Blue Division Medal

[belgrano]

Dear Friends, please your opinions of this medal. Thanks in advance

[Reichskanzler]

I would check the ribbon under a black light to see if it glows.

[Gregorio Torres]

Firstly, this medal is not the original one made during the war by Diez y Comañía and so, it must be as much a replacement item for veterans or even a fake. Diez was the only one firm contracted by the spanish government in 1944 to make these medals.
In the past a lot of people have been saying that this issue was made in Germany during the war, but no evidences of this thesis can be found, and obviously there is no reason to believe that in 1944 a german firm can spend resources and money making a version of this medal for people who were already in Spain. I´ve seen a lot of lots including the spanish Blue Division medal coming directly from veterans and I have NEVER this issue among the pieces with cast-iron provenance, and nobody can be sure that these did exist before the 90´s
On the other hand, you can find pictures of spaniards in the Heer and Waffen SS in the Reich wearing the ribbon or even the medal awarded to Blue Division members by the german governmet, but never the one awarded by the spanis goverment. If this issue had been produced in Germany, these soldiers had can buy or be awarded with these medals, but photographic evidences shown that this doesn´t happened

Anycase, details are very fine, much better than in the original Diez one, and maybe this reason why somebody said that this was made in german, no thinking in the date when this medal was stablished and awarded, a date when the german medals and badges where made commonly in zink alloy.

I´m sorry but althought I´ve been researching for years about this variant I haven´t can give you a best contribution. It maybe simply a fake, and this is the reason why I didn´t include it in my book "Militaria of the Blue Division" together with the other well known variants made as replacement pieces postwar.

[belgrano]

Firstly, this medal is not the original one made during the war by Diez y Comañía and so, it must be as much a replacement item for veterans or even a fake. Diez was the only one firm contracted by the spanish government in 1944 to make these medals.
In the past a lot of people have been saying that this issue was made in Germany during the war, but no evidences of this thesis can be found, and obviously there is no reason to believe that in 1944 a german firm can spend resources and money making a version of this medal for people who were already in Spain. I´ve seen a lot of lots including the spanish Blue Division medal coming directly from veterans and I have NEVER this issue among the pieces with cast-iron provenance, and nobody can be sure that these did exist before the 90´s
On the other hand, you can find pictures of spaniards in the Heer and Waffen SS in the Reich wearing the ribbon or even the medal awarded to Blue Division members by the german governmet, but never the one awarded by the spanis goverment. If this issue had been produced in Germany, these soldiers had can buy or be awarded with these medals, but photographic evidences shown that this doesn´t happened

Anycase, details are very fine, much better than in the original Diez one, and maybe this reason why somebody said that this was made in german, no thinking in the date when this medal was stablished and awarded, a date when the german medals and badges where made commonly in zink alloy.

I´m sorry but althought I´ve been researching for years about this variant I haven´t can give you a best contribution. It maybe simply a fake, and this is the reason why I didn´t include it in my book "Militaria of the Blue Division" together with the other well known variants made as replacement pieces postwar.

Hola Gregorio, pues muchas gracias por tu explicación. Es decir, por lo que entiendo ,esta medalla, no es ni de las fabricadas para reemplazo, es lisa y llanamente una falsificación.
Un abrazo de un madrileño que esta viviendo en el otro lado del mundo
Jose Luis

[Gregorio Torres]

Si, en mi opinión es una copia.
Summing up: IMHO it´s a fake.