left upper side of the chest, in the middle of which a 5 mm wide vertical central stripe was woven. The interim clasp, which was also lent, was of the same quality, but had a 10 mm diameter silver-plated miniature of the GDR's national coat of arms.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Awards of the German Democratic Republic Bartel / Karpinski, Military Publishing House of the GDR 1979, page 152