Seewart medal

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Obverse and reverse of the Seewart medal from 1965

The Seewart Medal was initially an award from the German Empire , which was donated in two stages by Kaiser Wilhelm I on September 14, 1881 on the occasion of the inauguration of the Deutsche Seewarte building in Hamburg . From 1933 to 1945 it served as a state award of the German Reich as a non-acceptable award of the Luftwaffe . By 1942 the medal had been awarded more than 500 times.

On March 24, 1964, the Seewart Medal in the Federal Republic of Germany was donated again in two stages by the Federal Transport Minister Hans-Christoph Seebohm on the occasion of the commissioning of the research vessel Meteor . It is intended to honor special services to shipping and the sea. Since then, it has been awarded every three years to deserving personalities, from 1964 to 2006 a total of 75 times.

Award terms

In the early days, the medal was mainly awarded to seafarers for voluntary observation and reporting activities. Today it is used to recognize outstanding achievements in shipping and the sea. It is the only maritime award in the FRG.

Double nature in award practice

After the end of the First World War , the Deutsche Seewarte was dissolved in 1919 and placed under the Reich Ministry of Transport as a department. The Reich Ministry of Transport was subordinated to the Reich Ministry of Aviation with effect from April 1, 1934 , while at the same time the two specialist units nautical and hydrography of the naval observatory in Hamburg were subject to the navy . Due to this dual nature of the Reich Aviation Ministry, on the one hand as Wehrmacht authority for shipping and aviation, the Seewart Medal could therefore be awarded to members of the Air Force as well as members of the Navy by the Commander in Chief of the Navy . Thus the Deutsche Seewarte was on the one hand an indispensable instrument of the air force and on the other hand also an instrument of the navy. From this support, the Deutsche Seewarte obtained a lot of important information for sea areas that had not yet been adequately explored in the years 1875 to 1945.

Appearance 1881-1945

The bronze or silver medal with a diameter of 57 mm shows an allegorical representation on its obverse in the form of a seated woman writing something on a piece of parchment. Around the woman are a rod of Mercury , a compass , a sextant , an anchor , a globe , books and an unknown rod. In the background of the woman the troubled sea is depicted, on which a four-master can be seen on the right and on the left a waterspout with a lightning bolt falling from a cloudy sky with rays of sunshine. The reverse , on the other hand, shows the Seewarte building, inaugurated in 1881, which no longer exists today. Underneath the three-line inscription: GESTIFTET ON THE DAY OF / INAUGURATION / D. 14.SEPT.1881 The medal was presented to the recipient with an award certificate in A4 format. A medal with an adapted appearance did not exist between 1935 and 1945.

Appearance from 1964

The bronze or silver medal has a diameter of 92 mm and shows the federal eagle within a closed anchor chain on its obverse, as well as the three-line inscription below: FOR MERIT / FOR SECURITY / THE SEA SHIPPING . The reverse of the medal shows the representation of the Atlantic and the Pacific with the indicated most important trade routes for shipping.

Award winners (selection)

1881 to 1945

Award winner since 1964

1966
1998
2000
  • Hans-Hermann Diestel, captain, for his commitment to ship safety
2003
  • Prof. Dr. Petre Trenkner , Professor of Maritime Communication for his teaching and research in the field of English-language communication at sea
  • Klaus Firnhaber, captain and former chairman of the Federal Chamber of Pilots a. a. for the work to improve sea ​​piloting
  • Ullrich Kemmelmeier, Captain, for his extraordinary commitment to the further development of nautical training at the Association of German Shipowners
2006
  • Dr. Harald Benke , director of the German Maritime Museum in Stralsund for creating an interface between science and knowledge transfer
  • Wolfgang Baumeier, university doctor from Lübeck for his commitment to new treatment methods to rescue shipwrecked people
  • Hermann-Georg Saßmannshausen, captain of the ship Barbara , which is an important source of information for current temperature measurements in the North and Baltic Seas

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Klaus D. Patzwall The non-wearable medals and plaques of the Luftwaffe 1935-1945 , pages 170–172, ISBN 3-931533-04-2 .

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