Germany Awards - Memelland Medal

This medal was established on May 1, 1939 by decree of the Fuhrer and Reich Chancellor Adolf Hitler in recognition of the merits for the "return of Memel" to the German Reich in 1939. The medal was awarded to Memelian fighters and wounded, surviving Memelian fighters, as well as Wehrmacht servicemen, police officers, customs border guards, parties and related units. Officials in overpass bodies were also awarded. When awarding, special attention was paid to ensure that only persons who actually participated in the occupation of Memel received this medal. Women should be awarded only in exceptional cases. The awarding took place with an act of possession issued, as in the case of previous subsequent medals, by the Minister of the Interior and the head of the Office of the President, and for military personnel - by the supreme command of the Wehrmacht. This medal is the rarest of the 3 subsequent medals, with about 31,300 awards. Since 1940, medals began to be made of fine zinc. The author of the project is Professor Richard Klein from Munich.

Bronze round medal with rim. Above is a soldered ordinary eye with a ribbon ring.

Front side:

In
• the center are 2 people walking to the right on a pedestal.
• The right holds the flag of the 3rd Reich waving behind the men in his left hand
.
• The right hand hugs the 2nd person, who takes a step towards the pedestal and reaches out.
• On the pedestal is an emblem (an eagle with a wreath and a swastika in it).

Downside:

• Along the edge is a narrow oak-leafy wreath open above, wrapped in 2 ribbons below.
• In the nested field, 7 lowercase font: - ZU -/- REMINDER -/- AN. –ones. - HOME -/
• - KEHR. - DES -/- MEMELLAND -/- MARCH 22 -/- 1939 -

Tape:

white 30 mm wide, edge stripes white 2 mm, side stripes red 6 mm, central stripes green 6 mm.

Photos courtesy of Militaria-Berlin