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Hero of the German Democratic Republic

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Hero of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) was an honorific title awarded by the former East German state, accompanied by a certificate and medal.[2] The title was instituted by the politburo of the Socialist Unity Party on 29 October 1975 as the most prestigious award of the GDR and first awarded on 28 November 1975.[3][4] In total, it was awarded on 17 occasions to 11 recipients.

Hero of the German Democratic Republic
Held der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik (German)
1977 – 1987 pattern[1]
Awarded by the Socialist Unity Party
TypeState
Established29 October 1975
CountryEast Germany
StatusDefunct
Statistics
First induction28 November 1975
Last induction1987
Total inductees11
Precedence
Next (lower)Order of Karl Marx


Award criteria

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The title could be awarded to people who had—by rendering extraordinary service or acts of heroism[4][1]—contributed to the development and strengthening of the German Democratic Republic, its international standing and authority, or its military security.[4] A demonstration of commitment to duty and the willingness to make personal sacrifice were required, as were proven bravery and audacity.[4][5] The following categories of person were generally eligible to receive the award:[4]

Medal and privileges

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Following the example of the Soviet honorific title Hero of the Soviet Union,[9] the award Hero of the GDR entitled the holder to wear a five-pointed gold star medal, be presented with a certificate, and receive a financial reward.[2]

After 1978, recipients were also required to be awarded the Order of Karl Marx.[2] Both the medal and the certificate were to be returned to the state upon the death of the recipient.[10]

Originally, an annual quota of 10 awards was envisaged.[11] Recipients could receive the award multiple times, resulting in some being honoured as 'twice Hero', or—solely in the case of Leader of the Soviet Union, Leonid Brezhnev—'three times Hero' of the GDR.[12]

History

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The new title was first awarded on 28 November 1975 to General of the National People's Army, Heinz Hoffmann, on the occasion of his 65th birthday.[13]

The first foreign national to be honoured as a Hero of the GDR was Leonid Brezhnev, on 13 December 1976. Brezhnev also received the award in 1979 and again in 1981.[14][15][16]

Only two of the original 11 recipients are still alive: the cosmonauts Vladimir Kovalyonok and Aleksander Ivanchenkov, who crewed EO-2[17] of the Soviet orbital space station Salyut 6.[18] Sigmund Jähn (d. 2019)[19] was the last citizen of the former GDR to bear the title,[20][21] as both Kovalyonok and Ivanchenkov are Russian (formerly USSR) citizens.[22][23]

Recipients

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Cosmonaut Col. Sigmund Jähn wearing the medals of a Hero of the GDR (left on upper left breast) and a Hero of the Soviet Union (right on upper left breast) in April 1981 at Trollenhagen Air Base in Neubrandenburg, GDR.

Members of the GDR Government

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Members of the USSR Government

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Cosmonauts

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Order of precedence of awards of the GDR

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There was a specific order of precedence laid down in its gazette for the wearing of the some 195 GDR medals and awards, devised according to the relative prestige of each honour.[8] The following senior distinctions were to be worn on the upper left breast (top left to bottom right as viewed) in this order:[32]

  1. Hero of the GDR
  2. Order of Karl Marx
  3. Hero of Labour
  4. Star of People's Friendship
  5. Patriotic Order of Merit
  6. Banner of Labour
  7. Scharnhorst Order
  8. Blücher Order
  9. Combat Order of Merit for the People & Fatherland

