Bidspirit auction | German Third Reich Sudetenland Commemorative

German Third Reich Sudetenland Commemorative Medal, 1 October 1938 - A commemorative medal marking the annexation of the Sudetenland, struck in a bronze-toned metal with a suspension ring. One side depicts two standing male figures, one holding a broken chain and the other raising a flag, above an eagle and wreathed swastika standard. The reverse bears the inscription ”EIN VOLK, EIN REICH, EIN FÜHRER” encircling the date ”1. OKTOBER 1938.” This medal was issued by the German state to commemorate the incorporation of the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia into Germany following the Munich Agreement of September 1938, and was widely distributed to civilians and military personnel involved in the occupation. The Sudetenland Medal (Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 1. Oktober 1938) was instituted by Hitler in October 1938 to commemorate the annexation of the Sudeten German-populated border regions of Czechoslovakia, ceded to Germany under the Munich Agreement negotiated between Germany, Britain, France and Italy. It was awarded to German troops, officials, and Sudeten Germans involved in or affected by the occupation, and a bar reading ”PRAGER BURG” was later added for those present during the subsequent occupation of Prague in March 1939. The medal's imagery, depicting liberation from foreign rule and unification with the Reich, reflected the regime's propaganda framing of the annexation as the peaceful redress of a national grievance, a episode that preceded the outbreak of the Second World War by less than a year.