Bidspirit auction | German WWII Luftschutz Medal 'Für

German WWII Luftschutz Medal 'Für Verdienste im Luftschutz' 1938 - A Third Reich air defense (Luftschutz) merit medal in a light metal, believed to be zinc alloy, with a suspension ring. One face bears a swastika within an oak leaf wreath and the inscription ”FÜR VERDIENSTE IM LUFTSCHUTZ, ” while the reverse is dated ”1938” within the wreath border. This medal was awarded for meritorious service in the Reichsluftschutzbund (RLB), the civil air defense organization established to train and organize the German population in air raid protection measures during the lead-up to and through the Second World War. The Reichsluftschutzbund, founded in 1933, was the Nazi state's civilian air-raid protection organisation, responsible for training the population in blackout procedures, fire-fighting, gas defence, and shelter construction as the regime anticipated future aerial warfare. This decoration recognised meritorious service within that body, typically awarded to instructors, wardens, and volunteers who organised local civil defence efforts. Such awards proliferated from the late 1930s onward as Germany expanded its air-raid precautions in anticipation of, and later during, Allied bombing campaigns.