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Warsaw Shield
The Warsaw Shield, (), or Warsaw Arm Shield (), was a planned World War II German military decoration intended for award to Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS servicemen who took part in the suppression of the 1944 Warsaw uprising. Although authorised, with the conditions of award and the design approved and announced, production had not begun prior to the end of the war and the award was never issued. It was one of a number of campaign shields authorised by the German authorities during the war. Criteria for award The Warsaw uprising lasted 63 days from 1 August 1944. The Polish resistance attempted to liberate Warsaw as German forces withdrew. However, the approaching Red Army temporarily halted outside the city, enabling the Germans to regroup and defeat the uprising. During the fighting German forces committed numerous atrocities, and then razed the city in reprisal. The Warsaw Shield was instituted on 10 December 1944 by Adolf Hitler, with full award regulations published in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a dictatorship. Under Hitler's rule, Germany quickly became a totalitarian state where nearly all aspects of life were controlled by the government. The Third Reich, meaning "Third Realm" or "Third Empire", alluded to the Nazi claim that Nazi Germany was the successor to the earlier Holy Roman Empire (800–1806) and German Empire (1871–1918). The Third Reich, which Hitler and the Nazis referred to as the Thousand-Year Reich, ended in May 1945 after just 12 years when the Allies defeated Germany, ending World War II in Europe. On 30 January 1933, Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany, the head of gove ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wehrmacht Foreign Volunteers And Conscripts
Among the approximately one million foreign volunteers and conscripts who served in the Wehrmacht during World War II were ethnic Belgians, Czechs, Dutch, Finns, Danes, French, Hungarians, Norwegians, Poles, Portuguese, Swedes, along with people from Great Britain, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and the Balkans. At least 47,000 Spaniards served in the Blue Division. Some estimates state anywhere between 600,000 and 1,400,000 Soviet citizens (Russians and other non-Russian ethnic minorities) joined the Wehrmacht forces as ''Hiwis'' (or ''Hilfswillige'').Audrey L. Alstadt (2013).The Azerbaijani Turks: Power and Identity under Russian Rule. p. 187. The Ukrainian collaborationist forces were composed of an estimated number of 180,000 volunteers serving with units scattered all over Europe. Russian émigrés and defectors from the Soviet Union formed the Russian Liberation Army or fought as ''Hilfswillige'' within German units of the Wehrmacht primarily on the Eastern Front. Non-Russi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Awards Established In 1944
An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An award may be described by three aspects: 1) who is given 2) what 3) by whom, all varying according to purpose. The recipient is often to a single person, such as a student or athlete, or a representative of a group of people, be it an organisation, a sports team or a whole country. The award item may be a decoration, that is an insignia suitable for wearing, such as a medal, badge, or rosette (award). It can also be a token object such as certificate, diploma, championship belt, trophy, or plaque. The award may also be or be accompanied by a title of honor, as well as an object of direct value such as prize money or a scholarship. Furthermore, an honorable mention is an award given, typically in education, that does not confer the recipient(s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rising '44
''Rising '44: The Battle for Warsaw'' is the title of a documented and illustrated historical account of the Warsaw Uprising by the historian Norman Davies. It was mostly well received by specialists and commentators during its publication. One controversy surrounding the book is that Davies purposely anglicised most of the Polish proper names, including placenames and pseudonyms used by Polish conspirators, to bring the reality of events closer to English-speaking readers and to help them concentrate on the narrative, rather than on the complexity of Polish names. However, the Polish historian Jan Ciechanowski has taken grave exception to the work in more general terms: :''In the hands of Davies the Warsaw Rising has become his personal "plaything", the outpouring of his uncommonly overactive imagination, his huge arrogance and of his vast fantasy. In fact his knowledge about the Warsaw Rising is actually limited.'' Ciechanowski has accused the author of so littering the boo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Narvik Shield
The Narvik Shield () was a World War II German military decoration awarded to all German forces that took part in the battles of Narvik between 9 April and 8 June 1940. It was instituted on 19 August 1940 by Adolf Hitler. The ''Oberkommando der Wehrmacht'' (OKW) published the order the same day. It was bestowed by General Eduard Dietl, the commander of Army Group Narvik. The award was the first of a series of arm shield campaign awards. A total of 8,577 personnel received the award. Specifically: 2,755 to the army, 3,661 to the '' Kriegsmarine'', and 2,161 to the Luftwaffe. Design Designed by Professor Dr. Richard Klein of Munich, the shield is narrow with a pointed base and, at its apex, has an eagle with down-swept wings clutching a laurel wreath that surrounds a swastika. Below this in capital letters is written . The body of the shield features an edelweiss (representing the army mountain troops), an anchor (representing the ''Kriegsmarine''), and propeller (for the Luftwa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lapland Shield
