Oval bronzed brass medal with loop for ribbon suspension; the face with crossed shovel and sword centrally, a concrete pillbox below, the then German national eagle above, all within an oak leaf border; the reverse inscribed ‘FÜR ARBEIT ZUM SCHUTZE DEUTSCHLANDS’ (for work in the defence of Germany) within an oak leaf border; much of the bronzing worn; on probably replaced correct ribbon; with original slightly worn brown paper envelope of issue. The medal was instituted on 2 August 1939 by the German Führer and Reichs-Chancellor ‘Zum sichbaren Ausdruck meines Dankes und meiner Anerkennung für Verdienste um die Anlage und Errichtung des Deutschen Schutzwalls’ (as a visible expression of my thanks and my recognition of merit in the design and construction of the German defence walls). The medal was awarded to those who designed and constructed the fortifications on Germany’s western borders and to the military who guarded them prior to the invasion of France in May 1940.
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