They say if you wait, good things will eventually come to you. Well, I waited ….. and waited ….. and waited. And then I waited some more. And this little gem arrived.
Arguably, one of the neatest looking of the DDR Military Orders is the Bluecher Order for Gallantry. Having said that, no one can argue against the fact that overall, in general, East German medals are not the most esthetic in appearance looking medals when compared to military medals of some other countries, including other former Warsaw Pact countries. But one medal that caught my eye very early on, was the first rendition of the Ehrentitel Verdienter Angehoeriger der Nationalen Voksarmee, or Order for Meritorious Member of the People’s National Army. When I first saw it, I thought it was striking in overall appearance. It was comprised of a nice rich gold in color medallion and very bold in appearance white background with blue stripes and yellow in color edges to the five sided ribbon from which it hung. It was first presented in 1975 and there was a similar one for the Grenztruppen that differed only in the color of the stripes – they were green. The lucky recipient also received 5,000.00 marks along with the award.
The problem initially faced with acquiring this medal was that it was only produced and presented for two years before it was replaced with a quite ugly in my opinion, new example of the Order. Both it and the Grenztruppen order were modified in 1977, and a third example was produced for the Civil Defense. The requirement to turn in the older version for the newer version made the medal all that more rare for someone trying to acquire and add it to their collection.
And so the waiting game began. And now ….. it is over.
Arguably, one of the neatest looking of the DDR Military Orders is the Bluecher Order for Gallantry. Having said that, no one can argue against the fact that overall, in general, East German medals are not the most esthetic in appearance looking medals when compared to military medals of some other countries, including other former Warsaw Pact countries. But one medal that caught my eye very early on, was the first rendition of the Ehrentitel Verdienter Angehoeriger der Nationalen Voksarmee, or Order for Meritorious Member of the People’s National Army. When I first saw it, I thought it was striking in overall appearance. It was comprised of a nice rich gold in color medallion and very bold in appearance white background with blue stripes and yellow in color edges to the five sided ribbon from which it hung. It was first presented in 1975 and there was a similar one for the Grenztruppen that differed only in the color of the stripes – they were green. The lucky recipient also received 5,000.00 marks along with the award.
The problem initially faced with acquiring this medal was that it was only produced and presented for two years before it was replaced with a quite ugly in my opinion, new example of the Order. Both it and the Grenztruppen order were modified in 1977, and a third example was produced for the Civil Defense. The requirement to turn in the older version for the newer version made the medal all that more rare for someone trying to acquire and add it to their collection.
And so the waiting game began. And now ….. it is over.
! 
Comment