Anschluss Medal

• Name — The Anschluss Commemorative Medal • Subheader — Die Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 13. März 1938 • Awarded For — German military personnel who participated in, and Austrians who contributed to, the Anschluss. • Firstawarded — 1938 05 01 • Lastawarded — 1940 12 31 • Presenter — Nazi Germany • Type — Occupation medal • Eligibility — Military personnel, members of the Austrian branch of the NSDAP, and others • Campaign — Interwar period • Total Awarded — 318,689 • Image2 Size — 100px • Caption2 — Ribbon bar of the medal

The circular, highly detailed, die-struck medal was based on the 1938 Party Day Badge and designed by Professor Richard Klein. On the obverse, a man holding the Nazi flag stands on a podium bearing the eagle emblem of the Third Reich; he assists a second man onto the podium, whose right arm bears a broken shackle. This symbolizes Austria's union with the larger Reich. On the reverse is the inscription "13. März 1938" (13 March 1938), the date of the Anschluss. The date is surrounded on the outer edge by the words, "Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Führer" ("One People, One Nation, One Leader"). The medal is suspended from a red ribbon with white-black-white stripes at the edges of the ribbon. It was made of brass or tombac bronze with a silvered matte finish.