__NOTOC__ The Lapland Shield () was a World War II German military decoration awarded to military personnel of General Franz Böhme’s 20th Mountain Army which fought a two-front campaign against advancing Finnish and Soviet Red Army forces in Lapland between November 1944 and the war’s end in May 1945. It was awarded to men who had "honorably served" for six months in the region or had been wounded during operations there. It was authorized in February 1945 and was the last officially instituted German campaign shield of the war. With the shield having been approved and designed shortly before the war's end, early recipients had the award noted in their military pay book in March 1945. However, presentation of the shield only began in July 1945, after Germany's surrender, with some awards recorded in pay books as late as August 1945. Design A basic shield with flat top and rounded base, it incorporates an eagle at the top but without a swastika. Directly below this, is "LAP ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kuban Shield
The Kuban Shield () was a World War II military decoration of Nazi Germany. It was awarded to Wehrmacht forces who fought at the Kuban bridgehead in the Soviet Union from February 1943 until it was abandoned in October 1943. The award was instituted on 21 September 1943. Design The shield was struck in sheet metal or zinc and treated with a bronzed wash. Similar in design to the Crimea Shield, it features a German eagle with outstretched wings clutching a laurel wreath containing a swastika. On each side the wreath are the numbers and . Directly below the eagle is written in block capitals. Below this is a stylized map of the Kuban region, with a line representing the defensive line that the men fought to preserve with three locations on the bridgehead marked - , , and . The shield measures 52mm wide and 62mm in height. A back plate, which held in place a piece of cloth matching the recipients’ branch of service, was applied to the shield: * Green for Heer (army) * Blue fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Demyansk Shield
Demyansk Shield (german: Ärmelschild Demjansk) was a World War II German military decoration awarded to Wehrmacht personnel who fought in the Demyansk pocket on the Eastern Front in the early months of 1942. The pocket of German troops had been encircled and cut off by the Red Army around Demyansk (Demjansk), south of Leningrad, and was successfully defended with the aid of an airbridge. The shield was instituted on 25 April 1943 by Adolf Hitler and was not bestowed after 1 July 1944. Design The shield was die-struck and produced in silver-washed zinc and later in plain zinc. It features at its apex an eagle with swooped down wings clutching a laurel wreath that surrounds a swastika. This is flanked by two log pillboxes with gun ports, with "DEMJANSK" in capitals below. The central portion of the shield features a head-on single engine aircraft behind two crossed swords and, at the base, the year "1942". Two minor variations of the aircraft's propeller exist with either a curv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cholm Shield
The Cholm Shield () was a World War II German military decoration awarded to those who fought in the Cholm Pocket on the Eastern Front between 21 January and 5 May 1942. It was instituted on 1 July 1942 and is the rarest of the German combat shields, with approximately 5,500 recipients. Awards ceased to be bestowed on 1 April 1943. Background and design In January 1942, the Soviet Red Army began a series of counteroffensives against the German Army. In the course of these operations, the German occupied town of Cholm (or Kholm) was attacked on 18 January 1942. By the 21 January the town was surrounded and cut off, creating the Cholm Pocket. Led by Generalmajor Theodor Scherer, a mixed group of Wehrmacht Heer, Luftwaffe fallschirmjager, Waffen-SS panzergrenadiers and Ordnungspolizei personnel were supplied by air until relieved on 5 May 1942. After the relief of Cholm, a commemorative shield was suggested by General Scherer to Adolf Hitler, who agreed to the award. A design ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crimea Shield
The Crimea Shield () was a World War II German military decoration. It was awarded to military personnel under the command of Field Marshal von Manstein, including supporting naval and air force units, who fought against Soviet Red Army forces between 21 September 1941 and 4 July 1942 and who captured the Crimea region (''Krim'' in German). It was instituted on 25 July 1942. It was the most widely distributed of the various German campaign shields, with approximately 250,000 awarded. Design The Wehrmacht's Army Group South advanced through the Crimean peninsula between the Autumn of 1941 and Summer of 1942. To commemorate the hostilities that ended with the German capture of Sevastopol on 4 July 1942, the Crimea Shield was created for all members of the armed forces under area commander Field Marshal Erich von Manstein. The shield is of stamped sheet metal with a bronze finish. It is headed by the German eagle clutching a laurel wreath surrounding a swastika, flanked by the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orders, Decorations, And Medals Of Nazi Germany
Awards and decorations of Nazi Germany were military, political and civilian decorations that were bestowed between 1923 and 1945, first by the Nazi Party and later the state of Nazi Germany. The first awards began in the 1920s, before the Nazis had come to national power in Germany, with the political decorations worn on Party uniforms, along with any awards they may have earned during the First World War or before. After 1933, the state began issuing a variety of civilian decorations, which could be bestowed upon any citizen of Germany. Thus, some awards (such as Sports Badges) were bestowed on Nazi Party members, members of the German military, and regular civilians. Many standard awards of the German state, such as life-saving medals, were redesigned to incorporate the Nazi symbol, the swastika. A number of military awards were established pre-war, including Wehrmacht long service decorations, followed by awards for participation in the Spanish Civil War and for the annexation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 October 1990. During the Cold War, the western portion of Germany and the associated territory of West Berlin were parts of the Western Bloc. West Germany was formed as a political entity during the Allied occupation of Germany after World War II, established from eleven states formed in the three Allied zones of occupation held by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. The FRG's provisional capital was the city of Bonn, and the Cold War era country is retrospectively designated as the Bonn Republic. At the onset of the Cold War, Europe was divided between the Western and Eastern blocs. Germany was divided into the two countries. Initially, West Germany claimed an exclusive mandate for all of Germany, representing itself as t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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