Vestiges of War

The Demjansk Shield (German: Demjanskschild) was instituted on the 25th of April 1943. The shield was awarded to the troops who fought in the Demjansk pocket. The Demanjansk pocket was the name given to the area around Demjansk (small town) where the German troops were encircled by the Russian Red Army. Demjansk lays south of current day Saint Petersburg. Approximately 100.000 shield were awarded.

To be eligible for the shield the different military branches had to have gone through the following hardships:

• For Heer and Auxiliary unites this meant service in the besieged area for 60 days or having been wounded or frostbitten in the besieged area.
• For the Luftwaffe units this meant they had to have attended 50 combat or supply missions of the besieged area.

The shield is to be worn on the upper sleeve of the left shoulder of the uniform.

Badge obverse

Badge reverse

This example of a Demjansk Shield has no backing or pongs left. Although the placement of the shield on the uniform was official it did not state how the shield was to be attached to the uniform. The pictured shield has holes made into it so it could be directly sewn to the uniform.

Sources: Bewertungskatalog Orden und Ehrenzeichen Deutschland 1871-1945; Detlev Niemann; 2008 Die Kriegsauszeichnungen des Deutschen Heeres 1939-1945; Bernd Hartmann; 2008