Order of Merit (Croatia)
The Order for Merit ( Croatian Red za zasluge ) was a state award of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH).
The Order was founded on 19th December 1942 by the State leader Ante Pavelić as a visible sign of appreciation for the peace and war to the people and the state acquired merits donated. It could be awarded to both women and foreigners.
Order classes
Originally donated in five classes as well as an attached, but not implemented, medal of merit, the order was awarded in two departments for Christians and non-Christians:
- Grand Cross
- 1st class with a star
- I. class
- II class
- III. class
- Gold Medal of Merit
- Silver Medal of Merit
Appearance and wearing style
Order decoration
In the version for Christians, the medal of all classes shows a curved red enamelled cross, which is reminiscent of the shape of the historical baptismal font of the Croatian prince Višeslav , who lived around the turn of the 8th century. The front of the cross shows in the center the well-known tri-fold portfolios of Croatia in the middle of a stylized bomb. The coat of arms stands as a symbol of the battlefield . The whole thing is enclosed by the letter U of the Ustaše . The symbols shown in the center are surrounded by the self-contained and entwined ornament of Croatia and run into all four cross arms. The reverse of the cross shows the inscription ZA ZASLUGE (For Merit) on the horizontal arm and the date of the founding of the state on April 10, 1942 .
Grand Cross
The grand cross consists of the medal and has a size of approx. 52 mm with its individual arms approx. 18 mm wide. The cross hangs on the large ribbon by means of a clasp decorated with the three braids. The large band is 84 mm wide and was carried from the right shoulder to the left hip. The ribbon itself is in the national colors of Croatia, i.e. red, and is traversed by three 16 mm wide white stripes. The remaining edges are each 2 mm wide and red again. The eight-pointed silver star handed out with the grand cross has a diameter of 85 mm. He is with the medal of the III. Class, with a width of 37 mm and worn on the left side of the chest.
I. class
The 1st class cross is 44 mm tall, its four arms are each 16 mm wide. The associated red ribbon is 40 mm wide and is also traversed with three white stripes 3 mm wide. There remain 2.5 mm wide red edges. Men wore the 1st class as a neck medal , women under their neckline on a 115 mm wide bow with the same color of the ribbon. A star could, but did not have to be awarded to the first class. This star largely corresponded to that of the Grand Cross, but only had a diameter of 54 mm. The medal placed on it was also smaller than the star of the Grand Cross. As with the Grand Cross, the star was also worn on the left side of the chest.
II class
The medal is similar to the first class cross in terms of its dimensions and was decorated as a cross on the left breast pocket.
III. class
The order cross of the III. Class is 37 mm high for men, his arm width is 13 mm. The corresponding ribbon is in the colors already described, is folded into a triangular ribbon and worn as a ribbon medal on the left side of the chest. The execution of the III. The class for women is a bit smaller, so the order cross is 27 mm high with an arm width of 10 mm. The ribbon of the women's version is 20 mm wide and is folded as a loop with a width of 60 mm and also worn on the left side of the chest.
Merit Medal
The planned but not realized medal of merit in two stages should show the reduced order symbol on the obverse and the well-known two-line inscription ZA ZASLUGE on the lapel .
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Brief description of the Croatian Order of Merit, a technical report by Ottfried Neubecker , magazine Uniform Markt, year 1943, issue 1/2