The ''Adlerschild des Deutschen Reiches'' ( en, Eagle Shield of the German Reich) was an honorary award (german: Ehrengabe) granted by the German president for scholarly or artistic achievements. It was introduced during the Weimar Republic, under President Friedrich Ebert and continued under Nazi Germany. It was a metal disc with a German imperial eagle on a pedestal. It was a high and infrequently awarded honor, received by around 70 people in total.

Recipients during the Weimar Republic

Article 109, section 3 of the

Weimar Constitution The Constitution of the German Reich (german: Die Verfassung des Deutschen Reichs), usually known as the Weimar Constitution (''Weimarer Verfassung''), was the constitution that governed Germany during the Weimar Republic era (1919–1933). The c ...

entitled "Orders and honours may not be given by the state" enacted a ban on honorific orders. Nevertheless, there was a desire for the state to be able to confer symbolic honours and the honorific award of the Adlerschild des Deutschen Reiches was created to meet this desire. It consisted of a 108 mm wide medal of cast bronze, mounted on a bronze pedestal and inscribed on the reverse with an individualised honorific inscription. The designer of the Adlerschild des Deutschen Reiches was Josef Wackerle. The award was to be given to outstanding individuals in the realms of art, culture, scholarship, science and the economy. The award was made by hand written decree of the President. The Ministry of the Interior made decisions about the honour at the direction of the

Reichskunstwart The Reichskunstwart (German: Imperial Art Protector) was an official position within the Ministry of the Interior of the Weimar Republic, which was concerned with artistic matters and other regulatory issues. It mediated between regulators and arti ...

Edwin Redslob, who was also responsible for the design. According to Redslob, the form of the eagle expressed the " idea of the Reich." In total, the Adlerschild des Deutschen Reiches was awarded to twenty one people during the period of the Weimar Republic. They were: # Gerhart Hauptmann (15 November 1922) # Paul Wagner (7 March 1923) # Harry Plate (28 August 1925) # Emil Warburg (9 March 1926) #

Adolf von Harnack Carl Gustav Adolf von Harnack (born Harnack; 7 May 1851 – 10 June 1930) was a Baltic German Lutheran theologian and prominent Church historian. He produced many religious publications from 1873 to 1912 (in which he is sometimes credited ...

(7 May 1926) # Max Liebermann (20 July 1927) # Max Planck (23 April 1928) # Hans Delbrück (11 November 1928) # Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff (22 December 1928) # Wilhelm Kahl (17 June 1929) # Lujo Brentano (18 December 1929) # Oskar von Miller (7 May 1930) #

Friedrich Schmidt-Ott Friedrich Gustav Adolf Eduard Ludwig Schmidt-Ott (until 1920 his surname was Schmidt) (4 June 1860, in Potsdam – 28 April 1956, in Berlin) was a German lawyer, scientific organizer, and science policymaker. He was the Prussian Minister of Cultur ...

(4 June 1930) #

Theodor Lewald Theodor Lewald (18 August 1860 – 15 April 1947) was a civil servant in the German Reich and an executive of the International Olympic Committee. He was the President of the Olympic organising committee for the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berli ...

(18 August 1930) # Georg Dehio (22 November 1930) # Robert Bosch (23 September 1931) #

Walter Simons Walter Simons (24 September 1861 – 14 July 1937) was a German lawyer and politician. He was Foreign Minister of the Weimar Republic in 1920-21 and served as president of the ''Reichsgericht'' from 1922 to 1929. Early life Walter Simons was bor ...

(24 September 1931) # Carl Duisberg (25 September 1931) #

Max Sering Max Sering (18 January 1857 – 12 November 1939) was a German economist. Sering was considered the most famous German agricultural economist of his time; his students briefly included Otto von Habsburg. Sering studied in both Strasbourg and L ...

(18 January 1932) #

Ernst Brandes Ernst Brandes (3 October 1758 – 13 May 1810) was a Hannoverian lawyer, official, writer, and scholar. Brandes witnessed the French Revolution as a journalist. Influenced by Edmund Burke, he is regarded by commentators as a voice of conserv ...

