Who made DDR badges or Medals

[markate]

Before I am a ww2 german badges(or Medals) collectors. As I know about ww2 german badges which was made by different factory even they had different markers on badges or medals. I am curious how about DDR medals?? Who made them?? The same factory who also made medals in ww2?? Or CCCP help DDR made it?? Maybe experts can help me to solve it ....THANX A LOT

[Rev462]

The manufacturer most familiar to DDR collectors has got to be Praewema (spelling?).

They were indeed an East German-based company and their name can be seen on early examples of the various qualification badges (actually, on the nuts that attach to the screwposts) and on early examples of the DDR sports badge.

I thought I heard that Praewema was the remnant of a company that survived WWII, but my memory is very fuzzy and I'm not sure what their WWII-era name might have been, if the story is even true.

I'm sure there were other manufacturers, but in my experience Praewema is the only name I have seen.

[ehrentitle]

Rev462 is right DDR medals and badges were made by VEB Präwema in Markneukirchen. The company was still selling DDR insignia well after unification well into the early 1990s. It still exists today as PRAEWEMA PRAEGEWERK MARKNEUKIRCHEN GMBH. Their website at: http://www.kellerlogo.de/ says they have been in existance since 1871.

Here is an older thread that discusses Präwema
http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...ight=Pr%E4WeMa

They were a Third Reich era insignia maker. The thread above has a post which says that during DDR times a false wall was discovered concealing a room containing hundreds of valuable mint Nazi era medals and decorations. The Stasi was supposed to have swooped in and taken them all, later to be sold in the West with proceeds going back into Stasi operations.

[ehrentitle]

Below is a thread that I've stumbled upon from another forum, The German Combat Awards Forum, that provides additional background on Präwema. It's thought that Gustav Brehmer and Karl Wurster KG combined to form Praewema after 1946. It also mentions something that I knew and had forgotten to mention. That Präwema made awards, medals and badges for other Warsaw Pact countries and Cuba.

http://www.germancombatawards.com/th...0ca683e274565c

[ehrentitle]

Here is an interesting video showing what appears to be a storage room at VEB Präwema that still holds DDR era medals and badges:

http://www.mdr.de/doku/6153375.html

[ehrentitle]

And another article, I've roughly translated it into English. The MDR website has three videos, one of which I've provided the link to above. The rest can be found at:http://www.mdr.de/damals/6144286-hin...d-6144482.html




The Order Maker of the DDR


The VEB Prägewerk Markneukirchen

In Prägewerk Markneukirchen numerous decorations and badges of the GDR were produced. Five tons of tin were used each year.

Markneukirchen is a small town in the Vogtland. In a factory building from the founding are decorations and badges that were produced for the DDR.

Especially bad," recalls the Stanzerin Renate Schreiter, "was the time around the Republic birthdays, when a SED party stood before the FDJ, or prepared for one of their festivals." Then the punching machines at VEB Prägewerk Markneukirchen ran without ceasing: 500,000 badges "of the socialist collective work," 600,000 "activist in the Socialist Labor", 1.2 million "badges for good knowledge." But any anniversary was always busy.

Five tonnes of tin per year

Clients were the SED and social organizations such as the FDJ or FDGB. Most were ordered by the National People's Army in their insatiable greed for decorations and tinsel. Overall, more than five tons of badges were punched each year in a three-layer system by the staff of "Präwema".

Medals since 1871

It all started in the year of the founding of the German Reich. Since then the Prägewerk Markneukirchen produced decorations and badges. First of all, for empire and the Weimar Republic, then for the so-called "Third Reich" - the Nazi Party ordered in large quantities for their party badges for followers. After the Second World War was followed by the nationalization and a reorganization of production.

The unusual order, which was produced Markneukirchen, was selected by the National People's Army in the 1980s has been commissioned and was considered a state secret - only selected employees with its production could be entrusted. The mysterious sheet called for the"Blücher Order" was to be given in time of war . It took the form of a cross on the back and said: "For bravery".

Crisis Safe Spaces

With the end of the Republic had excellent production shut down, the workforce shrank from 380 to just 100. The Orders produced at Markneukirchen are now mainly for star shaped police and club insignia . In 2002, the Saxon Ministry of the Saxon Order of flood helpers "in order, and the Bundeswehr has been for some time to customers in Markneukirchen. German Orders are a safe sector in crisis, through all time round.

[olivyaya]

Have you guys seen all those boxes full with medals in the 1st video ???

[ehrentitle]

Yes, I must have watched it 5-6 times as I did the video of the factory director showing off a Blücher-Orden.

[olivyaya]

PLEASE DO NOT MENTION THAT AGAIN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ehrentitle]

Also note that altought the story appears to have been done this year the video has to be older. In the clip on the Blücher-Orden, historian Klaus-Peter Merta is shown near the end. Merta died in 2005 so it had to be filmed in 05 or earlier.

[redjames2004]

Very interesting!!!!

Kevin, Thanks for these links about the former Gustav Brehmer/Karl Wurster merger after WW2. This merger created a state-owned VEB Pramwena that manfactured many medals and orders for DDR. I owned a unmarked Third Reich Luftwaffe Flak badge that was made by Brehmer and some DDR medals and insignias. I will dig out in my big storage box tonite. I will take photos of my Praemwena-marked insignias. James

[markate]

Thanx Kevin. Pity I cant recognize german language.Maybe someone can translate for me that talk about in video.

[Mike G.]

Actually, the dialogue in the videos is not that informative or interesting. For some of the awards and decorations, comments made by members on this DDR Sub-forum are far more informative. So I don't think you missed anything by not understanding the dialogue.

The part that is of interest needs no dialogue - the voluminous number to which many of the awards and decorations were struck and produced.

[torstenbel]

interesting videos .. just a little short ,... thanks for providing the links. Cheers, Torsten.

[ehrentitle]

Torsten, Michael, Markate, James thanks for your comments. I find researching these type of topics immensely interesting and Markate got me to thinking there must be more to explore on the background of Präwema.

Here is a sports badge in my collection that has an early Präwema mark:



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