Blue Division Medal (anti-bolshevism)
Medal and Ribbon
Awarded by  Nazi Germany
Type	Campaign medal Campaign medal A campaign medal is a military decoration which is awarded to a member of the military who serves in a designated military operation or performs duty in a geographical theater...
Eligibility	Spanish Forces
Awarded for	Volunteer Service in WW2
Campaign	Soviet Union
Description	Zinc/Bronze 32mm diameter
Clasps	None
Statistics
Established	3 January 1944

The Spanish Volunteer Medal formally known as the Commemorative Medal for Spanish Volunteers in the Struggle Against Bolshevism (German: Erinnerungsmedaille für die spanischen Freiwilligen im Kampf gegen den Bolschewismus), commissioned 3rd January 1944, was awarded by the Third Reich to recognize the men of the Blue Division

Blue Division

The Blue Division officially designated as División Española de Voluntarios by the Spanish Army and 250. Infanterie-Division in the German Army, was a unit of Spanish volunteers that served in the German Army on the Eastern Front of the Second World War.-Origins:Although Spanish leader Field...

 who served at the Russian front during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. This force, attached to the Heer of the Wehrmacht

Wehrmacht

The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...

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

Francisco Franco

Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...

 to aid the Third Reich, as a way to payback Adolf Hitler's help with the Condor Legion

Condor Legion

The Condor Legion was a unit composed of volunteers from the German Air Force and from the German Army which served with the Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War of July 1936 to March 1939. The Condor Legion developed methods of terror bombing which were used widely in the Second World War...

 during the Spanish Civil War

Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...

.

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 have the Wehrmacht eagle and the Falange symbol, the two shields are above a sword, at the bottom is a swastika flanked by laurel leaves. On the reverse is the inscription "División Española de Voluntarios en Rusia" and at the bottom the Iron Cross

Iron Cross

The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....

 underneath laurel leaves.

See also

• Blue Division Medal (aguila de san andres)
  Blue Division Medal (aguila de san andres)
  The Medalla de la campaña de Rusia , commissioned 9 November 1943, was awarded by Nationalist Spain to those Spanish volunteers who served at the Russian front during World War II, as members of the Blue Division...
  
  
• Blue Division
  Blue Division
  The Blue Division officially designated as División Española de Voluntarios by the Spanish Army and 250. Infanterie-Division in the German Army, was a unit of Spanish volunteers that served in the German Army on the Eastern Front of the Second World War.-Origins:Although Spanish leader Field...
  
  
• Spanish Civil War
  Spanish Civil War
  The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...