Item Description
Original Item: One-of-a-kind. This is very nice a 100% genuine medal bar removed from the uniform of a fallen or captured German soldier during WWII, and brought home by an American soldier as a war trophy. The medals are attached to a very nice metal backing wrapped with the ribbons, with a nice hinged attachment pin and grey felt backing.
The set of 3 medals consists of the following:
- German WWII War Merit Cross 2nd Class with Swords and ribbon
- German WWII Wehrmacht 4th Class Long Service Award (Silver) - 4 Years
- WWII Sudetenland Medal (Czech Conquest)
War Merit Cross 2nd Class (Kriegsverdienstkreuz) with Swords (for Combat)
This was a decoration of NSDAP Germany during the Second World War, which could be awarded to military personnel and civilians alike. By the end of the war it was issued in four degrees, and had a related civil decoration. It was created by Adolf AH in October 1939 as a successor to the non-combatant Iron Cross which was used in earlier wars. The award was graded the same as the Iron Cross: War Merit Cross Second Class, War Merit Cross First Class, and Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross. The award had two variants: with swords given to soldiers for exceptional service "not in direct connection with combat", and without swords for meritorious service to civilians in "furtherance of the war effort". As with the Iron Cross, Recipients had to have the lower grade of the award before getting the next level.
Wehrmacht Long Service Award - 4 Years:
This award was a military service decoration of NSDAP Germany issued for satisfactory completion of a number of years in military service. The award itself is cumulative, so after the 3rd class, both a cross and a medal were worn, and the color indicated service.
On 16 March, 1936, Adolf AH ordered the institution of service awards for the first four classes, each reflecting the completion of a select number of years of military service.
Each branch of the Wehrmacht (army, navy, and air force) maintained their own version of the Long Service Award and the decoration was issued for four years (silver medal – fourth class), 12 years (gold medal – third class), 18 years (silver cross – second class), 25 years (gold cross – first class), and 40 years (1939 special class). The 40 years special class service award was introduced on 10 March 1939.
Professor Dr Richard Klein designed the awards. Recipients of lower year awards would wear the decoration simultaneously with higher level decorations. The manner they could be worn was:
3rd Class with 4th Class (gold medal with silver medal)
2nd Class with 4th Class (silver cross with silver medal)
1st Class with 3rd Class (gold cross with gold medal)
The Long Service Award was retroactive throughout a service member's career, encompassing Reichswehr service as well as service dating during and before World War I. As such, there were a handful of 40 year awards presented, even though the NSDAP era only lasted 12 years (1933-1945).
1 October 1938 Commemorative Medal
(German: Die Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 1. Oktober 1938) Commonly known as the Sudetenland Medal, this was a decoration of NSDAP Germany awarded in the interwar period. Instituted on 18 October 1938, the medal was awarded to German military personnel who participated in the occupation of Sudetenland and the occupation of Czechoslovakia in March 1939.
The medal was awarded to all German (and as well Sudeten) State officials and members of the German Wehrmacht and SS who marched into Sudetenland. Later it was awarded to military personnel participating in the occupation of the remnants of Czechoslovakia on 15 March 1939. It was awarded until 31 December 1940. In all 1,162,617 medals and 134,563 bars were awarded.
The medal was similar in appearance as the Anschluss Medal, the reverse only differed in the date. It was designed by Professor Richard Klein.
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