Original Item: Only One Available. The Social Welfare Decoration (Ehrenzeichen für deutsche Volkspflege) was a German Civil Award created by Adolf AH on 1 May 1939 for services in the social sector. The decoration was issued in three classes and was awarded for a wide variety of service, in the social sector, to the German state. Qualifying service would have been with Winterhilfswerk, National Socialist People's Welfare, medical and rescue work, or care of foreign and ethnic Germans. As a replacement for the German Red Cross Decoration, it was conferred in four classes consisting of a white-enameled gold Balkenkreuz with Reich eagle and swas. A Medaille für Deutsch Volkspflege (Medal for German Social Welfare / People's Care) was also issued for lesser degrees of service, not warranting the higher presentation of a class award.

The main requirement for the award was that the service rendered should be to the benefit of the civil population. Reinhard Heydrich was awarded the decoration for his running of the Gestapo in the 1930s and for providing "security" to the German people. The infamous Doctor Josef Mengele was also awarded the decoration in 1941, for providing medical services to wounded soldiers and civilians alike on the battlefields of the Eastern Front.

This example of the Medal for Social Welfare is in very good condition, showing a lovely patina of age, meaning this was a medal that someone displayed or wore during the WWII period. There is stitching at the top of the ribbon, so it most likely had a pin installed at some point so that it could be attached to clothing. The ribbon itself shows age related staining, with the red color still vibrant.

A very nice example of a German DRK award, ready to display!

History ofthe German Red Cross (DRK)

The DRK, "Deutsches Rotes Kreuz" (German Red Cross), a voluntary civil assistance organization originally instituted in 1864, was officially acknowledged by the Geneva Convention in 1929. In December 1937 it gained status as a legally recognized organization by the NSDAP. As with other essential services in Third Reich Germany, it came under control of the NSDAP in late 1938 under the auspices of the Ministry of the Interior's Social Welfare Organization.