Awards of the German Freikorps

Awards of the German Freikorps were unofficial military awards displayed by various veteran organizations in Germany during the immediate aftermath of World War I. Upon the assumption of the Nazi Party to power in 1933, nearly all Freikorps awards were prohibited for wear on Party, State, and Military uniforms. Two notable exceptions were the Baltic Cross and Silesian Eagle. All other Freikorps awards were declared obsolete with World War I service thereafter recognized by a single award, known as the Honor Cross.

Freikorps awards may be divided into two categories: veteran decorations recognized by the German government as well as paramilitary awards issued under the authority of local Freikorps commanders.

Veteran Awards

In addition to the awards listed above, there existed hundreds of additional veteran badges, pins, and other pseudo-decorations issued on behalf of individual regiments and battalions. The vast majority of these were considered unofficial commemorative medals and worn only at specific veteran events or reunions. Another common practice of many regiments was to issue "regimental diplomas" which certified that a veteran had performed combat service in a regiment during the First World War. The most famous of these types of certificates was the Regimental Diploma List which was presented to Adolf Hitler for his own World War I military service.

The following awards were issued by local Freikorps commands, and usually were only worn and displayed while serving as a member of the issuing command.

Freikorps awards

Freikorps Service Awards

Lumsden, R. (2001), Medals and Decorations of Hitler's Germany (Shrewsbury, MBI Publishing)

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