The establishment of the medal "For the victory over Germany" took place on May 9, 1945, on the very memorable day when General Wilhelm Keitel re-signed the document declaring the final and unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany. In the first post-war years, this award found a colossal number of its heroes, who in one way or another contributed to the common victory: in the rear and on the front line.
Besides her, two more state awards of the USSR were provided as insignia for the fighters who deserved them on the fronts. We are talking about the medals "For Military Merit" and "For Courage", which were approved just a couple of years before the Great Patriotic War.
History of the medal "For the victory over Germany"
The idea of creating such a regalia arose already at the final stage of the war, when the Red Army drove the Nazis across Europe, and the discussed plans for the post-war order of the world were already in the offices of the main world governments. The discussion of what the regalia should be began in October 1944. However, the very sketch of this award of the Great Patriotic War was developed already in May 1945. That is, literallylast days before surrender.
The first medals "For the victory over Germany" were made in June and entered the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet on June 15, 1945. Of course, the first to receive the award,
were military leaders of the highest rank. Among them are Marshals Tolbukhin and Rokossovsky, Generals Purkaev and Antonov, Colonel-Generals Gusev, Zakharov and Barzarin.
In the post-war years, the regalia was awarded to absolutely all servicemen of the Soviet troops who took part in battles on the fronts of the war or worked for victory in military districts, as well as to other persons who contributed to ensuring and bringing victory closer with their work.
In addition, the Regulations of the medal stated that it was awarded to those participants in the war who served in various military departments, military schools, training and spare parts, bases, special units, hospitals and other departments. And also to all those civilians who took part in the fight against the German Nazi occupiers as part of partisan formations operating in
enemy rear.
In the first post-war years, the medals "For the victory over Germany" after the death of the owner returned to the state. However, the government decree of February 05, 1951 eliminated this practice. He said that now after the death of the owner, the award should remain in the family as a memory. In addition, commemorative medals were subsequently issued dedicated to round dates from the day of victory inGreat Patriotic War: 20, 30, 40 and 50 years from the memorable date.
Over the entire history of the medal's existence, more than fifteen million people have been awarded it. In the immediate post-war years, a little over thirteen million people were assigned to it.
Appearance of the award
The front side of the medal is a profile image of Stalin in a marshal's uniform. Around the circumference are the inscriptions "Our cause is just" and "We won." The reverse side contains the name of the medal itself and a five-pointed star.
