Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 1.Oktober 1938, a.k.a. Sudetenland-Medaille

Commemorative Medal of October 1, 1938, a.k.a. Sudetenland Commemorative Medal

Commemorative Medal of October 1, 1938 being the second in a series of three so called “occupation medals” was instituted on October 18, 1938 to commemorate the return of the Sudetenland to the German Reich and was awarded to military personnel and civilians who participated in the annexation.

Those who later took part in the creation of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (Protektorat Böhmen und Mähren) were also eligible for this award worn with a special decoration that is described below.

Medal was initially designed by professor Richard Klein (07.01.1890 – 31.07.1967) and its obverse was similar to two other “occupation medals”, i.e. Commemorative Medal of March 13, 1938 and The Return of Memel Commemorative Medal. 

Obverse showed an allegoric composition of two male figures symbolizing Germany and Sudetenland the former bearing German flag and the latter with broken shackles raising to a podium stand with the Wehrmacht eagle.

Reverse had the date “October 1, 1938” (“1.Oktober 1938”) placed in the centre and a popular unification slogan “One People, One State, One Leader” (“Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Führer”) surrounding it. That inscription was separated by three swastika symbols.

Round highly detailed medal was made of bronze and was 32-33 mm in diameter.

30 mm wide black ribbon had wide central red stripe and thin 1 mm wide white stripes at both edges. It’s worth mentioning here that ribbon colors were based on a black-red-black flag of Sudetenland (northern, southwest and western regions of Czechoslovakia) that was inhabited mostly by ethnic Germans.

Round miniature that followed design of the medal’s obverse was sometimes worn unofficially on the ribbon bar though that practice was prohibited as violated statute of award.

Commemorative Medal of October 1, 1938 was awarded until December 01, 1939. Totally 1,162,617 medals were awarded.

Spange “Prager Burg”

Prague Castle Bar

This honor bar was instituted on May 01, 1939 for recipients of Commemorative Medal of October 1, 1938 who took an active part in the creation of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (Protektorat Böhmen und Mähren)

Rectangular bar (31x11 mm) was made of bronze and fixed to the medal’s ribbon by two short triangular prongs on its reverse. Its design was created by a sculptor Eduard Hanisch-Concée whose initials (“H.C.”) can be found in the lower left corner of the castle image.

The bar features an image of the Prague Castle (Czech: “Pražský hrad”, German: “Prager Burg”), a castle in Prague that used to be a residence of Bohemian kings and several Holy Roman Emperors. During the WWII it housed Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia administration being “Regierungssitz des Protektorats”. This castle is considered to be the biggest ancient castle in the world.

Miniature of the bar for wearing on ribbon bar was 13-14 mm wide. Totally 134,563 Prague Castle bars were awarded.