Loyalty Badge of Honor
The Faithful Service Decoration was a service award in the time of National Socialism , with which civil servants , employees and workers of the public service or workers and employees of the free economy could be awarded. It was donated on January 30, 1938 by ordinance by Adolf Hitler . The design came from Richard Klein from Munich . The regulation reads:
"On the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the day of the national uprising I make in recognition of faithful work in the service of the German people, the Civil Service Faithful Service Medal . The statutes determine the details. "
Articles of Association
The statutes, which were issued on the same day, regulated the exact award procedure as well as the way of wearing, grading, etc. Their full wording was therefore:
Purpose of the Loyalty Badge of Honor
The Loyalty Service Medal is an award for many years of loyal work in the service of the German people.
Graphic representation of all levels of the Loyalty Service Award
Annex from the Reichsgesetzblatt with images of the honorary mark of honor
Images of the honorary mark of honor in the 57 version
Proposal list for workers and employees in the free economy
List of proposals for blue-collar and white-collar workers in the private sector (sample from the presidential office)
Proposal list for civil servants, employees and workers in the public service
Proposal list for blue-collar workers and employees in the public service (sample from the presidential office)
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closed box
opened box with badge of honor (back)
Award certificate for the golden loyalty badge to a postman
Award certificate for the silver loyalty badge
Award requirements
The Civil Service Faithful Service Medal may receive officials and other employees, who have completed a 25-year or 40-year-old working in the public service in loyalty, and employees and workers in the private sector, the one and the same employer, employer or business 50 years have long served faithfully. Active soldiers and Wehrmacht officials, members of the Reich Labor Service and police officers were subject to the special regulations made for these groups. See also:
- Service award (Wehrmacht) (1936)
- Service award for the Reich Labor Service (1938)
- Police Service Award (1938)
Graduation
The honorary badge of honor was awarded in the following stages:
- 2nd level for 25 years of loyal service: to civil servants, employees and public service workers,
- 1st level for 40 years of loyal service: to civil servants, employees and public service workers,
- 1st stage for 40 years of loyal service with the oak leaves in gold with the number 50 on the ribbon: to civil servants, employees and public service workers in recognition of 50 years of service in the public service (see supplementary regulation of August 12, 1944 in RGBl. I, No. 43 of September 19, 1944, p. 199) and
- Special level for 50 years of loyal service: for white-collar workers and workers in the private sector.
Shape and way of carrying
The cross is carried on the left side of the chest.
Public service
The honorary badge of honor for civil servants, employees and workers in the public service is a cross with the dimensions 41 mm × 41 mm in the form of a paw cross , which is covered in the middle by a black enamelled swastika surrounded by a wreath of oak leaves . Its angles are slightly curved outwards. The 2nd stage is made of silver, the 1st stage in gold. On the back there is a square shield in the middle with a three-line inscription: For / faithful / services . The cross is carried on a 35 mm wide cornflower blue ribbon on the left side of the chest.
Special level
The honorary badge of honor in its special level is similar to the badge of honor for civil servants, employees and workers in the public service. The cross itself, however, is in silver and the oak wreath in gold. On the upper arm of the silver cross is the number in golden digits. 50 attached. On the back there is a square shield in the middle with a three-line inscription: For / loyalty / work . The cross is also carried on a 35 mm wide cornflower blue ribbon on the left side of the chest.
Implementing regulation
The implementing regulation also contains specific details, the full wording of which is:
Definition of "public service"
Public service is the period of service completed in the Reich and the state after the age of 18, service with the communities, community associations and service with other corporations, institutions and foundations under public law with the exception of service with religious communities. The service time derived in economic companies, on the management of which a community (community association, community purpose association) exercises a decisive influence, is also considered a public service. In cases of doubt, however, the Reich Minister of the Interior decided in agreement with the Reich Minister involved (of the relevant department) whether or not an activity should be included in the public service. The working hours covered by different employers in the public service were considered to have been completed by one and the same employer. The working hours covered by civil servants, employees or workers were added together.
Definition of "service in the private sector"
The service in the free economy covered every type of activity as an employee with the exception of the activity in the public service (reverse conclusion). An employment relationship existed only if the employee or worker was employed on the basis of a service contract or a relationship similar to a service contract. In the case of natural persons, all relatives and by-laws in a straight line were considered to be one and the same employer, as well as those on the sidelines and by-laws up to the fourth degree. In the case of companies, several individual companies in a company were considered to be one and the same employer even if they were based in different locations. A change of business owner was harmless if the business as such "by and large" had retained its special features.
