The award was instituted on 22 February 1958 by the Council of Ministers and honoured those who had been involved in the resistance against the Nazi regime; for example, those confined to prisons or concentration camps or sentenced to hard labour, political émigrés, and also members of the International Brigades.

Anti-Fascist activity in the National Committee for a Free Germany was also recognised, as in the case of Arno von Lenski (in 1940 made an honorary member of the Volksgerichtshof, later a Major General in the National People's Army of the GDR).

The silver medal, 32 mm in diameter, depicts on the obverse profiles of Rudolf Breitscheid (rear) and Ernst Thälmann (front), looking to the left from the point of view of the observer and encircled in the upper half by the inscription KÄMPFER GEGEN FASCHISMUS (fighter against Fascism).

On the reverse, the arms of the GDR are enclosed by the inscription VORWÄRTS UND NICHT VERGESSEN (forwards and forget not - top) and the years 1933 .

A black, red and gold vertical bar 7.5 mm high was woven into the ribbon.