Medal of Merit of the GDR

Medal of Merit of the GDR

The GDR Medal of Merit was a state award of the German Democratic Republic , which was donated on June 4, 1959 in one step by the Council of Ministers of the GDR and awarded by its chairman. It could be awarded to all citizens of the GDR who had distinguished themselves through special achievements and faithful fulfillment of duties in the construction of socialism as well as in the strengthening and consolidation of the GDR, especially here outstanding fulfillment of labor law relationships.

But this also affected extensive social activities and further merits in international cooperation with the GDR, which meant that the medal could also be awarded to foreign nationals of socialist brother states. As a rule, the medal was only awarded once. The medal included a certificate and a premium of 1,000 GDR marks. The chairman of the Council of Ministers presented the award on the occasion of “ Working Class Struggle Day ” (May 1st) and Republic Day (October 7th). He could also delegate the presentation. Further details, such as the planning and financing of the awards, the right and procedure to propose, and the breakdown of the medals to be awarded to the areas and districts were regulated.

Appearance and wearing style

The silver-plated medal with a diameter of 33 millimeters shows three horizontal fields on its obverse , which are enamelled in black, red and gold and delimited by a 3 millimeter thin silver laurel wreath. In the middle of the medal is the silver state coat of arms of the GDR, which is enclosed by a thin silver ring and thus stands out from the enamelled surfaces. The reverse of the medal shows the semicircular inscription: VERDIENSTMEDAILLE and in the center the raised four-line inscription: DER / DEUTSCHEN / DEMOKRATISCHEN / REPUBLIK . The medal was worn on a 24 × 11 millimeter clasp on the upper left side of the chest. On both sides of the red ribbon, 7.5 millimeter wide black, red and gold vertical stripes are woven into the ribbon, with the color black always on the outside. The interim clasp is of the same quality, but shows in the center the 10 millimeter diameter attached miniature of the obverse of the medal as a support.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Frank Bartel: Awards of the German Democratic Republic from the beginning to the present. Military Publishing House of the GDR , Berlin 1979, pp. 159–160. DNB permalink