The Spanish Volunteer Medal formally known as the Commemorative Medal for Spanish Volunteers in the Struggle Against Bolshevism (), commissioned 3 January 1944, was awarded by the Third Reich to recognize the men of the

Blue Division The 250th Infantry Division (), better known as the Blue Division (, ), was a unit of volunteers from Francoist Spain operating from 1941 to 1943 within the German Army () on the Eastern Front during World War II. It was officially designated t ...

who served at the Russian front during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. This force, attached to the Heer of the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

, known as the 250th Infantry Division (span.), was in total composed of 47,000 men, sent by

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...

to aid the Third Reich, as a way to pay back Adolf Hitler's help during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

. Members of the Blue Division also received the Medalla de la Campaña de Rusia from the Spanish government.

Description

This medal was made by Deschler & Sohn in Munich, which marked the ring with the number "1" as their own medal maker mark. The ribbon is similar to the Iron Cross Second Class but with a yellow stripe in the middle to represent the Spanish flag. The obverse has a German Army helmet above two shields which show the Wehrmacht eagle and the

Falange Falange () is the name of a political party whose ideology is Falangism. Falange primarily refers to: * Falange Española, a Spanish political party active 1933–1934, it merged with the Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista (JONS) * Falange ...

symbol, the two shields in front of a sword, with a swastika flanked by laurel leaves below. On the reverse is the inscription "División Española de Voluntarios en Rusia" and at the bottom the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

underneath laurel leaves.Spanish Blue Division Awards
Axis and Foreign Volunteer Legion Military Awards & Postal History, date accessed 2011-03-13.

References

{{List of military decorations of the Third Reich , state=collapsed Military awards and decorations of Nazi Germany Awards established in 1944 1944 establishments in Germany Spain in World War II German campaign medals Germany–Spain military relations Eastern Front (World War II) Military awards and decorations of World War II Awards and decorations for military volunteers

Description

See also

References