German Awards - Helvetia Benigna Medal

This medal was established on the occasion of the exhibition of prisoners of war in Frankfurt am Main by General Fritsch in 1917. The first awards were made by Major von Polenz on March 15, 1917. The medal was awarded as an honorary badge of the German government to Swiss citizens and Germans who earned during the World War in Switzerland for German prisoners of war. The stamps and design are from the Hofkunst-Impergeanstalt B. H. Mayer in Pforzheim. They were donated to the Prussian Ministry of War. The first silver medals were awarded to Swiss medical officers and ladies. Medals were not originally intended to be worn, as Swiss citizens cannot accept orders and badges of honor. The Frankfurt Red Cross Association awarded the Swiss with other medals as keepsakes. They also come with a horizontal brochure. The Helvetia Benigna medal was awarded, starting in 1917, also in a large, intolerable form of 60 mm to already honored persons.

Round silver medal without raised, stepped edging. Above is a soldered, parallel, ordinary eye with a ring.

Front side:

In the
• center of the staircase is right-facing Helvetia (an allegorical symbol of Switzerland) with a scythe and a long robe. In the right hand is a flat granary.
• Pedestal in the form of a stepped Geneva cross. On the upper cross sleeve is the coat of arms of Switzerland. In the background is a mountainous landscape.
• Above it in the upper part is a raised font - HELVETIA - BENiGNA - (Good Switzerland).
• To the left and right of Helvetia, sitting on heels or steps or standing on a cross, are 12 people.
• Men in the uniform of the warring parties of the First World War.
• On the left next to the 5 men below on the step sits a woman with a baby in a pillow and a small child with knapsacks on the step below.
• At the top right is a soldier with a bound hand leaning against a cross.
• In front of him sits an elderly woman with crutches and another soldier who holds his head and holds a blanket in his right hand.
• On the bottom right is an old veteran with crutches.
• Below in the center is the manufacturer's logo - B H M -.

Downside:

• At the top, a Geneva cross rises in the center with 9 rays in the background.
In the
• center is a 5-line, raised font: - DAS - GRATEFUL -/- (more) GERMANY -/- TO - REMINDER -/- AN - DEN -/- (more) WORLD WAR -.
• The inscription is framed by a cross-tied wreath of oilseed branches with fruits. From below on both sides there are 2 side branches.
• Knocked under a wreath - BHM - and a silver punch - 990 -.

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