Schutzwall Medal

HerrScheisse

Below my example of the Westwall Medal. Known in German as the Schutzwall, this was awarded to personnel active in building the fortifications on the Western borders.



The medal is oval shaped and fabricated from bronze / brass. It features a pillbox topped with a crossed shovel and sword surrounded by eight oak leaves on each side of the medal rim. The ribbon is yellow / brown with a white stripe on each side.



On the reverse us the text "Fur Arbeit zum Schutze Deutschlands" - "For Work in the Protection/Defense of Germany". Over six hundred thousand of these medals were awarded.
I could have gotten an example a little cheaper but paid that extra bit more for the fine condition of this one. It really is spotless - not a scratch or dent. Even the ribbon is good, though a little aged - it still feels quite silky.



This one had obviously been worn by the owner as it has been stitched for dress wear. Does anyone know if this arrangement for wear has a specific name? There is felt pushed behind the front side of the ribbon to give it a less flat appearance when wearing it, for that little bit more pomp.

The most famous example of the Schutzwall is the Siegfried line. Since I visited this area last year, this spurred my interest in this award. The Westwall defenses were monumental :eek:



Here above are the dragon's teeth of the line designed to stop tanks just on the outskirts of the Hurtgen forest. I went hiking in this area for an entire day and visited the Kall trail and the Ochsenkopf. This place is littered with traces of fighting and many ruined bunkers as they were dynamited after the war.





I also found a discarded Panzerfaust head just lying on the ground. It was
rusted and decayed. I should have kept it. How I regret leaving it there now - a genuine war relic.

MedalFuhrer

Nice medal and amazing to walk through and touch the history in those photos. One of my medals has felt backing at well.