Wound Badge (1939)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Wound Badge (1939) in black
The Wound Badge (1939) in silver
The Wound Badge (1939) in gold
The M35 steel helmet (model 1935) is stylized and incorporated into the Wound Badge (1939)
Certificate of possession of the wounded badge.jpg

The Wound Badge (1939) was a badge of honor of the National Socialist German Reich, which was awarded during the Second World War . On September 1, 1939, the day of the German invasion of Poland , Adolf Hitler issued the ordinance on the foundation of the Wound Badge (1939) . From this point on, the 1918 wounded badge donated by Kaiser Wilhelm II was no longer to be awarded. During the attack on Poland, but also during the occupation of Norway ( Operation Weser Exercise ), this could hardly be implemented, as the new wound badge (1939) was not yet available in sufficient numbers to cover all wounded soldiers (around 40,000 by mid-1940 ) with the new badge.

The Wound Badge (1939) was intended to honor all those soldiers who were injured or disabled during combat operations through enemy action, through no fault of their own, or who were severely frostbitten. The grading followed the Wound Badge from 1918 and was:

  • for one and two wounds black,
  • for three and four wounds silver
  • and gold for more than four wounds.

In the case of severe injuries, a step could be skipped if necessary. Wounds in the First World War , in the revolutionary turmoil of 1918/19 as well as the border guard battles ( Silesia 1918–21, Carinthia 1918/19), in the Spanish Civil War and the assassination attempt of July 20, 1944 were taken into account when determining the respective level.

Foundation decree

The full wording of the foundation decree from the Reichsgesetzblatt (RGBl. 1939, Part I, pp. 1577f. Of September 3, 1939) reads as follows:

As a tribute to those who were wounded or damaged by enemy weapons while bravely working for the fatherland, I donate the Wound Badge.

  • article 1
    • (1) The wound badge is awarded in three stages: in black for one and two times, in silver for three and four times, in gold for more than four times wounds or damage.
    • (2) Earlier wounds for which a wound badge has already been awarded are counted towards the award.
  • Article 2

The wounded badge is the same as that of the army in world wars. The steel helmet has a swastika on its tip.

  • Article 3

The wounded badge is worn on the left side of the chest.

  • Article 4

I entrust the chief of the High Command of the Wehrmacht with the implementation of the ordinance in conjunction with the chief of the presidential chancellery of the Führer and Reich Chancellor.

Berlin, September 1, 1939

The Führer Adolf Hitler

The Chief of the High Command of the Wehrmacht Keitel

The Reich Minister of the Interior Frick

The Minister of State and Head of the Presidential Chancellery of the Führer and Reich Chancellor Dr. Meissner

Award terms

  • 1. The prerequisites for an award are not given in the case of illness and accidents, even if they occur in front of the enemy - but without the influence of enemy weapons.
  • 2. Multiple wounds suffered at the same time count as one wound.
  • 3.
    • The silver badge can be awarded regardless of the number of wounds if the wound resulted in the loss of a hand or a foot or an eye, or if it resulted in complete or almost deaf hearing loss. It can also be awarded to brain injured persons and war invalids who have suffered repulsive facial disfigurements.
    • The gold badge can be awarded regardless of the number of wounds if injured persons have several of the characteristics listed in the previous paragraph as a result of one or more wounds. It can also be awarded to injured people who are blind or brain injured as a result of the effects of warfare and who receive care allowances.
  • 4. Only the most recently awarded level of the wounded badge may be worn. (The wounded badge of the World War and the wounded badge for Spain fighters must therefore be taken off when they are newly awarded).

Extended award conditions (selection)

In the months and years that followed, the high command of the Wehrmacht, the Army and the Navy issued several supplementary award conditions, some of them contradicting ones, in order to honor those soldiers and finally also civilians who were not covered by the previous award conditions. Unless otherwise noted, these are written pronouncements from the Army Ordinance Gazette or the General Army Communications. According to their full wording, these were (in extracts):

October 11, 1939

Awards to members of the SS and police units deployed in the operational area and subordinate to the army by the disciplinary superiors of the SS and the police with the rank of battalion commander and higher.

