Medal for Victims of the Invasion
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During the war of 1914-1918, the populations of the invaded and occupied regions of France were put under severe strain. Thus, at the end of hostilities, it seemed necessary to pay tribute to the courage of these people by rewarding them with several medals such as the Medal for victims of the invasion, the Medal of French Fidelity and the Medal for civilian prisoners, deportees and hostages of the 1914-1918 Great War.[1] It was on the proposal of the Minister for the Liberated Regions that the Medal for victims of the invasion (French: Médaille des victimes de l'invasion) was created on 30 June 1921 in three classes (bronze, silver and silver gilt).[1]
Medal for victims of the invasion | |
---|---|
Type | Commemorative Medal |
Awarded for | Mistreated civilians in territories occupied by the enemy |
Presented by | France |
Eligibility | French citizens |
Status | No longer awarded |
Established | 30 June 1921 |
The Medal of the Victims of the Invasion thanked and distinguished the war hostages, and persons deported outside of France, imprisoned by the enemy or condemned to forced labour.[1]
Among the civilian victims of the war who were awarded the medal under the original conditions, two categories of persons were recognized to have the right to special recognition by the country.[2]
On the one hand, political prisoners condemned by the German authorities to severe punishment for their attachment to France and, on the other hand, hostages of war who for months, sometimes years, remained in retaliation camps in Poland and Lithuania, exposed to the worst suffering and the most cruel privations.[2] It is to point out this double category of citizens to the respectful attention of their compatriots, that two clasps were authorized for wear on the medal ribbon "POLITICAL PRISONERS" and "WAR HOSTAGES"[1]