Spain. Medals Set of an Officer of the Blue Division and the Spanish Civil War

The recipient of these medals was an Old Shirt member of the Falange Española. He joined the movement in 1933, the same year it was founded, although he had previously been a member of the Comunión Tradicionalista and its militias, known as the “Primera Línea”.

When the military uprising began, he was in Sitges and was imprisoned in Barcelona’s Modelo Prison from March 27 to August 21, 1937. He was later released so that he could join the Republican Popular Army, but instead boarded a ship to Marseille and crossed into the Nationalist zone, where he enlisted in the V Brigade of Navarre and was promoted to Alférez (Second Lieutenant).

He enlisted in the Blue Division while serving as Provincial Chief of the SEU in Lleida, through Recruiting Office No. 40 of the IV Military Region. He served in the division from July 1, 1941. On August 1 he was assigned to the Labor Company of Transport Group No. 250 and later transferred to the 1st Company of the 269th Infantry Regiment commanded by Colonel Esparza.

He served in the Blue Division for fifteen months and was promoted to lieutenant.

The medal grouping consists of two medal bars with five decorations each, plus four individual medals. In the photographs, the owner’s name has been pixelated on the medals where it appears.

First Medal Bar

• Medal of Sufferings for the Fatherland with blue ribbon for imprisonment suffered in the Republican zone. With clasp “Cárcel Modelo Barcelona 27-3-1937 / 21-8-1937”.
• Iron Cross Second Class, 1957 pattern. These Iron Crosses were manufactured after 1957 so that German veterans could wear the decoration again, since the swastika had been banned in Germany. The dates 1813–1939 were retained, while oak leaves replaced the swastika at the center. The Iron Cross was awarded for bravery in combat.
• Military Merit Cross with Red Distinction and three repeat clasps, with Francoist open military crown. Each clasp represents an additional award, meaning the veteran received the Military Merit Cross four times in total. The red distinction denotes wartime merit. The rear retaining nut marked “MM” is missing.
• War Merit Cross with Swords. German decoration awarded during World War II for exceptional service not directly connected with combat.
• Falange Old Guard Medal with “Primera Línea” clasp. Awarded to members who had joined one of the parties unified by decree of April 19, 1937, before February 16, 1936. The “Primera Línea” was the militia and action wing of the Falange during the Second Spanish Republic. The reverse bears the recipient’s file number, name, and year of joining the Falange: 1933.

Second Medal Bar

• Cross of the Order of Cisneros.
• 1936–1939 Campaign Medal with black-edge “Vanguard” ribbon. Spanish military decoration awarded for participation in frontline combat operations.
• Commemorative Medal for Spanish Volunteers in the Struggle against Bolshevism (Erinnerungsmedaille für die spanischen Freiwilligen im Kampf gegen den Bolschewismus), also known as the Spanish Volunteers Medal. Awarded by the Third Reich to members of the Blue Division who served on the Russian Front. The suspension ring bears the “1” maker mark of Deschler & Sohn of Munich.
• Russian Campaign Medal, three-piece model. Spanish decoration created for volunteers of the Blue Division who fought against the Soviet Union during the war. The three-piece version, also known as the officer’s model, was privately manufactured.
• Eastern Front Medal or Medal for the First Winter in Russia 1941/42. Awarded to personnel who served on the German Eastern Front during Operation Barbarossa.

Individual Medals

• Commemorative Medal for Ex-Combatants of Lleida. Decoration approved in 1960 for veterans of the Spanish Civil War, the Blue Division, or Ifni from the city of Lleida. Brass example with green ribbon and the inscription “LA DIPUTACION PROVINCIAL A LOS EXCOMBATIENTES LERIDANOS DE LA CRUZADA 18 JULIO 1955”.
• Second Commemorative Medal for Ex-Combatants of Lleida. Larger aluminum example with the recipient’s name and the date “1968” engraved on the reverse, without ribbon.
• Falange 20th Anniversary Medal 1933–1953. Awarded to attendees of the 1953 National Congress commemorating the twentieth anniversary of the founding of the Falange Española.
• Commander’s neck badge of the Order of Cisneros. The ribbon is no longer preserved.