Common rules
The actual length of service was decisive for the calculation of the length of service. A trial period was fully taken into account. A study at a university, college for teacher training , higher technical state institute for civil engineering, a technical college or one of these educational institutions required for vocational training was to be counted towards the service period up to a duration of 3½ years. Furthermore, the following were to be counted towards the length of service:
- a) the time spent in the full-time service of the NSDAP, its branches and affiliated associations,
- b) the time spent in the Reich Labor Service,
- c) time spent in military service or active military service,
- d) NCO school time, time at NCO preschools , military schools and the boyhood time,
- e) military service also with one of the powers that were allied with the German Reich during the World War (1914-1918),
- f) captivity through no fault of one's own,
- g) the waiting time for a civil or pension claim after completing active military or military service until being called up to a profession,
- h) the time during which a capitulator who later acquired the supply certificate had to wait after completing his service until he was hired as a capitulator or between periods of surrender, but only up to a month in each case,
- i) the volunteer and unskilled labor service at authorities before being drafted as a civilian candidate,
- j) (Letter is missing in the implementing regulation, was not used in legal documents)
- k) work as a bailiff or with a bailiff,
- l) the former court service,
- m) the service as a postal or rail agent ,
- n) service with a later nationalized private railway,
- o) the time during which a civil servant was unemployed as a result of dismissal because of territorial separation under the Versailles Treaty and
- p) the period of involuntary unemployment.
A multiple crediting of service times did not take place. The activities also did not have to be performed in a contiguous manner. People who did not have German citizenship were only awarded the Loyalty Service Award if there were special reasons. In addition, the German nationality of the employer in the free economy was not a prerequisite for the award of the honorary badge to his workers and employees.
Fulfillment of the service period
The period of service was deemed to have been performed in loyalty if the civil servant, employee or worker did not commit any serious breaches of the duty of loyalty to his employer. Even a serious breach of the duty of loyalty did not rule out the award of the honorary badge if it was not based on dishonorable convictions and the employer nevertheless continued the employment relationship with knowledge of the facts.
Capture of the contenders
Public service
The candidates for the badge of honor for civil servants, employees and workers of the public service were to be named in a list using an official form on the 20th of each month in triplicate, separated according to the 1st and 2nd level, on the official channels, namely for the service:
- a) of the Reich and Prussia: the competent Reich and Prussian ministers (heads of the highest Reich authorities, the President of the Reichsbank Directorate),
- b) the non-Prussian countries: by the Reichsstatthalter the competent Reich ministers (heads of the highest Reich authorities),
- c) of the municipalities and municipal associations: the Reich Minister of the Interior.
Free economy
The candidates for the badge of honor for white-collar workers and workers in the private sector were also listed by the higher administrative authority, but only in duplicate on the 20th of each month.
Examination of the proposals
The authorities responsible for submitting the proposals to the Minister of State and Head of the Presidential Chancellery of the Fuehrer and Reich Chancellor first checked the lists of candidates and then filled in another "list of proposals".
General implementing regulation
As a final addition to the above-mentioned regulations, Hitler simultaneously issued another implementing regulation with regard to the award procedure, etc., the regulations of which, however, also had to be applied to the other "service awards" donated at that time. Its content was:
Award process
The proposals, which should lead to the award of the loyal service mark of honor (but also the police service award and the service award of the Reich Labor Service), were sent in duplicate to Hitler by the Minister of State and Head of the Presidential Chancellery of the Führer and Reich Chancellor. The Presidential Chancellery obtained the decision from Hitler personally. After the decision was made by the latter, the head of the presidential chancellery announced the lists of proposals to the suggestion bodies by sending them the awards and certificates of ownership.
Presentation of the decorations
The awards and certificates of ownership were then handed over to the employees and workers of the private sector by the lower administrative authority of the place of residence. In the case of employees, civil servants and workers in the public service, the dispatch took place via official channels and the award was made by the head of the authority or his representative. If possible, the awards should be handed out on the anniversary day (January 30th).
