The Narvik Shield () was a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

military decoration awarded to all German forces that took part in the

battles of Narvik The Battles of Narvik were fought from 9 April to 8 June 1940, as a naval battle in the Ofotfjord and as a land battle in the mountains surrounding the north Norwegian town of Narvik, as part of the Norwegian Campaign of the Second World War. ...

between 9 April and 8 June 1940. It was instituted on 19 August 1940 by

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

. The ''Oberkommando der Wehrmacht'' (OKW) published the order the same day. It was bestowed by General

Eduard Dietl Eduard Wohlrat Christian Dietl (21 July 1890 – 23 June 1944) was a German general during World War II who commanded the 20th Mountain Army. He was magnanimously awarded of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords of Na ...

, 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 An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

, 3,661 to the ''

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...

'', and 2,161 to the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

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 EDELWEISS (Expérience pour DEtecter Les WIMPs En Site Souterrain) is a dark matter search experiment located at the Modane Underground Laboratory in France. The experiment uses cryogenic detectors, measuring both the phonon and ionization signals ...

(representing the army mountain troops), an anchor (representing the ''Kriegsmarine''), and propeller (for the Luftwaffe). The anchor and propeller are crossed, with the edelweiss placed at the top of the X. The numbers and appear at the top corners of the main body of the shield. The shield was hollow backed and stamped from sheet metal which was usually zinc. The shield was awarded in two versions: silver-gray for the army and Luftwaffe, and a gilded (golden coloured) version for ''Kriegsmarine''. It was mounted on a cloth backing corresponding to the colour of the uniform, and worn on the upper left arm of the uniform.

1957 version

In 1957, the Narvik Shield, along with many other German World War II military decorations, was reauthorized for wear by qualifying veterans. This included members of the

Bundeswehr The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

, who could wear the shield on the ribbon bar, represented by a small replica of the award on a field grey ribbon. The new version was re-designed to remove the Nazi eagle and

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 ...

symbol from the top of the shield.

Notes

References

* * * * *German Federal law
Bundesministerium der Justiz: Gesetz über Titel, Orden und Ehrenzeichen, 26.7.1957. Bundesgesetzblatt Teil III, Gliederungsnummer 1132-1
{{Subject bar , portal1=Military of Germany , portal2=World War II Military awards and decorations of Nazi Germany Awards established in 1940 1940 establishments in Germany German campaign medals

Design

1957 version

See also

Notes

References