(11 March 1932) # Adolph Goldschmidt (1933)Hans Kauffmann: ''Adolph Goldschmidt''. In:

NDB NDB may refer to: * Do not let Belgrade drown (''Ne davimo Beograd''), a political party in Serbia * ''Nachrichtendienst des Bundes'' ("Federal Intelligence Service"), one of the Swiss intelligence agencies * National Defense Battalions (Iraq) (19 ...

, Vol. 6, Berlin 1964, p. 614. Probably conferred on 15 January 1933. In the ''Lexikon deutsch-jüdischer Autoren'', Goldschmidt's Adlerschild is not mentioned.

Recipients during National Socialism

Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1971-016-21, Wilhelm Kreis erhält den Adlerschild

The Adlerschild des Deutschen Reiches continued to be awarded during the Nazi period. From 1934, the eagle designed by Josef Wackerle was replaced by the Imperial Eagle with a

swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍) is an ancient religious and cultural symbol, predominantly in various Eurasian, as well as some African and American cultures, now also widely recognized for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and by neo-Nazis. It ...

, symbols closely connected with Nazi ideology. The reverse continued to feature an individualised inscription, but was also inscribed ''Der Führer und Reichskanzler'' (From 1940, simply ''Der Führer''). Otherwise it was unchanged. # Philipp Lenard (6 June 1933) # Eduard Schwartz (22 August 1933) # Friedrich von Müller (17 September 1933) #

Werner Körte Werner Körte (21 October 1853 – 3 December 1937) was a German surgeon born in Berlin. He was the brother of archaeologist Gustav Körte (1852–1917) and philologist Alfred Körte (1866–1946). During the Franco-Prussian War, he worked as ...

(21 October 1933) # Wilhelm Dörpfeld (26 December 1933) #

Hermann Stehr Hermann Stehr (16 February 1864 – 11 September 1940) was a German novelist, dramatist and poet. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature four times. Personal life Stehr was born in Habelschwerdt (Bystrzyca Kłodzka) in 1864; he ...

(16 February 1934) # Reinhold Seeberg (5 April 1934) #

Hugo Hergesell Hugo Emil Hergesell (29 May 1859 in Bromberg – 6 June 1938 in Berlin) was a German meteorologist. Works * He co-founded "''Beiträge zur Physik der freien Atmosphäre''" (1904-; with Richard Assmann) * ''Ergebnisse aerologischer Beobachtungen ...

(29 May 1934) #

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

(11 June 1934) # Adolf Schmidt (23 July 1934) # Theodor Wiegand (30 October 1934) #

Julius Friedrich Lehmann Julius Friedrich Lehmann (28 November 1864, in Zurich – 24 March 1935, in Munich) was a publisher of medical literature and nationalist tracts in Munich. He was the brother of the bacteriologist Karl Bernhard Lehmann. In Zurich he first went to ...

(28 November 1934) #

Heinrich Finke Heinrich may refer to: People * Heinrich (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Heinrich (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Hetty (given name), a given name (including a list of peo ...

(13 June 1935) # Ludwig Aschoff (10 January 1936) # Gustav Heinrich Johann Apollon Tammann (20 April 1936) #

Ludolf von Krehl Albrecht Ludolf von Krehl (December 26, 1861 – May 26, 1937) was a German internist and physiologist who was a native of Leipzig. He was the son of Orientalist Christoph Krehl (1825–1901) He studied at the Universities of Heidelberg and ...

(25 June 1936) # Erich Marcks (17 November 1936) #

August Bier August Karl Gustav Bier (24 November 1861 – 12 March 1949) was a German surgeon. He was the first to perform spinal anesthesia and intravenous regional anesthesia. Early medical career Bier began his medical education at the Charité – Uni ...

(24 November 1936) #

Wladimir Peter Köppen Wladimir is a masculine given name. It is an alternative spelling of the name Vladimir. Notable people with the name include: * Wladimir Brunet de Presle (1809–1875), French historian * Wladimir de Schoenefeld (1816–1875), German-French botan ...