Denial and revocation of the honorary mark of honor
As is usual with all awards, the awarding of the honorary badge of honor could also be prevented by denial and / or withdrawal. This was the case when the person to be awarded was finally convicted by a judgment of a German court in the case of:
- Death sentences,
- Penitentiary sentences, and
- Prison sentences if the conviction was made for fleeing from the Reich Labor Service or for desertion .
- Prison sentences of at least one year if the conviction has been made for an intentional crime, namely:
- because of political, racial or economic treason or
- because of another criminal act, in the commission of which the perpetrator showed a dishonorable or particularly raw disposition,
- Loss of civil rights,
- Withdrawal of the ability to hold public office or the ability to be heard on oath as a witness or expert,
- Loss of military worth and
- Measures of security and improvement according to Section 42 of the Reich Criminal Code (sexual disorders).
Furthermore, the Loyalty Service Badge of Honor could not be awarded to:
- Persons who have been legally expelled from the National Socialist German Workers' Party,
- Persons against whom the judgment of a court of honor formed in accordance with imperial law has legally recognized the loss of their previous status or occupation for willful violation of the permanent professional or social honor,
- Persons who are unworthy of the award for other reasons.
Pending proceedings
Is there any proceedings pending against a candidate (for the honorary badge of honor) or another service award that could lead to a conviction of the type just mentioned, or if facts become known that make the candidate's worthiness appear questionable? postpone inclusion in the list of proposals until the procedure has been completed or until the matter has been otherwise clarified.
If a reason for refusal occurs in the person of someone who has already been awarded an award, or if the existence of a reason for refusal subsequently becomes known, the authority responsible for submitting the award proposals must report to the Minister of State and the head of the presidential chancellery of the Führer and Reich Chancellor. The Minister of State and Head of the Presidential Chancellery of the Fuehrer and Reich Chancellor brings about Hitler's decision to withdraw the award, unless the award has already been lost under Section 33 of the Reich Criminal Code. In these cases, the revoked awards had to be confiscated by the police and sent to the presidential office. There was no legal remedy against the denial or withdrawal of the award!
Wearing method and ownership
If the loyalty badge is worn on the medal buckle, it must be affixed to the place prescribed for state service awards. In the case of loans with several levels of the same award, only one level, namely the level awarded last, was allowed to be worn. The honorary badge of honor in addition to the service awards of the RAD and the police are considered uniform service awards in the sense of the regulations. In addition to other service awards, a service award of the Wehrmacht can be worn. The honorary badge of honor passed into the property of the borrower when it was awarded; when he died it was kept as a souvenir for his bereaved. An award that could no longer be handed over to the borrower because he had died in the meantime had to be sent back to the head of the presidential chancellery with a corresponding report via official channels.
Transitional provisions
The Loyalty Service Medal was only awarded to people who were still in service on the Foundation Day (January 30, 1938). Hitler reserved exceptions. The Loyalty Merit Medal was also awarded to those persons who had already completed the service periods intended for an award before January 30, 1938, unless an award of a higher level had been awarded in the meantime; the handing over of the awards earned before January 30th was not tied to the anniversary of the anniversary day.
Award numbers
Exact numbers of awards cannot be proven, as the Loyalty Service Medal was a mass award. But it should have been well over 100,000 pieces.
Others
Due to the development of the war, the award of the Loyalty Service Award was stopped on February 25, 1942 and should be resumed after the end of the war. Corresponding applications could no longer be submitted. However, the applications received up to and including March 1, 1943 were still dealt with. According to the law on titles, medals and decorations of July 26, 1957, wearing the honorary mark of honor in the Federal Republic of Germany is only permitted without National Socialist symbols.
See also
- Service award (Wehrmacht) (1936)
- SS service award (1938)
- Police Service Award (1938)
- Service award of the NSDAP (1939)
- Service award for the Reich Labor Service (1938)
- Customs Border Guard Decoration (1939)
literature
- Waldemar von Hessenthal, Georg Schreiber: The portable decorations of the German Empire. Dietrich, Berlin 1940.
- Jörg Nimmergut , Klaus H. Feder, Heiko von der Heyde: German medals and decorations. 6th edition. Battenberg, Regenstauf 2006, ISBN 3-86646-002-3 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Reichsgesetzblatt Part I, no. 8 of 30 January 1938. Foundation Regulation, p.48 alex.onb.ac.at .
