Description
Ordnungspolizei Long Service Award – 1st Class for 25 Years, with Case
This is an original Ordnungspolizei (Order Police) Long Service Award, 1st Class, instituted to recognize 25 years of faithful and honorable service within Germany’s uniformed police organizations during the Third Reich period. Long service awards for the Ordnungspolizei were distinct from Wehrmacht decorations and were intended to reward sustained commitment to police service rather than combat activity.
The decoration is executed in the correct form for the 1st Class, featuring a finely detailed eight-pointed cross with smooth arms and a central roundel bearing the German national eagle. The workmanship reflects the quality expected of senior long service awards, with crisp definition to the eagle and clean, well-proportioned geometry to the cross. The finish remains in good condition, showing only light age-appropriate wear consistent with careful storage.
The award is accompanied by its original presentation case, which enhances both collectability and historical integrity. The case remains structurally sound, opening and closing properly, and retains its period-correct interior lining designed to securely display and protect the decoration. Presentation cases for police long service awards are increasingly scarce, as many awards were separated from their cases over time.
The Ordnungspolizei played a central role in internal security, administration, and policing throughout Germany and occupied territories during the pre-war and wartime years. Long service awards such as this one provide tangible insight into the careers of career police officials whose service often spanned the Imperial, Weimar, and National Socialist eras.
A solid and complete example of a 25-year Ordnungspolizei Long Service Award, ideal for collectors of German police decorations, Third Reich service awards, or historically grounded medal groupings.