(28 March 1937) #

Emil Kirdorf Emil or Emile may refer to: Literature *''Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau *Émile (novel), ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life *''Emil an ...

(8 April 1937) # Adolf Bartels (1 May 1937) # Bernhard Nocht (4 November 1937) # Alexander Koenig (20 February 1938) #

Adalbert Czerny Adalbert Czerny (25 March 1863 – 3 October 1941) was an Austrian pediatrician and is considered co-founder of modern pediatrics. Several children's diseases were named after him. Education and career Son of a railway engineer, Czerny grew ...

(25 March 1938) # Henry Ford (1938) #

Erwin Guido Kolbenheyer Erwin Guido Kolbenheyer (30 December 1878, in Budapest – 12 April 1962, in Munich) was an Austrian novelist, poet and playwright. Later based in Germany, he belonged to a group of writers that included the likes of Hans Grimm, Rudolf G. Bi ...

(1938) #

Robert von Ostertag Robert von Ostertag (March 24, 1864 – October 7, 1940) was a German veterinarian who was a native of Schwäbisch Gmünd. He studied medicine in Berlin and veterinary medicine in Stuttgart, afterwards becoming a professor of hygiene at Ti ...

(20 April 1939) # Friedrich Karl Kleine (14 May 1939) # Albert Pietzsch (28 June 1939) #

Heinrich Sohnrey Heinrich may refer to: People * Heinrich (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Heinrich (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Hetty (given name), a given name (including a list of peo ...

(19 June 1939) # Julius Dorpmüller (24 July 1939) # Arthur Kampf (28 September 1939) # Karl Muck (22 October 1939) # Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach (7 August 1940) #

Paul Kehr Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

(28 December 1940) #

Heinrich Schnee Heinrich Albert Schnee (Albert Hermann Heinrich Schnee; 4 February 1871 – 23 June 1949) was a German lawyer, colonial civil servant, politician, writer, and association official. He served as the last Governor of German East Africa. Early l ...

(4 February 1941) #

Albert Brackmann Albert Brackmann (24 June 1871, Hanover – 17 March 1952, Berlin-Dahlem)Goetting, Hans (1955).Brackmann, Albert Theodor Johann Karl Ferdinand" in: ''Neue Deutsche Biographie'', vol. 2, p. 504-505. Online version retrieved 2015-11-03. was a leadi ...

(24 June 1941) #

Ernst Poensgen Carl Albert Ernst Poensgen (born 19 September 1871 in Düsseldorf; died 22 July 1949 in Bern) was a German entrepreneur and patron of the city of Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''D� ...

(17 October 1941) #

Wilhelm Kreis Wilhelm Kreis (17 March 1873 – 13 August 1955) was a prominent German architect and professor of architecture, active through four political systems in German history: the Wilhelmine era, the Weimar Republic, the Third Reich, and the founda ...

(17 March 1943) # Gustav Bauer (1 October 1944) #

Hermann Röchling Hermann Röchling (12 November 1872 – 24 August 1955) was a German steel manufacturer in the Saar (Germany) and Lorraine (France) in the 20th century. He was a paternalistic and well-liked employer, concerned about his workers' health and welfar ...

(12 November 1942) # Alfred Hugenberg (3 March 1943) # Ernst Rüdin (19 April 1944) # Eugen Fischer (June 1944) # Paul Schultze-Naumburg (10 June 1944)

References

Bibliography

*Christian Zentner, Friedemann Bedürftig (1991). '' The Encyclopedia of the Third Reich''. Macmillan, New York. *Wolfgang Steguweit: ''Der »Adlerschild des Deutschen Reiches«.'' In: ''Berlinische Monatsschrift.'' Heft 6. Edition Luisenstadt, 2000, , pp. 182–187
online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adlerschild des Deutschen Reiches Orders, decorations, and medals of Germany Orders, decorations, and medals of Nazi Germany