Distinguished Service Medal of the National People's Army

Last updated
"Distinguished Service Medal of the NPA"
Awarded by Flag of East Germany.svg  East Germany
TypeThree class order
Awarded for"Outstanding merit and personal readiness in support of the increase of combat capability and combat readiness"
StatusNo longer awarded
Statistics
First awardedJune 1, 1956
Last awarded1990

The Distinguished Service Medal of the National People's Army, or "Medal of Merit of the National People's Army", (German : Verdienstmedaille der Nationalen Volksarmee) was a medal issued in the German Democratic Republic (GDR).

German language West Germanic language

German is a West Germanic language that is mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol in Italy, the German-speaking Community of Belgium, and Liechtenstein. It is also one of the three official languages of Luxembourg and a co-official language in the Opole Voivodeship in Poland. The languages which are most similar to German are the other members of the West Germanic language branch: Afrikaans, Dutch, English, the Frisian languages, Low German/Low Saxon, Luxembourgish, and Yiddish. There are also strong similarities in vocabulary with Danish, Norwegian and Swedish, although those belong to the North Germanic group. German is the second most widely spoken Germanic language, after English.

East Germany Former communist country, 1949-1990

East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic, was a country that existed from 1949 to 1990, when the eastern portion of Germany was part of the Eastern Bloc during the Cold War. It described itself as a socialist "workers' and peasants' state", and the territory was administered and occupied by Soviet forces at the end of World War II — the Soviet occupation zone of the Potsdam Agreement, bounded on the east by the Oder–Neisse line. The Soviet zone surrounded West Berlin but did not include it; as a result, West Berlin remained outside the jurisdiction of the GDR.

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Established on June 1, 1956 in three levels, Gold, Silver and Bronze. It was awarded for outstanding merit and personal readiness in support of the increase of combat capability and combat readiness of the National People's Army (NPA).

National Peoples Army Army of the German Democratic Republic

The National People's Army was the armed forces of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1956 to 1990.

Awarded in the name of the Minister for National Defense it was presented on the "National People's Army Day", 1 March, on the Day of the Republic, 7 October, or immediately after the achievement.

Classes

The medal was granted in three classes: bronze, silver, and gold. The ribbon bars are depicted below.

Award criteria

The medal was presented to:

People’s Army of the GDR, here Officers:

1 governmental‘s decorations, ribbon bares (orders, honorary titles, medals);
2 nongovernmental‘s prizes;
3 non-state‘s awards;
4 Graduate badge.

Stasi East German Ministry for State Security

The Ministry for State Security or State Security Service, commonly known as the Stasi, was the official state security service of the German Democratic Republic. It has been described as one of the most effective and repressive intelligence and secret police agencies ever to have existed. The Stasi was headquartered in East Berlin, with an extensive complex in Berlin-Lichtenberg and several smaller facilities throughout the city. The Stasi motto was Schild und Schwert der Partei, referring to the ruling Socialist Unity Party of Germany and also echoing a theme of the KGB, the Soviet counterpart and close partner, with respect to its own ruling party, the CPSU. Erich Mielke was the Stasi's longest-serving chief, in power for thirty-two of the GDR's forty years of existence.

The civil service is independent of government and is also composed mainly of career bureaucrats hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil servant or public servant is a person employed in the public sector on behalf of a government department or agency. A civil servant or public servant's first priority is to represent the interests of citizens. The extent of civil servants of a state as part of the "civil service" varies from country to country. In the United Kingdom, for instance, only Crown employees are referred to as civil servants whereas county or city employees are not.

By regulation all three levels could be awarded to any rank in the armed forces. But in practice, the gold medal was usually reserved to field grade and general officers, while the silver and bronze grades were more commonly awarded to noncomissioned officers (NCOs) and company grade officers.

A general officer is an officer of high rank in the army, and in some nations' air forces or marines.

An individual of any rank who had earned the Best Soldier badge (German : Bestenabzeichen) for seven consecutive years was eligible for the bronze medal, for nine years the silver medal and twelve years the gold medal.

Medal description

The medal was designed by the Berlin graphic artist Paul Gensch. It is round and either bronze colored (Bronze), silvered (Silver) or gilded (Gold) and has a diameter of 35 mm (1.4 inches). On the front are profiles of the busts of a 1950s era sailor, airman, and soldier representing the nation's Land, Air, and Naval forces, under which is spelled out "DDR". On each side of this are three oak leaves with an acorn. The words FÜR HERVORRAGENDE VERDIENSTE (FOR OUTSTANDING MERIT) form the upper part of the medal, the lower part contain the words NATIONALE VOLKSARMEE (NATIONAL PEOPLE'S ARMY).

On the reverse side are the state coat of arms of East Germany, surrounded with the words FÜR DEN SCHUTZ DER ARBEITER- UND-BAUERN- MACHT (FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE WORKERS-AND-FARMERS-POWER) surrounded by two branches of laurel.

The medal is suspended from a five sided cloth ribbon which is 48 mm (1.9 inches) at the widest point. The ribbon is red with black narrow edge stripes and a narrow yellow stripe 1 mm (1/32 inch) from the black edge stripe. The Silver medal is suspended from the same basic ribbon but has the addition of a 3 mm (just over 3/32 inch) wide center stripe of silver/white. On the Gold medal ribbon the center stripe is gold/yellow.

The ribbon bar is 24 mm (just under 1 inch) wide, rectangular and corresponds with the medal ribbon.

The medal was awarded with a certificate and financial allowance and was worn on the left upper chest.

Certificate - Distinguished Service Medal of the National People's Army - Silver, presented to Stasi Captain Verdinstemedaile-certificate1.jpg
Certificate - Distinguished Service Medal of the National People's Army - Silver, presented to Stasi Captain

Medal variations

Several distinct variations of each grade of this medal exist. According to research by John Standberg the different types are:

Gold

Silver

Bronze

Well known recipients

See also

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