Bidspirit auction | German WWII Ostvolk Medal of

German WWII Ostvolk Medal of Merit, 2nd Class in Silver - A sunburst-form badge with a raised central rosette suspended from a triangular green ribbon with white edge stripes. The badge is struck as a multi-pointed radiating star, appears to be silvered metal, with a plain reverse and a suspension ring joining it to the ribbon mount. The Medal of Merit for Eastern Peoples (Ostvolk-Ehrenzeichen) was instituted by Nazi Germany in 1942 to reward civilian auxiliaries and collaborators from occupied Soviet territories—including Ukrainians, Belarusians, Cossacks, and other Eastern populations—who provided service to the German administration or Wehrmacht, such as in labour, auxiliary police, or anti-partisan roles. It was awarded in classes for merit and for bravery, in gold, silver, and bronze grades, reflecting the Nazi regime's policy of enlisting local populations in the occupied East while maintaining a racial hierarchy that placed them below German recipients of comparable decorations. Such awards are studied today as artifacts of the complex and often coerced collaboration dynamics on the Eastern Front.