- ^ Statute of the honorary mark of honor, Reichsgesetzblatt No. 8 of January 30, 1938. Article 1 of the statute.
- ^ Statute of the Honorary Honorary Service Award, Reichsgesetzblatt No. 8 of January 30, 1938. Article 2 of the statute.
- ^ Statute of the honorary mark of honor, Reichsgesetzblatt No. 8 of January 30, 1938. Article 3 of the statute.
- ↑ Statute of the Honorary Honorary Service Award, Reichsgesetzblatt No. 8 of January 30, 1938. Article 4 Paragraph 1 and Paragraph 3 of the Statute.
- ^ Statutes of the Honorary Honorary Service Award, Reichsgesetzblatt No. 8 of January 30, 1938. Article 4, Paragraph 2 and Paragraph 3 of the Statute.
- ↑ Implementation ordinance for the ordinance on the foundation of the honorary mark of honor, Reichsgesetzblatt No. 8 of January 30, 1938, § 1 of the implementation ordinance.
- ↑ Implementation ordinance for the ordinance on the foundation of the honorary mark of honor, Reichsgesetzblatt No. 8 of January 30, 1938, § 2 of the implementation ordinance.
- ↑ Implementation ordinance for the ordinance on the foundation of the honorary mark of honor, Reichsgesetzblatt No. 8 of January 30, 1938, § 3 and 4 of the implementation ordinance.
- ↑ Implementation ordinance for the ordinance on the foundation of the honorary mark of honor, Reichsgesetzblatt No. 8 of January 30, 1938, § 4 paragraph 2 of the implementation ordinance.
- ↑ Implementation ordinance for the ordinance on the foundation of the honorary mark of honor, Reichsgesetzblatt No. 8 of January 30, 1938, § 5, 6 and 7 of the implementation ordinance.
- ↑ Implementation ordinance for the ordinance on the foundation of the honorary mark of honor, Reichsgesetzblatt No. 8 of January 30, 1938, § 8 of the implementation ordinance.
- ↑ Implementation ordinance for the ordinance on the foundation of the honorary mark of honor, Reichsgesetzblatt No. 8 of January 30, 1938, § 9 of the implementation ordinance.
- ↑ Implementation ordinance for the ordinance on the foundation of the honorary mark of honor, Reichsgesetzblatt No. 8 of January 30, 1938, § 5, 6 and 7 of the implementation ordinance.
- ↑ General Implementation Ordinance on Loyalty Merchants and Service Awards, Reich Law Gazette No. 8 of January 30, 1938, Section 3 Paragraphs 2 and 3 of the Implementation Ordinance.
- ↑ General Implementation Ordinance on the Honorable Service Decoration and Service Awards, Reichsgesetzblatt No. 8 of January 30, 1938, Section 4 of the Implementation Ordinance.
- ↑ General Implementation Ordinance on the Honorable Service Decoration and Service Awards, Reichsgesetzblatt No. 8 of January 30, 1938, Section 5 of the Implementation Ordinance.
- ↑ General Implementation Ordinance on the Honorable Service Decoration and Service Awards, Reichsgesetzblatt No. 8 of January 30, 1938, Section 6 of the Implementation Ordinance.
- ↑ General Implementation Ordinance on the Honorable Service Decoration and Service Awards, Reichsgesetzblatt No. 8 of January 30, 1938, Section 7 of the Implementation Ordinance.
- ↑ General Implementation Ordinance on the Honorable Service Decoration and Service Awards, Reichsgesetzblatt No. 8 of January 30, 1938, Section 9 of the Implementation Ordinance.
- ↑ General Implementation Ordinance on the Honorable Service Decoration and Service Awards, Reichsgesetzblatt No. 8 of January 30, 1938, Section 9 of the Implementation Ordinance.
- ↑ General Implementation Ordinance on Loyalty Merchants and Service Awards, Reichsgesetzblatt No. 8 of January 30, 1938, Section 10 of the Implementation Ordinance.
- ↑ General Implementation Ordinance on Loyalty Service Awards and Service Awards, Reichsgesetzblatt No. 8 of January 30, 1938, Section 11 of the Implementation Ordinance.
- ↑ General Implementation Ordinance on the Honorable Service Decoration and Service Awards, Reichsgesetzblatt No. 8 of January 30, 1938, Section 12 of the Implementation Ordinance.