Commemorative Medal for Spanish Volunteers in the Struggle Against Bolshevism

The Commemorative Medal for Spanish Volunteers in the Struggle Against Bolshevism is a reproduction of the German decoration commonly known as the Blue Division Medal. Its official German name was Erinnerungsmedaille für die spanischen Freiwilligen im Kampf gegen den Bolschewismus. It was instituted on 3 January 1944 for Spanish volunteers who had served on the Eastern Front with the 250th Infantry Division, better known as the División Azul or Blue Division. Sources generally associate around 47,000 men with the formation and its service cycle.  

The historical background of the medal is linked to Spain’s unusual position during the Second World War. Francoist Spain did not formally enter the war as a belligerent state, but it allowed volunteers to join the campaign against the Soviet Union. These men were incorporated into the German Army as the Spanish 250th Infantry Division, while retaining a strong political identity connected with Falangist symbolism and anti-communist ideology.  

The original medal was manufactured by Deschler & Sohn in Munich, with the maker mark “1” stamped on the suspension ring. It was made of bronzed zinc alloy and measured about 32 mm in diameter. The obverse shows a German helmet above two shields placed over a horizontal sword. One shield bears the Wehrmacht eagle, while the other carries the Falangist bundle of arrows. Below them is a swastika flanked by laurel leaves, placing the object firmly within the award culture and political symbolism of the Third Reich.  

The reverse bears the Spanish inscription “División Española de Voluntarios en Rusia”, with an Iron Cross below, framed by vegetal elements. The ribbon follows the general arrangement of the Iron Cross Second Class ribbon, but adds a central yellow stripe to evoke the Spanish national colours. This makes the medal a particularly clear example of a decoration combining German military form with Spanish national identity.  

Curiosity: members of the Blue Division could also receive a separate Spanish decoration, the Medalla de la Campaña de Rusia, instituted by the Spanish government on 9 November 1943. The German Blue Division Medal and the Spanish Russian Campaign Medal therefore form two parallel commemorative traditions for the same wartime service.