When I acquired this medal recently I was not at all certain what it was. In fact, none of the collectors that I asked were able to identify it either. But I have now succeeded in confirming that this is "The Saint George Medal" of the Bundesnachrichtendienst, the foreign intelligence service of the Federal Republic of Germany. I'll present it here for the reference of the Forum members, just in case any of you (like me!) never heard of this medal before.
Background:
The Bundesnachrichtendienst ("BND") is Germany's equivalent of the Central Intelligence Agency or Great Britain's MI-6. It was founded on April 1, 1956, with its first President being Reinhard Gehlen, a former General of the Abwehr.
Description:
There are two versions of the St. George Medal. This example is the first style. The medal is die struck in bronze, and is 5 cm in diameter. This example is contained within its original fitted case, which is covered in dark brown leatherette and displays a gold border on the lid. A fitted compartment holds the medal, and a silk ribbon placed beneath the medal allows it to be lifted out of the case. A label on the bottom of the case bears a hand-written number that matches the impressed number of the medal.
Obverse:
A superb relief rendering of St. George slaying the dragon (the photos that I'm posting do not do justice to the beauty of this medal!).
Reverse:
The reverse of this first version of the medal displays a laurel wreath and the date "March 31, 1956", both raised out from the surface of the medal. At the bottom of the medal is a separately impressed number that presumably corresponds to a recipient.
Criteria for the award of the medal:
The St. George Medal is awarded to BND officers for long service. However, it may also be awarded to "selected" officers of foreign intelligence services.
Second version of the St. George Medal:
The second version of the medal is identical on the obverse.However, the reverse of the second version is blank except for the laurel wreath. The second version does not bear the date of "March 31, 1956" or an individually impressed number.
Points of Note:
The introduction of the medal, and its design, were initiated by General Gehlen.
An obvious question is why the reverse of the medal bears the date of "March 31, 1956", when the actual date of the founding of the BND was one day late, on April 1, 1956? Here is what I was informed by the BND itself in a recent letter that I received:
Although the letter refers to the date as "impressed", it is, as noted, actually in raised relief on the medal.
Whatever the reason for the incorrect date, the original stock of the medals were obviously awarded and, when they ran out, the second version was ordered, which eliminated the date altogether.
Additionally, the BND advised me that it did not have any information as to whom this specific medal was awarded.
Finally, I found only one public reference to an actual award of the St. George Medal, in which it was announced that the medal had been awarded to Heinz Paul Felfe, Chief of Counter-Intelligence of the BND. However Felfe, who had been an SS Obersturmfuhrer during the war, had been captured at the war's end by the Soviets. Apparently he was convinced in some way to work for the KGB. As such, the man who was the BND's Chief of Counter-Intelligence was in fact a Soviet spy. He was arrested in 1961, placed on trial in 1963 (presumably after two years of interrogation), sentenced to 14 iyears in prison, but exchanged in 1969 for three West German students who had been arrested in the Soviet Union for espionage. He died in 2008.
Background:
The Bundesnachrichtendienst ("BND") is Germany's equivalent of the Central Intelligence Agency or Great Britain's MI-6. It was founded on April 1, 1956, with its first President being Reinhard Gehlen, a former General of the Abwehr.
Description:
There are two versions of the St. George Medal. This example is the first style. The medal is die struck in bronze, and is 5 cm in diameter. This example is contained within its original fitted case, which is covered in dark brown leatherette and displays a gold border on the lid. A fitted compartment holds the medal, and a silk ribbon placed beneath the medal allows it to be lifted out of the case. A label on the bottom of the case bears a hand-written number that matches the impressed number of the medal.
Obverse:
A superb relief rendering of St. George slaying the dragon (the photos that I'm posting do not do justice to the beauty of this medal!).
Reverse:
The reverse of this first version of the medal displays a laurel wreath and the date "March 31, 1956", both raised out from the surface of the medal. At the bottom of the medal is a separately impressed number that presumably corresponds to a recipient.
Criteria for the award of the medal:
The St. George Medal is awarded to BND officers for long service. However, it may also be awarded to "selected" officers of foreign intelligence services.
Second version of the St. George Medal:
The second version of the medal is identical on the obverse.However, the reverse of the second version is blank except for the laurel wreath. The second version does not bear the date of "March 31, 1956" or an individually impressed number.
Points of Note:
The introduction of the medal, and its design, were initiated by General Gehlen.
An obvious question is why the reverse of the medal bears the date of "March 31, 1956", when the actual date of the founding of the BND was one day late, on April 1, 1956? Here is what I was informed by the BND itself in a recent letter that I received:
"As you mentioned, the correct official date associated with the formation of the Bundesnachrichtendienst is April 1, 1956. However, the wrong date had been impressed on the medals for some time in the past. Unfortunately, the reason for this mistake has not passed on."
Whatever the reason for the incorrect date, the original stock of the medals were obviously awarded and, when they ran out, the second version was ordered, which eliminated the date altogether.
Additionally, the BND advised me that it did not have any information as to whom this specific medal was awarded.
Finally, I found only one public reference to an actual award of the St. George Medal, in which it was announced that the medal had been awarded to Heinz Paul Felfe, Chief of Counter-Intelligence of the BND. However Felfe, who had been an SS Obersturmfuhrer during the war, had been captured at the war's end by the Soviets. Apparently he was convinced in some way to work for the KGB. As such, the man who was the BND's Chief of Counter-Intelligence was in fact a Soviet spy. He was arrested in 1961, placed on trial in 1963 (presumably after two years of interrogation), sentenced to 14 iyears in prison, but exchanged in 1969 for three West German students who had been arrested in the Soviet Union for espionage. He died in 2008.
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