The Wehrmacht Long Service Award () was a military service decoration of

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 ...

issued for satisfactory completion of a number of years in military service.

History

On 16 March, 1936,

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 ...

ordered the institution of a service award in four classes, each class reflecting the completion of a select number of years of military service. The award was bestowed by each branch of the Wehrmacht (army, navy, and air force) and was issued for four years service (fourth class – silver medal), 12 years (third class – gold medal), 18 years (second class – silver cross), 25 years (first class – gold cross), and 40 years (special class). The 40 year special class was introduced on 10 March 1939. Recipients of the higher level awards wore the decoration simultaneously with one lower year award. The manner they were 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 ''Reichswehr'' () was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first years of the Third Reich. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshaped ...

service as well as service dating during and before

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. As such, there were a handful of 40 year awards presented, even though the Nazi era only lasted 12 years (1933-1945). The awards were worn on the left chest, immediately before the medals commemorating the annexation of

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and sk, Sudety) is the historical German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the ...

and Memel.

Design

The awards were designed by Professor Dr Richard Klein. Apart from their finish, (gilt or silver), the third and fourth class medals have a common obverse. Both are 30mm in diameter and bear the German eagle clutching a swastika, surrounded by the words ''Treue Dienste in der Wehrmacht'' (Loyal service in the armed forces). The reverse shows the number of years of service, either '4' or '12', surrounded by a wreath.
Likewise, the design of the first and second class crosses are similar. Both bear the German eagle on the obverse center, with the years of service, '18' or '25', on the reverse. The first class is gilt and 38mm wide – the second silver and 35mm. The 40 year award is identical to the first class, with the addition of a gilt oakleaf cluster to the ribbon. Wehrmacht Long Service Awards were among Nazi era awards reauthorised for wear in 1957, re-designed to remove the now banned swastika symbol.

Ribbons

The medal used the cornflower blue ribbon of the pre-1918 . The recipient's arm of service was indicated by an emblem on the ribbon: a spread eagle and swastika for the army and Kriegsmarine, and a flying eagle and swastika for the Luftwaffe, the emblem corresponding in color with the metal of the award.

Other long service awards

The SS maintained their own Long Service Award given in grades of four years, eight years, 12 years, and 25 years. The

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

and German Police had a similar service award. The Nazi Party Long Service Award was given in grades of ten, 15, and 25 years. The

Police Long Service Award The Police Long Service Award (Germany) (''Polizei-Dienstauszeichnung'') was a long service medal awarded to active members of the German Police during the era of Nazi Germany as a political award. Professor Richard Klein designed the awards, whi ...

was given in grades of eight, 18, 25, and 40 years (though the last class was never awarded).

Notes

References