Medals Coat of Arms Germany Banner of Work Collective of Socialist Work
1954 GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC
“ Order of the Banner of Labor”
III CIass
The Order of the Banner of Labor was established in 1954 to award for:
high achievements in the development of fortifications of the GDR;
outstanding results and special initiative in socialist competition;
high labor productivity and overfulfillment of target national economic plans;
special achievements and results in social work, teaching and scientific activities.
The order has three degrees.
The highest is the first degree.
The award was made sequentially, starting with the third degree. The order is awarded to individuals, as well as enterprises, institutions, cooperatives, military happiness and public organizations.
The awarding of the order was made on May 1.
Collective of Socialist Work was a state award of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) for collectives , which was awarded in the form of an honorary title with a certificate and a wearable medal .
The award was established on March 15, 1960, and recognized high production successes, special achievements in socialist community work, and especially in socialist competition . Its predecessors were the Brigade of Socialist Work and Community of Socialist Work awards .
The distinction of " Collective of Socialist Labor" was awarded annually. The members of the award-winning collective received a medal (see illustration), on the reverse of which is inscribed the text LEARNING AND LIVING SOCIALISTICAL WORK . From 1967 to 1971, multiple awards were additionally marked by a medal bar. From 1971 to 1975, there was an honorary bar for uninterrupted defense of the title "Collective of Socialist Labor" over the period of the Five-Year Plan . From 1979, a special bar was awarded after five uninterrupted defenses.
To be awarded the title, collectives, brigades , departments, and other designated teams in business, education, art, culture, military, etc., had to meet certain billable requirements. This involved fulfilling political, cultural, and professional standards, as well as adhering to socialist morals and ethics .
The title was defended annually after it was granted and could also be revoked. In addition to fulfilling—often exceeding—the detailed national economic plan in socialist competition, the requirements included the collectives also having to demonstrate, for example, joint cultural activities. The collectives went to the cinema or theater together to collect points for recognition as a socialist labor collective. This was documented by descriptions of the visits in the brigade diary .
The title was awarded to the collectives by the company management with the approval of the company union leadership (BGL) or, in the case of youth collectives, with the approval of the FDJ leadership. Members received a certificate, a medal, and a bonus, the amount of which was agreed upon in the company collective agreement (BKV) between the company management and the union leadership .
By 1989, 270,000 collectives with 4.8 million members had already received the award. However, the economic benefits of this mass movement, as hoped by the political leadership, failed to ma