Order for the merit to the people/ Orden Zasluga za narod I. class 1st type / prototype.

[eatmeat]

Hi, 

 

On some FB page there was a discussion about an order that is called pronounced Order for the merit to the people/ Orden Zasluga za narod I. class 1st type or better prototype.

Here are is one side of the story:

J. A. Danilov wrote an excellent book in which he deals with different models of the Order and Medal of Merit for the People. The book also describes the unaccepted Order of Merit for the People I. type. When IKOM was closed and relocated wo sets of the Order of Merit for the People 1st type, were found. One set of all three degrees was sold to a collector from Russia, and the second set of the 1st type was bought by a famous collector from Belgrade. (One order from the second set is being sold at the Barac & Pervan auction in Zagreb).

However, a few years ago, copies of the order appeared on the market. The differences between the original and the copy are in the manufacturing technology. The original orders were forged with a die, without the manufacturer's mark. The copies were made by casting in molds without the final engraving and chiseling, which can be seen in the rays between the arms of the star. The copies of the order have a screw: "ZIN * KOVNICA".

 

Now here is my dilemma:

1st IKOM was an old manufacturer form the time of Austria. During the war they were producing all sorts of NDH items under the name BK (Brača Knaus) and/or GK (Griesbach i Knaus). Zagreb was liberated on 8.5.1945 and the order Zasluge za narod was instituted on 9.6.1945, one month after liberation. So by the timeline form liberation till institution its only 1 month time, in witch they must created blacksmit tool and prototype. As the design was changed we know that this design was not excepted. So I imagine that a new design was to be made in a shape that we know today. And i dont think that next day after liberation they started to produce Socialist prototype orders.

2nd. we know that first orders of Zasluge za narod were made in ZNB in Belgrade, that was liberated on October 1944 so they had enough time and "peace" to create all the preparations and prototypes. So why would they decide to do prototype in Zagreb where there was still war time for such a special occasion? My yungest document for Orden zasluge za narod was issued on 26.6.1945 so the timeline is realy short form idea, to production and distribution.

3rd We know that Yugoslavia were makeing orders for Albania, at the end is a picture of Albanian order of bravery. They look very similar by design. Also this "1st type" looks very much like all Albanian orders and nothing like Yugoslavian orders form that time.

 

So my conclusion is that this is a mistake (unfortunaly no documentation exists as it was destroyed), and this is not a Yugoslav 1st type or prototype but an Prototype made for Albania, but put in the Yugoslav box that they had on haned.

 

What is your oppinion???

 

 

 

1st type Orden zasluge za narod ???

 

Albanian Order for bravery

[El Ninja]

As far as the timeline is concerned, that is enough time to produce any order or medal, especially one with such simple design.

Now, for the documents. It does not have to mean that if document was issued on a certain date, that order was also given at the same time. 

During the war, more often than not, person being awarded would receive only a document, and the order or medal would have been issued at a later date.

One case in point:

National hero Stojan Grujičić Jaruga was awarded the Order of the national hero in september 1944, at the same ceremony, Mikan Marjanović was also decorated, but he was handed only a document.

[sinissa]

A very, very interesting observation EATMEAT, which could be most likely a true.

By comparing these two orders (YU prototype and the Albanian Order of Bravery), the following can be concluded:

 

1. The Partizan shown on the YU prototype does not wear a Yugoslav uniform, but one that is more similar to the Albanian one (but not completely Albanian).

1a)  All Yugoslav partisans were always depicted with a "titovka" cap (see Kun's works from the period 1943-45), while the partisan shown here wears something like a beret or an Albanian cap.

1b)  The pictured partisan is obviously wearing a fustanella (men's skirt - something like a kilt), which is traditional Albanian male clothing. 

1c) The featured partisan is not shown in full Albanian uniform. He still lacks the traditional garters between the knees and the feet, as well as the shield on the back (see the displayed Albanian Order of Bravery).

 

2. The YU prototype is made of much higher quality, both in terms of the quality of production and in terms of the details shown. By comparing the two orders, one gets the impression that the Albanian order, in terms of quality, is a "simplified" version of the YU prototype.

 

My conclusion is that:

 

1. This YU prototype was not made for the needs of any Yugoslav order, because no one at that time would have made the mistake of picturing a partisan without a titovka cap and with a fustanella. Especially since all the orders of that time were designed by Kun and Augustincic, to whom such an error could not have happened.

 

2. The “YU prototype” order was made for the purpose of some Albanian order (most likely the order for bravery), but for some reason it was rejected. It is most likely that the pictured Albanian partisan was missing some features (garters between the knees and feet, a mantle on the back and a traditional cap). In another words - this partisan was not Albanian "enough". 

 

3. One gets the impression that the "YU prototype" was made by a very qualified artist, but that he did not have a sufficiently clear image of a traditional Albanian warrior (perhaps even Kun or Augustincic made it), while the Albanian order was most likely made later, using a "YU prototype" as a starting point and bringing some corrections in terms of the uniform and somewhat simplified in terms of relief and composition (probably to speed up a production process).

 

4. It is known that the Albanian Order of Courage was established on July 9, 1945 and that it was initially produced in IKOM Zagreb.

 

[El Ninja]

All this conundrum could have been avoided if somebody cared to just pick up at least some of the archive.

That theory does hold some merit, but why would there be boxes for the given orders with Yugoslavian writing all over it?

There are some better candidates for what could be Albanian rejected prototype decorations.

By that I mean at what is speculated to be prototypes of the Order of national army and/or War banner.

[sinissa]

Hi El Ninja! Nice to meet somebody from my city Banjaluka here on this forum 🙂

Regarding the boxes ... Danilov showed boxes for all three probe orders in his book and based on those photos it can be seen that all three boxes are different, either in color or size.

Based on this, the question could also be asked why someone made boxes for trial orders at all, and if they did, why did they make three completely different boxes for three classes of trial orders?

It could also be concluded from the photos that these boxes are very similar (maybe even identical) to the first boxes issued for accepted orders.

Based on the above, my conclusion is that there is a high chance that EATMEAT's assumption could be correct that “somebody just put unaccepted Albanian trial orders in a box of YU order for the merit”

Regarding the first variants of the Order of the People's Army .... I think Nenad Bjelos has already written about it in the magazine Orden. Let me know if you need this article …

Regards

[El Ninja]

In the beginning different classes of orders had differently colored boxes. 

If i remember correctly, same colors were used for the Order of labor, red for I class, green for the II and blue for the III. Later it was all mixed up and equalized.

That is consistent.

As for the articles, most of it is speculation when it comes to these prototype orders. 

And even someone as knowledgeable as Bjeloš can make mistakes when dealing with the unknown. 

[Drugo]

It's an interesting theory, but unfortunately in the absence of clear documentation it can only remain a theory.

 

As for the soldier on the prototype resembling an Albanian fighter in traditional clothes, yes and no. It could be, but take simply a look at the fighter's figure on the standard Yugoslavian Order for Merit to the People, and albeit he is depicted from the front, you can still detect the same elements, an under-the-belt part of his uniform jacket that resembles a skirt, and a cap that does not look like a titovka at all. So neither of these elements is conclusive.

 

https://i.postimg.cc/L4Lg6ftT/Screenshot-2025-02-21-161506.png

 

Similarities between the Yugoslavian OMP prototype and the Albanian Order of Bravery exist, but one could as well argue that the original OMP prototype for Yugoslavia, once discarded, was reused and updated for the Albanian Order of Courage. It would explain the similarities without implying that the prototype was indeed originally intended for Albania.

 

Fascinating discussion, nonetheless.