Prussian Trapezoid Medal Bar is well and alive

[xxx]

Some years ago I restore some 1864-1871 medal bars in the local church. What I have learned than came into use now for making a prussian medal bar for a firefighter.

The man had the 10 years DDR firefighter service award in 1989 then served for another 30 years in the BRD, to be more precise in the state of Brandenburg and got than the 40 years long service award.

To wear DDR Firefigther awards is permitted but not realy regulated - see her page 52 https://www.lfv-bb.de/s/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Handreichnung-fuer-Auszeichnungen-und-Ehrungen-der-Feuerwehrangehoerigen-im-Land-Brandenburg-V1.0.pdf

 

in the end there is no basic knowledge how to wear awards on a medall bar.

You see here how the new awards are designed https://www.ebay.de/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313&_nkw=orden+feuerwehr+brandenburg&_sacat=0

 

a short 20 mm wide ribbon on a safety pin -  in one word - disgusting!

This medal bar is a classic case of two long servise awards showing the break in service because the state changed in between. I found 30 mm wide ribbon for the Brandenburg and 25 mm wide ribbon for the DDR award. Its far from perfect, not even good but I am still learning any time .

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 1, 2022 by xxx

[Gordon Craig]

xxx,

 

Thanks for posting this interesting information.  I was not aware that DDR and BRD could be worn together.  Using the time in service in the DDR towards service in the BRD for a long service award would only be logical.  I tried to translate pages 50 to 54 in Google Translate but was not successful.  Even for a person who does not speak German the basic information about DDR awards in use in the BRD is understandable.  Are there other states that also do this?

 

Regards,

 

Gordon

[xxx]

The ex DDR states Brandenburg, Sachsen, Sachsen -Anhalt, Thüringen and Meckelenburg-Vorpommern will probably handle this all the same way and so far it would be legal to do it also in the rest of the country. Brandenburg had cast it into a regulation, other have maybe a similar one.

 

the most important part is this

 

"Fire brigade awards from the GDR era

During the times of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), various awards were also given specifically to members of the volunteer fire brigade and professional fire brigade. However, since the professional fire brigade of the GDR is not a municipal one, but belonged to the People's Police, it was also possible to award them with People's Police awards. Therefore, it is important to know that not all awards that were given to firefighters between 1949 and 1990 may be worn in uniform. Special medals and decorations with the national emblem of the GDR are no longer worn on the uniform. Listed below are the awards, which continue without hesitation can be worn on the uniform."

 

in fact it says that every award can be still worn. it says also its important to know that not all awards may be worn in uniform. first the uniform belongs the state so he decided what you wear on it but its only a " may", a word that have some freedom.

then the text becomes illogical because " Special medals and decorations with the national emblem of the GDR are no longer worn on the uniform. "

 

the national emblem is on all of them! but, the real firefighter awards are allow to wear and otherweise it would be a shame.  the regulations to made a medal bar are the old one, war decorations, long service award, peace time award, foreign award. thank the lord we don't have war decorations so peace time awards, long service award, foreign awards. in this case a firefighter had some service in the DDR so I set the last DDR Service award he got and the current BRD service award in the sense it was made in the 1930s. the real meaning was not to wear two wehrmachts long service awards like here

 

 

 this was a misuse of the regulations

 

even worse when they have the double wehrmacht award and then a third service award from before

 

 

the old army

 

or

 

 

police

 

sometimes they try to get three different  into the bar like here old army, zivil servant, wehrmacht

 

 

 

here is the misuse obviously! the double service award was a favour given by the government to show breaks in service. in the end all former service awards counts for the last wehrmacht service award so there would be no necessity to wear them.

 

this bars are in the spirit of the double service award regulation

 

 

the DDR/BRD firefighter award I made is in this spirit. you can wear the DDR service award, in this case the 10 years but if you had the 20 years you would only wear this and not the 10 years also. and so you wear only the 40 years Brandenburg /BRD service award. btw, like the old bars the 10 DDR count on the 40 years Brandenburg so there would be no necessity but you have the rigth to wear it and so the double service award bar exist. if this firefighter had the DDR Award for merits in fire prevention, here on the typical russian style single bar

 

 

I had placed this for the Brandenburg 40 years award because it became a legit BRD/german award. if you compare this with the old bars best example would be the wehrmacht service award together with an austrian service award from soldiers coming from the austrian heer in 1938. you have seen such medal bars before, I don't find a pic just now to illustrate it.

[BlackcowboyBS]

interesting, so  Thank you for it.

But I need to except the following statement from you: 

 the real meaning was not to wear two wehrmachts long service awards like here

 

 

 this was a misuse of the regulations.

The shown medal bar is correct, the regulations states: After the award of the higher class, a service award of the lower class is carried on, namely: third together with the fourth class, second together with the fourth and the first together with the third class. (see Doehle, Awards of the great German Empire, 1945)

 

I would go along with your further statements. 

Edited November 17, 2022 by BlackcowboyBS

[xxx]

Thank you for the correction and I believe now to read this also some years ago. Medal bars are not my real hobby, do it from time to time for do something different then usual, for have a break.  I don't know if this was the real intention when they start with the double service award or if the first regulation was unprecise so everyone thought it was allowed. Then after some years - you know if it happen three times one after the other it becomes a rule -  it became a fact and some official made this regulation out of the common fashion.

In any case it looks like this practise was used to make the medal bar fat - zum auffetten.

Otherwise if intendetd it would have been a present by the government for officier's - also to made the medal bar looking more fat.

Anyway, this double service award comes only into its own if you show a long time service over different times and under more than one flag.

[Gordon Craig]

xxx,

 

Thanks for taking the time to translate the German into English for me.  I understood the basic parts of the German but missed the finer points and you explained them well.

 

blackcowboyBS,

 

Thanks for your comment.

 

Regards,

 

Gordon