The Banner of Labor () was an

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

issued in the

German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

(GDR). It was given for "excellent and long-standing service in strengthening and consolidating the GDR, especially for achieving outstanding results for the national economy". The order was established on 4 August 1954 in one class. On 8 August 1974 it was divided into three classes. The 1st Class was the highest class and each class included a cash award: *1st Class: 1,000

East German mark The East German mark ( ), commonly called the eastern mark ( ) in West Germany and after German reunification, reunification, was the currency of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (East Germany). Its ISO 4217, ISO 4217 currency code w ...

s, limited to 250 per year *2nd Class: 750 East German marks, limited to 500 per year *3rd Class: 500 East German marks, limited to 1,000 per year For collectives with up to 20 members, there were cash awards of 2,000, 3,500 and 5,000 Marks per member. The Banner of Labor was awarded to: * Individuals and collectives in all three classes * Enterprises, Collective organizations (), institutions and cooperatives in the 1st Class A prerequisite was that individuals and members of collectives already had received other state awards. The Order could be given in any class several times, even to citizens of other countries. The awards ceremony took place each year on 1 May until 1989 and this order was presented by the Chairman of the State Council or on his behalf. A certificate was presented with the Order. The medal is gilded, with dimensions of 44 x 37 mm. It is worn on the left chest. Establishments were entitled to include a symbol of the Order on their flag as well as on documents.

Recipients

*1955: Luise Ermisch *1959: Walter Arnold (Germany) *1960: Hermann Axen, Friedrich Burmeister, Georg Ulrich Handke,

Willi Bredel Willi Bredel (2 May 1901 – 27 October 1964) was a German writer and president of the East Germany, East German Academy of Arts, Berlin. Born in Hamburg, he was a pioneer of socialist realist literature. Life and career Born into the fami ...

, Werner Bruschke *1962: Kurt Hager *1963: Erich Hans Apel, Ernst Albert Altenkirch, Walter Halbritter, Paul Fröhlich, Günter Mittag, Hermann Pöschel *1964: Rudi Georgi,

Willi Stoph Wilhelm Stoph (9 July 1914 – 13 April 1999) was a German politician. He served as Council of Ministers of East Germany, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1964 to 1973, and again from ...

, Günther Wyschofsky *1965: Peter Florin, Grete Groh-Kummerlöw, Ernst Scholz,

Erich Engel Erich Gustav Otto Engel (14 February 1891 – 10 May 1966) was a German film and theatre director.He is often confused with another German film director called Erich Engels (with an s), who specialised in comedy, and crime films. Biography ...

*1967: Rudi Georgi *1968:

Wilhelm Adam Wilhelm Adam (28 March 1893 – 24 November 1978) was an officer in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. Following the German surrender after the Battle of Stalingrad, he became a member of the National Committee for a Free Germ ...

, Roman Chwalek,

Horst Dohlus Horst Dohlus (30 May 1925 – 28 April 2007) was a high ranking Socialist Unity Party of Germany, SED party functionary in the German Democratic Republic and a member of the country's People's Chamber, National Legislative Assembly (''Volkska ...

, Werner Lamberz *1969: Julius Balkow, Lilly Becher, Klaus Gysi, Walter Halbritter, Ernst-Joachim Gießmann, Helmut Kirchberg, Paul Markowski, Hermann Pöschel, Kurt Wünsche *1970:

*1974: Manfred Feist, Wolfgang Gress *1976: Bruno Lietz, Eberhard Heinrich *1978: Manfred Bochmann *1979: Hubert Egemann *1981: Gisela Glende *1984: Bruno Lietz, Siegfried Lorenz, Erik Neutsch *1986:

Egon Krenz Egon Rudi Ernst Krenz (; born 19 March 1937) is a German former politician who was the last Communist leader of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) during the Revolutions of 1989. He succeeded Erich Honecker as the Secretary (title), ...

*1988: Hartmut Buschbacher

Recipients

References

See also