The Anschluss Medal was a decoration of Nazi Germany. Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ...

The German government instituted the medal in 1 May 1938 to commemorate the union between Germany and Austria, the Anschluss. German troops march into Austria on 12 March 1938. ...

The medal was awarded to all German military personal who took place in the march to Austria, members of the Austrian branch of the NSDAP and other Austrians who contribute to the Anschluss. The Nazi swastika The National Socialist German Workers Party (German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei), better known as the NSDAP or the Nazi Party was a political party that was led to power in Germany by Adolf Hitler in 1933. ...

The medal was awarded until 13 December 1940, in all 318,689 medals were awarded.

Design

The medal was designed by Professor Richard Klein, it's round and of the obverse there is a man standing of a podium with the Third Reich coat of arms and holding the Nazi flag, he holding the hand and helping him get on the podium of another man who had a broken shackle on his right hand, this symbolize the joining to the Reich of Austria.

On the reverse side is the date of the anschluss, 13 March 1938, surrounded with the words "Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Führer" (One People, One Empire, One Leader). is the 72nd day of the year (73rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The medal is suspended from a red ribbon with a white-black-white strips on the edges of the ribbon.