Orders, decorations, and medals of Nazi Germany

After 1933, the state began issuing a variety of civilian decorations, which could be bestowed upon any citizen of Germany.

Many standard awards of the German state, such as life-saving medals, were redesigned to incorporate the Nazi symbol, the swastika.

A number of military awards were established pre-war, including Wehrmacht long service decorations, followed by awards for participation in the Spanish Civil War and for the annexation of Austria and the Sudetenland, with the greatest number established after the start of World War II in 1939.

In 1957 the Federal Republic of Germany permitted qualifying veterans to wear many Nazi-era awards on the Bundeswehr uniform, including most World War II valor and campaign awards,[1] provided the swastika symbol was removed.

Recipients of both awards automatically received the Luftwaffe Honour Roll Clasp in January 1944.