The Order "For the Victory over Germany" was established by I. V. Stalin on 1945-09-05 and was assigned to everyone who took part in the battles of World War II - directly or indirectly. The issue of creating a government award, which could be awarded not only to seniors in rank, but also to privates, has been discussed since October 1944. The awarding of the order took place under the leadership of the government of the USSR, pilots, commanders in chief and privates were presented for the medal, a list of all categories of persons who received this order is given below.
A bit of history
Let's mentally fast forward to those times… The final victory over the Nazis is not far off, and on May 5, 1945, General Khrulev gives the task - sketches of the award "For the Victory over Germany" should be prepared in a few days. The task was very urgent, and more than one artist was involved in the work. Sketch creators include:surnames: I. A. Ganfa, Kiselev, G. B. Barkhin, but the project of artists Andrianova and Romanov won.
This sketch was an image of I. V. Stalin on the front side in profile, as well as inscriptions honoring the Great Victory over fascism (they are given in the text below), an orange-black ribbon from the Order of Glory was attached to the medal. It was in this form that the medal was approved by the Supreme Council of the Union.
Number of medal recipients
In May 1945, orders and medals "For the Victory over Germany" were awarded to about 13 million 666 thousand soldiers and officers, and subsequently these awards found their heroes for many years. The largest number of awards fell on the anniversary of the 50th anniversary of the Great Victory. The total number of recipients of this medal was 14,930,000.
At the same time, those who were awarded this order had the right to subsequently be awarded commemorative medals (for example, in honor of the twentieth anniversary of victory in the war).
Description of the Order
The Order "For the Victory over Germany" (1941-1945) has a round shape and in its original is made of brass, and its diameter is 32 millimeters. All images and inscriptions on the medal have a convex shape. The front part contains a profile image of Comrade Stalin, in the upper part you can read the inscription: "Our cause is just." The words "We won" are emblazoned at the bottom. As for the reverse side of the medal, there are also inscriptions, and the lower partdecorated with a five-pointed star. The medal is connected to a pentagonal block with the help of an eyelet and a ring, the block is covered with a silk moire St. George's ribbon, the width of which is 24 millimeters. The ribbon pattern is five equal longitudinal stripes of black (3) and orange (2) colors, alternating with each other. Orange stripes also border the ribbon.
Inscriptions
The front part contains a profile image of Comrade Stalin in the form of a Marshal of the Soviet Union, at the top of the medal there is an inscription: "Our cause is just", and on the bottom - "We won." As for the reverse side of the medal, in its center there is an inscription “in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.”
Who should have been rewarded
So, who was en titled to the Order "For the Victory over Germany"? They were awarded:
- Servicemen and freelancers who participated in the war fronts or ensured victory in military districts through their activities.
- All those who served at the fronts (see item 1), but retired due to being wounded or due to illness. The award is also given to those who were transferred to another job.
- The medal was awarded to those servicemen who had served for at least three months, and those freelance employees who had served for at least six months, in district military administrations, as well as in spare military units, training units and in military counterintelligence agencies. Order "For victory overGermany" was assigned to those who worked in warehouses, commandant's offices, hospitals, military enterprises and other similar institutions.
- Medals were also awarded to the personnel of the NKVD, who provided their work for the Great Victory of the Russian people.
- The order was awarded to workers of the rear evacuation medical institutions of the Red Army and Navy, who were transferred to the jurisdiction of the People's Commissariat of He alth of the USSR and were considered mobilized to serve these hospitals.
- Finally, the medal was awarded to employees, as well as workers, collective farmers and other civilians from partisan detachments operating behind enemy lines.
The presentation was carried out by the commanders of the units to those who were in the military units, and the retired persons were awarded by the city and district military commissars at the place of residence of the awarded.
How much is the reward for winning
The moral component of the sale of orders makes you think about the human conscience. People who dare to sell the merits to the fatherland of their fathers and grandfathers decide to take this step for a reason. Someone really needs money, someone sells regalia without hesitation, but it's worth thinking about. The Order "For the Victory over Germany" today can be sold for about 1000 rubles, but remember at what price they went to our grandfathers and great-grandfathers, do we have the right to trade in the memory of the victory, inherited in blood?
The average market price for a medal is between 1000 and 3000rubles, depending on the options for its execution. For collectors, the price may be higher, today there are special auction sites. Each medal has an identification number, you can use it to find the owner if you want to do a good deed and return it to the hands of the person to whom it was assigned. In this case, the medal must be taken to law enforcement agencies. If there is no number, you can take the medal to the museum. The Order "For the Victory over Germany", the price of which today is about 100 dollars, in ten or twenty years may increase significantly, such things will never depreciate, because the date of the victory over fascism can never be erased from Russian history.
Responsibility for trading orders
If the medal does not rightfully belong to its owner, perhaps it was once stolen, then in fact it is wanted, and any attempt to sell it may bring the seller to criminal liability. The Order of Stalin "For the Victory over Germany", as well as other awards, can now be found at many online auctions, both domestic and foreign.
