| Social Welfare Decoration | |
| Type: | Civil Award |
| Awarded For: | Merit in the field of welfare, Winterhilfswerk or the care of sick and wounded |
| Status: | Obsolete |
| Same: | German Red Cross Decoration |
| Lower: | Medal of Social Welfare |
The Social Welfare Decoration (de|Ehrenzeichen für deutsche Volkspflege) was a German Civil Award created by Adolf Hitler on 1 May 1939 for services in the social sector.
It could be awarded to Germans and foreigners for a wide variety of service to the German state in the social sector. This included service with the Winterhilfswerk, the National Socialist People's Welfare, medical and rescue work, or care of ethnic Germans.[1] It replaced the German Red Cross Decoration.[2]
It was conferred in four classes, each consisting of a white-enamelled gold Balkenkreuz, with the Reich eagle and swastika in the centre, and a medal:[1]
Only one grade could be worn at a time. From January 1942, the 3rd class and the medal could be awarded with crossed swords on the ribbon.[1]
Recipients included Reinhard Heydrich who received the first class for providing "security to the German people" and Doctor Josef Mengele, in 1941, for providing medical services to the wounded on the Eastern Front.
Wearing Nazi era decorations was banned after Germany's defeat in 1945. The Social Welfare Decoration was not among the World War II awards authorised for wear by the Federal Republic of Germany in 1957.[3] [4]