Exhibit of the Month - Aug. '24

Yes, that was actually possible! On August 14, 1957, the federal government passed a law on the wearing of medals and decorations from the period 1934-1945. In colloquial terms, the wearers and collectors referred to it as the 57 medals.

According to this, the medals and decorations that were verifiably acquired could be worn in a modified form in the miniature medal clasp shown or in large format on formal suits. There were of course strict rules for this, in particular they had to be "de-Nazified", i.e. without the swastika. Furthermore, they could not be medals with National Socialist ideology.

So they were essentially medals for services as a soldier in World War II, but also medals for the Reich Labor Service, Olympic medals, loyal service for civil servants, police, fire service, etc.

Curious about which medals and decorations are shown in the picture and which ones can still be admired in the exhibition? Or which uniforms the Bundeswehr started with in 1955? Visit us in the Military History Collection.