Medal for exemplary border service

Medal for exemplary border service
Medal on ribbon (obverse)
Founder:	Council of Ministers of the GDR
Foundation year:	1953
Strap buckle:
Carrying method:	left breast side

The medal for exemplary border service was a state award of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), which was donated by the Council of Ministers of the GDR before May 1953 . In particular, people who prevented attempts to escape at the Berlin Wall or the inner-German border received the medal - even if there were fatalities .

The first award ceremony took place on May 30, 1953. They were awarded to members of the border troops of the GDR as well as to civilians for exemplary performance and personal commitment in securing the state border of the GDR. Also for special merits in increasing combat readiness and in fulfilling training tasks. A lower award was the "Achievement Badge of the Border Troops".

The award took place with a certificate and a bonus by the Deputy Minister for National Defense and Chiefs of the Border Troops of the GDR on the occasion of the Border Troops Day on December 1 or immediately after the achievement, such as B. a prevented border breach, even if this ended fatally for the refugee.

About 13 percent of the graduates from the Ministry of State Security's college wore the medal. After German reunification , some of the bearers were convicted by German courts for their award-winning actions.

Appearance and wearing style

First form

The first form of this medal, which was awarded from 1953 to 1955, had a diameter of 35 mm and shows the raised three-line inscription in the center of its obverse :

FOR
EXEMPLARY BORDER
SERVICE

This inscription was enclosed by two ears of wheat, tied at the bottom and bent upwards, which ended with the inscription • D • D • R • in the middle . The reverse of the medal was smooth and showed the four-digit award number stamped in the middle or slightly offset below. The medal was worn on the left upper side of the chest on a 21 mm wide, dark green covered pentagonal clasp into which two 1.5 mm wide red stripes were woven vertically, 1.5 mm from the hem.

Second form

From 1955 to 1956 the medal appeared in a slightly modified form. No number was embossed on the back and the ribbon was a little lighter green in color.

Last form

The last form of the medal from 1956 showed a different design of the obverse . Instead of the inscription, a border soldier was shown in the center with binoculars in his hands and a submachine gun slung around his neck. Behind it on the left was a border post of the GDR with a state coat of arms. The inscription in the upper semicircle read:

FOR EXEMPLARY BORDER SERVICE

The reverse showed the GDR's national coat of arms over the entire surface. This medal was also worn on the left upper chest side of a 46 × 35 mm pentagonal clasp , which was initially dark green and later light green. As with the predecessor, two red stripes only 1 mm wide were woven into the tape, with a distance of 1.5 mm from the hem.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Hans-Hermann Hertle, Maria Nooke : The victims of the Berlin Wall 1961-1989. A biographical manual . Ch.links, Berlin 2009, ISBN 978-3-86153-517-1 , p. 16 f .
2. ^ Günter Förster: The Law School of the Ministry for State Security. The social structure of their doctoral candidates (= studies on GDR society. Vol. 6). LIit-Verlag, Hamburg et al. 2001, ISBN 3-8258-4589-3 (At the same time: Bochum, University, dissertation, 2001).
3. ↑ Hans-Hermann Hertle, Maria Nooke : The victims of the Berlin Wall 1961-1989. A biographical manual . Ch.links, Berlin 2009, ISBN 978-3-86153-517-1 , p. 368 ff .
4. ^ Günter Tautz: Orders and Medals. State awards of the GDR. 2nd Edition. VEB Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig 1983, p. 105.
5. ^ Frank Bartel: Awards of the German Democratic Republic from the beginning to the present. Recordings by Jürgen Karpinski. Military Publishing House of the German Democratic Republic , Berlin 1979, p. 148.