October 27, 1939

Wounds caused by the effects of enemy weapons are to be considered equal to those wounds or damage that were incurred in connection with a combat operation through no fault of one's own by one's own weapons.

April 27, 1940

The prerequisites for the award of the wounded badge are also given for the members of the Todt Organization and the Reich Labor Service deployed to build the West Wall, provided that the wound or damage is due to enemy weapons.

May 21, 1940

The prerequisites for awarding the wounded badge are also given to the members of the fortress pioneer and intelligence staff, including employers' workers, who were used to build the west wall, provided they were wounded or damaged by enemy weapons.

June 6, 1940

The prerequisites for the award of the wounded badge are also given in the case of the member of the technical emergency aid deployed to expand the west wall, provided that they are wounded or damaged by enemy weapons.

August 30, 1940

There are no concerns about awarding the Wound Badge to members of the Deutsche Reichsbahn if the requirements for an award are met.

December 23, 1940

The Fuhrer and Supreme Commander of the Wehrmacht has stated that in the event of blindness sustained while serving in the Wehrmacht during the war, the requirements for the award of the golden wound badge can be considered to be fulfilled, even if the blindness occurred in accidents without the influence of enemy weapons .

February 13, 1941

The wounded badge can only be awarded to the wounded or injured if the wound or injury was caused by the direct effects of enemy weapons. If the wound or injury was caused by the indirect effects of hostile ordnance, such as when extinguishing a fire caused by a bombing attack, the award of the badge is not justified.

March 26, 1941

The Fuhrer and Supreme Commander of the Wehrmacht has decided that the Wound Badge is only to be awarded to the blind in the event of an accident. The badge cannot be awarded to other injured persons who are injured in accidents without the influence of enemy weapons.

September 26, 1941

The Wound Badge can be awarded to foreign volunteers who are sworn in on the Fiihrer and who fight in the framework of or in associations of the German Wehrmacht when deploying against the Soviet Union. Awarding the badge to members of allied or friendly countries is not permitted, as some of these countries have their own badges for the wounded. If this is not the case, the creation of an individual wounded badge remains a matter for these countries.

October 10, 1941

The handing over of war awards and badges to the wounded to the borrowed must be done in a dignified manner by a superior.

January 24, 1942

The Fiihrer determined the duration of the fighting on the theater of war in the East, so that the requirements for the award of the badge are to be regarded as fulfilled if serious and permanent damage to the body (primarily amputations) occurs as a result of frostbite in connection with fighting.

April 20, 1942

The wound badge can also be awarded to members of the police under the following conditions:

  • 1. To members of the police units deployed in the operational area and subordinate to the Wehrmacht.
  • 2. To members of police units who are not subordinate to the Wehrmacht, provided that they were used in the context of military actions such as soldiers in combat.
  • 3. To individual members of the Security Police and the SD, during this war, provided that the wounding occurred while on duty in areas that were not pacified.

November 3, 1942

The awarding of the wounded badge to soldiers as Wehrmacht prisoners in the penal system, in particular in field prison departments, ... as well as to members of field special battalions is permissible subject to the generally applicable regulations.

March 11, 1943

On the occasion of the increasing air strikes, the Führer ordered that, with retroactive effect, all German men, women and children who were wounded by enemy action in the home war zone should be treated in the same way as soldiers deployed in the actual war zone with regard to awarding the wounded badge.

May 25, 1943

During the lecture, the Führer decided that the Wound Badge can also be awarded to members of the non-armed forces who have been wounded by enemy weapons in the occupied territories as well as in the Generalgouvernement and Protectorate.

December 15, 1943

A small excerpt from the extensive implementing provisions, such as the concept of the brave commitment of the person, is to be regarded as present wherever an obvious lack of probation - for example through cowardly behavior - is found.

March 3, 1944

The Wound Badge can be awarded to the Italian volunteers who are sworn in to the Führer and who are deployed in German units.

