| Ostvolk Medal | |
|---|---|
| Awarded by the Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories and Wehrmacht | |
| Type | Military award |
| Eligibility | citizens of the Soviet Union under German command; Germans serving in units manned by Soviet personnel |
| Awarded for | bravery (with swords) or merit (without swords) |
| Statistics | |
| Established | 14 July 1942 |
| Total awarded | several thousands |
The Ostvolk Medal (German: Tapferkeits- und Verdienst Auszeichnung für Ostvölker) was a military award in Nazi Germany, bestowed to the personnel from the former Soviet Union (Ostvolk in German, literally 'the East people'). The award was designed by Elmar Lang and existed in two classes: 1st, in gold or silver, and 2nd (gold, silver or bronze). There were two versions: with swords, for bravery, and without, for merit.
The medal represented an octactinal star with plant pattern in the centre. The 1st class was 48 mm in diameter, attachable to the cloth by pin. The 2nd class had 40 mm in diameter and was worn on a 32 mm wide ribbon. In December, 1943 seventeen workers from Zhytomyr (including one woman) were awarded with bronze stars for "saving a valuable property from Bolsheviks".[1]
According to some sources, special ribbons were issued:
There was also a rare 2nd variant class in gold.
The 1st class was worn on the lower left breast, like the Iron Cross, and the 2nd class was worn only as a ribbon.[2] The Germans had to be wearing the Iron Cross 2nd and 1st class before obtaining the silver Ostvolk Medal.