1944 German Dunkirk Shield

Product Description:  A very controversial award, the 1944 German Dunkirk Shield he was only locally authorized. The specimen offered here is die struck in a metal alloy color bronze, it has a flat top and rounded bottom. Across the top in capital letters is the work “DUENKIRCHEN“. The body of the shield is occupied by the watchtower of Dunkirk, with the numbers “19“ and “44“ on either side on the top of the tower and waves in three lines behind it toward the bottom. Across the bottom part of it, there is a chain consisting of seven links. Three drilled holes are visible on each corner and three of them there still has its original thread sewn only a green backing cloth.  A very rare shield, only seldom offered on market. This 1944 German Dunkirk Shield is in excellent plus condition.

Historical Description: The Dunkirk Shield (or Dünkirchenschild in German) was a projected WWII German military decoration to be awarded to German forces that took part in the Siege of Dunkirk (1944–45). In a directive dated September 4, 1944, Adolf Hitler had Dunkirk declared a fortress (this included the port itself and the city of Dunkirk). As part of the defense of the Dunkirk Fortress, which began with the Allied invasion of Normandy, the idea soon arose under the leadership of Vice Admiral Friedrich Frisius to create a kind of memorial shield for the trapped 12,000 to 15,000 German defenders. Dunkirk Fortress finally surrendered to French, British and Czech units on May 9, 1945. During the siege, Frisius had the so-called Dunkirk Shield made from makeshift metal supplies and distributed to the soldiers of the army, navy and probably also an unknown number of Wehrmacht followers in order to strengthen their sense of community. The “award” of the shield was confirmed by its entry in the pay book.

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