- Time Period: Post-WW2
- Institution: 25 October 1977
- Country: Germany (GDR DDR German Democratic Republic)
The title Honored Member of Civil Defense (or Verdienter Angehöriger der Zivilverteidigung in German) was a state award of the GDR, conferred as an honorary title accompanied by a certificate and a wearable medal.
The title was established on October 25, 1977. It was awarded to members of the civil defense and volunteers for outstanding achievements, special merits, and many years of exemplary duty fulfillment in enhancing the operational readiness of the GDR’s civil defense. The number of honorary titles awarded each year was limited to just five.
The Honored Member of the Civil Defense Medal Design
The gold-plated medal, with a diameter of 35 mm, features the large state coat of arms of the GDR (14.5 mm in diameter) in the center of its obverse on a wine-red background.
Surrounding the coat of arms is the inscription “FÜR DEN SCHUTZ DER ARBEITER UND BAUERNMACHT” (“FOR THE PROTECTION OF WORKERS AND FARMER POWER“). The medal’s edge is adorned with a large laurel wreath with two crossed daggers at the bottom. The reverse side of the medal bears the five-line inscription “VERDIENTER / ANGEHÖRIGER / DER / ZIVILVERTEIDIGUNG / DER DDR” (“MERITORIOUS / MEMBER / OF / CIVIL DEFENSE / OF THE GDR“).
The medal was worn on the upper left side of the chest, mounted on a pentagonal clasp with a silver-gray ribbon adorned with a gold laurel group.
The ribbon itself features two vertical wine-red stripes: the outer stripe is 0.5 mm wide, and the inner stripe is 2 mm wide, with a 3 mm gap between the hem and the first inner stripe, and a 0.5 mm gap to the second stripe. The interim clasp is of similar design and also displays the gold laurel group in the center as a miniature.