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "ODM of East Germany: Hero of the German Democratic Republic". www.medals.org.uk. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Eichler, Heinz (20 September 1978) [20 September 1978]. State Council of the German Democratic Republic (ed.). "Bekanntmachung" (PDF). Gesetzblatt der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik [de] (government gazette) (in German). Vol. 34, no. 1. East Berlin: Staatsverlag der DDR [de] (published 9 October 1978). p. 369. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  3. ^ Meyers Jahreslexikon 1975/76: Was war wichtig? 1.7.1975-30.6.1976 (in German). Bibliographisches Institut; Meyers Lexikonverlag. 1976. ISBN 978-3-411-01365-4.
  4. ^ a b c d e Sindermann, Horst (28 October 1975) [3 November 1975]. Council of Ministers of the German Democratic Republic (ed.). "Verordnung über die Stiftung des Ehrentitels "Held der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik" (PDF). Gesetzblatt der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik [de] (government gazette) (in German). Vol. 41, no. 1. East Berlin: Staatsverlag der DDR [de] (published 3 November 1975). p. 681. Retrieved 5 August 2023. Verordnung über die Stiftung des Ehrentitels „Held der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik" vom 28. Oktober 1975. §1 In Anerkennung und Würdigung vollbrachter Heldentaten für die Deutsche Demokratische Republik wird der Ehrentitel „Held der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik" gestiftet. §2 Einzelheiten der Verleihung werden durch die Ordnung über die Verleihung (Anlage) geregelt. §3 Diese Verordnung tritt mit ihrer Veröffentlichung in Kraft. Berlin, den 28. Oktober 1975.
  5. ^ Ahrends, Martin [de]. Trabbi, Telespargel und Tränenpavillon: das Wörterbuch der DDR-Sprache (in German). Wilhelm Heyne Verlag. 1986. ISBN 978-3-453-02357-4.
  6. ^ Gestwa, Klaus. ""Kolumbus des Kosmos"—Der Kult um Jurij Gagarin" (PDF). Osteuropa [de] (in German). 59 (10): 121–151.
  7. ^ Gerovitch, Slava (25 September 2011). "The Human Inside a Propaganda Machine: The Public Image and Professional Identity of Soviet Cosmonauts". In Andrews, James T.; Siddiqi, Asif A. (eds.). Into the Cosmos. Pitt Series in Russian and East European studies. University of Pittsburgh Press. pp. 77–106. ISBN 9780822977469 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ a b Biering, Petra, ed. (1 March 2017). "Auszeichnungen der DDR" (PDF). Bundesarchiv. Konventionelle Kataloge und Findbücher der Bibliothek (in German). StB 2. Berlin: German Federal Archives (published 2017-03-01). Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  9. ^ "Held der Sowjetunion". militaria-berlin.de (in German). Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  10. ^ a b "Urkunde für Armeegeneral Heinz Hoffmann zum Ehrentitel Held der DDR - Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek". Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek (in German). Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  11. ^ Sindermann, Horst (1975-10-28) [1975-11-03]. "Verordnung über die Verleihung des Ehrentitels "Held der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik" (PDF). Gesetzblatt der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik [de] (government gazette) (in German). Vol. 41, no. 1. East Berlin: Staatsverlag der DDR [de] (published 3 November 1975). p. 682. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  12. ^ Rivers, Joe. "East German Medals and Insignia". Organization of NVA Uniform Collectors (ONVAUC). Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  13. ^ "Hoffmann, Heinz | Bundesstiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur". Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship (in German). Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  14. ^ a b Lohmann, Helmuth (6 October 1979). "Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev, Soviet politician, 1906-1982". AKG Images. Associated Press. AKG184074. Retrieved 2023-08-04. Visit of Leonid Brezhnev in East Berlin, on the occasion of the celebrations of the 30th Anniversary of the GDR on 6.10.1979: Brezhnev and Honecker exchange kisses, after the appointment of the Soviet state to the "Hero of the GDR".
  15. ^ a b Hubrich, Dirk. "Verleihungsliste zum Orden "Großer Stern der Völkerfreundschaft" von 1964 bis 1989" (PDF). Verein für Phaleristik. Orders and Decorations [de] (in German). Dortmund: German Society for Religious Studies [de]: 3. Retrieved 4 August 2023. Grundlage für die Erstellung dieser Verleihungsliste waren die Veröffentlichungen in der Zeitung „Neues Deutschland" sowie die Protokolle des Politbüros des ZK der SED (Bundesarchiv DY 30). [This award list was created based on publications in the newspaper Neues Deutschland and the minutes of the Politburo of the SED Central Committee (German Federal Archives DY 30)]
  16. ^ a b "Brezhnev, Leonid Ilich (from 1966 General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party)". AKG Images. AKG Images. 19 December 1981 [19 December 1981]. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  17. ^ "Soyuz 29". Space Launch Schedule. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  18. ^ "NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Details". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  19. ^ "Sigmund Jähn, Germany's first cosmonaut, dies aged 82 – DW – 09/22/2019". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  20. ^ a b Seidler, Christoph (2019-09-22). "Sigmund Jähn: Nachruf auf den ersten Deutschen im All". Der Spiegel (in German). ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  21. ^ a b c d e Heiduck, Christina (27 February 2020). "Kosmonauten" (PDF). Compendium Heroicum. SFB 948 Helden-Heroisierungen-Heroismen. Transformationen Und Konjunkturen Von Der Antike Bis Zur Moderne. (in German) (1.0 ed.). Freiburg im Breisgau: Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg and the Open Encyclopedia System of the Free University of Berlin: 4. doi:10.6094/heroicum/kd1.0.20200227.
  22. ^ "Vladimir Kovalyonok". Space Launch Schedule. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  23. ^ "Aleksandr Ivanchenkov". Space Launch Schedule. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  24. ^ "Hoffmann, Heinz | Bundesstiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur". Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship (in German). Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  25. ^ a b Wunschik, Tobias (22 March 2011). "DA 4/2011 – Wunschik: Risse in der Sicherheitsarchitektur des SED-Regimes". Federal Agency for Civic Education (in German). Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  26. ^ "Mielke, Erich". Stasi-Unterlagen-Archiv (in German). Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  27. ^ "Mielke, Erich | Bundesstiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur". Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship (in German). Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  28. ^ "Dickel, Friedrich | Bundesstiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur". Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship (in German). Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  29. ^ "Erich Honecker". timenote.info (in German). Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  30. ^ "Stoph, Willi | Bundesstiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur". Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship (in German). Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  31. ^ "Тихонов Николай Александрович". warheroes.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  32. ^ Council of Ministers of the German Democratic Republic (19 April 1978). Gesetzblatt der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik: Verordnung über das Tragen der Ehrenzeichen zu staatlichen Auszeichnungen vom 19. April 1978 (government gazette) (in German). Staatsverlag der DDR [de]. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007.
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