The Banner of Labor () was an

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

issued in the

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

(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 (german: Mark der DDR ), commonly called the eastern mark (german: Ostmark, links=no ) in West Germany and after reunification), in East Germany only ''Mark'', was the currency of the German Democratic Republic (East Germ ...

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 State Council may refer to: Government * State Council of the Republic of Korea, the national cabinet of South Korea, headed by the President * State Council of the People's Republic of China, the national cabinet and chief administrative autho ...

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 Luise Ermisch (born Luise Thürmer; 20 May 1916 in Halle – 17 January 2001 in Mühlhausen (Thuringia) was a German political activist and later a senior politician in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), who balanced her politi ...

*1959:

Walter Arnold (Germany) Walter Arnold may refer to: * Walter Arnold (GC) (1906–1988), Royal Air Force airman and recipient of the George Cross * Walter Arnold (German sculptor) Walter Arnold (27 August 1909 – 11 July 1979) was a German stonemason and sculptor. Be ...

*1960: Hermann Axen,

Friedrich Burmeister Friedrich Burmeister (1890–1969) was a German geophysicist. He was director of the Munich University’s Geomagnetic Observatory. Burmeister studied mathematics and physics at the University of Munich under Hugo von Seeliger and Arnold So ...

Georg Ulrich Handke Georg Ulrich Handke (born Hanau 22 April 1894: died Berlin 7 September 1962) was a German politician (Communist party of Germany/Socialist Unity Party of Germany). In 1958 he became one of the 111 members of the Party Central Committee in the Ge ...

, Willi Bredel, Werner Bruschke *1962: Kurt Hager *1963: Erich Hans Apel,

Ernst Albert Altenkirch Ernst is both a surname and a given name, the German, Dutch, and Scandinavian form of Ernest. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Adolf Ernst (1832–1899) German botanist known by the author abbreviation "Ernst" * Anton Ernst (1975-) ...

Walter Halbritter Walter Halbritter (17 November 1927 – 11 April 2003) was a German civil servant, politician and party functionary of the Socialist Unity Party (SED). In the German Democratic Republic, he served as the longtime head of the Office for Prices a ...

, 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 Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1964 to 1973, and again from 1976 until 1989. H ...

Günther Wyschofsky Günther Wyschofsky (born 8 May 1929 in Bischofswerda) is a former politician and official in the German Democratic Republic. He became a member of the powerful Central Committee of the country's ruling Socialist Unity Party in 1964. For mo ...

*1965: Peter Florin,

Grete Groh-Kummerlöw Grete Groh-Kummerlöw (6 February 1909 – 16 February 1980) was a German politician. During the Weimar period she was elected a Communist Party member in the regional legislative assembly of Saxony in 1930, thereby becoming the youngest legisla ...

Ernst Scholz Ernst Scholz (3 May 1874 – 26 June 1932) was a lawyer as well a politician in the Weimar Republic. He was chairman of the German People's Party (DVP) proceeding the death of Gustav Stresemann and a member of the Reichstag from 1921 to 1930. Earl ...

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, who specialised in comedy, and crime films. Biography Engel was ...

*1967: Rudi Georgi *1968: Wilhelm Adam,

Roman Chwalek Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

, Horst Dohlus,

Werner Lamberz Werner Lamberz (14 April 1929 – 6 March 1978) was a senior politician in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). In a system under which political advancement was generally achieved only slowly and the men who reached the higher levels ...

*1969: Lilly Becher, Klaus Gysi,

, Ernst-Joachim Gießmann,

Helmut Kirchberg Helmut Kirchberg (31 January 1906 – 23 May 1983) was a German mining scientist. In 1953 he was appointed Rector of the Freiberg University of Mining and Technology. Life Kirchberg was born in Mainz in the first decade of the twentieth centur ...

, Paul Markowski, Hermann Pöschel,

Kurt Wünsche Kurt Wünsche (14 December 1929 – 14 June 2023) was a German politician who was twice Minister of Justice of the German Democratic Republic. Biography Wünsche grew up and received his schooling in Dresden. In 1946, he became a member of the ...

*1970: Horst Dohlus *1974:

Manfred Feist Manfred Feist (born Halle 6 April 1930 died Berlin 17 December 2012) was a German politician and party functionary. He served as Director of the Foreign Information Department of the Central Committee of the ruling SED (party). His notability ...

Wolfgang Gress Wolfgang is a German male given name traditionally popular in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The name is a combination of the Old High German words '' wolf'', meaning "wolf", and '' gang'', meaning "path", "journey", "travel". Besides the reg ...

*1976: Bruno Lietz,

Eberhard Heinrich Eberhard Heinrich (12 March 1926 – 2019) was a German journalist. He was a member of the Party Politburo Agitation Committee in the German Democratic Republic from 1965, and in 1981 he replaced Harri Czepuck as chairman of the country's nati ...

*1978: Manfred Bochmann *1979:

Hubert Egemann Hubert Egemann (born Kluczbork, Karlsgrund, Kreuzburg 29 August 1929: died 25 July 1992) was a German politician. He served the central committee of East Germany's ruling (Socialist Unity Party of Germany, SED (party) as the Head of two related ...

*1981:

Gisela Glende Gisela Glende (born Gisela Trautzsch: 30 October 1925 - 3 February 2016) was an East German party official. She served between 1968 and 1986 as head of the Politburo office, which meant she was responsible for preparing the agendas and draft de ...

*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 General Secreta ...

*1988: Hartmut Buschbacher

Recipients

References

See also