October 16, 1944

The commanders authorized to award the Iron Cross and the Wound Badge to soldiers are authorized, if they are particularly brave, to award the Iron Cross and the Wound Badge to members of the Reich Labor Service and other organizations under their control.

September 24, 1944

Wounded volunteers from the East who are assigned to German or state-owned medical facilities are to be awarded the wounded badge by the chief physicians according to the same guidelines and in the same form as to German wounded persons.

Award numbers

The number of exact awards can no longer be determined precisely due to the confusing and sometimes contradicting award practice. The relevant literature on this topic assumes up to 4 million awards (of all levels), only for members of the Wehrmacht. However, this number seems unrealistic. The Wound Badge (1939) itself was a mass award of the German Wehrmacht , Waffen-SS and Ordnungspolizei . If one takes as a basis the total strength of the Wehrmacht from 1939 to 1945 with approx. 19 million and it is noted that the majority of these soldiers suffered single or multiple wounds in the course of the war, then the awarding number of all classes is approx. 10 Millions within the Wehrmacht associations probably. However, this number is to be regarded as inaccurate, as members of the Reichsbahn, Reichsarbeitsdienstler, Hitler Youth as air force helpers, voluntary nurses and Hitler Youth members in the Volkssturm were also included in the award conditions. The Wound Badge has also been awarded to an unknown number of civilians on the home front, since from March 1943, also retrospectively, civilians who were wounded in Allied air raids received the medal. There is also an unknown number of awards to foreign soldiers and various auxiliary troops, which, although it was not permitted under the Foundation Ordinance, was still practiced. The total number of awards for all levels is estimated to have been around 12 to 15 million.

Award practice

The award of the Wound Badge in practice, ie on the battlefield or in the rear of the army, usually went smoothly. From 1940 the badges were in sufficient quantities in the respective army high command and were delivered by the presidential chancellery of the order chancellery to the fronts as well as to the hospitals and various medical facilities. The entrusted received an award certificate with the badge and a corresponding entry in the pay book. A previously awarded wound badge of a lower level remained in his possession.

Carrying method

Correct way of carrying Wound Badge in silver on the tunic of Hans Cramer

The Wound Badge was worn as a pin badge on the left side of the chest in and out of service with all Wehrmacht uniforms. It was offset on the tunic below the war decorations, but above the decorations of the NSDAP and the various recognized sports badges. It could also be worn with all party and state uniforms. A reduced form (16 mm needle) of the wounded badge on the left cloak of the skirt was allowed to be worn with bourgeois clothing.

Appearance and material

The back of a wounded badge

The Wound Badge (1939) was a highly oval pin badge. The edges of the front show left and right on both sides a laurel wreath, which is united at the bottom with a bow. In the middle of the front, a stylized steel helmet of the German Wehrmacht (model M35 ), based on the example of the Wound Badge from 1918, rests on a pair of crossed swords in the background. An upside-down swastika was embossed on the helmet itself. The main body of the wounded badge is made of non-ferrous metal, hollow (sheet iron, brass) or solid silver and gold ( tombac , fine zinc). Pieces of Bakelite are also known. But there were also versions with an openwork middle section. Custom-made products made of real gold or silver were often purchased by higher-ranking officers at their own expense from various trading companies. An exception is the Wound Badge (July 20, 1944), which was produced in solid 800 silver by the CE Juncker company from Berlin 100 (in all classes). The badge was held by a vertical pin attached to a counter hook. Pieces with screw washers are also known. By the end of the war, the badge was produced by around 24 companies.

Legal situation in the Federal Republic of Germany since the Order Act 1957 came into force

Compared to other war awards of the Second World War, the wounded badge occupies a special position in that since the new Order Law came into force in the "BMI form" it can also be worn by those to whom it was not awarded but who meet the award conditions. However, this group of people also requires proof of eligibility, which is issued by the competent authority if there is evidence of injury or damage that would have led to the award of the badge. ( Proof of possession ordinance 1959 )

Web links

literature

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ BMI form