Awards and decorations of the German Armed Forces The Awards and decorations of the German Armed Forces are decorations awarded by the German Bundeswehr , the German government , and other organizations to the German military and allied forces . Modern era German military awards have been presented since the end of World War II and the establishment of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949 . History . The history of German Armed Forces awards may be divided into three distinct eras , mainly Post - World War II decorations , Cold War era decorations , and modern day awards and medals . Post World War II . At the end of the Second World War , Nazi Germany had amassed an extensive area of award and decorations both for military service , political service in the Nazi Party , and various other service medals and badges associated with the Nazi Germany expansion and activities . Denazification edicts promptly declared the wear and display of former Nazi decorations as strictly prohibited . As Germany split apart into East and West Germany , each of these new countries issued directives concerning the status of former awards and decorations of Nazi Germany . Within East Germany , these awards were all but abolished with a new era of German Communist decorations created to take their place . However , in West Germany , by 1948 laws had been passed permitting the display of certain combat and military service medals from World War II , but also prohibiting continued display of Nazi political awards , awards directly associated with the SA or SS , as well as occupation service medals directly associated with the expansion of Nazi Germany in the 1930s . Formal regulations issued in the mid - 1950s had thereafter permitted the continued display of certain Wehrmacht decorations in ribbon form ; the extensive use of neck order s and badges that had been prevalent under Nazi Germany was phased out in favor of the more common ribbon bar system used in western militaries . Cold War Era . During the 1960s , West Germany became closely associated with NATO , serving as a major base for forward deployed United States and allied forces along the border with the Eastern Bloc . During this time period , the West German government began to slowly introduce new military awards and decorations , most of them for non - combat meritorious service . Chief among these was the Order of Merit , considered the highest civilian decorations of Germany . Civil relief medals were also introduced into the German armed forces , beginning in 1962 with the first in series of Flood Relief Medals . By the 1970s , German personnel were also eligible to receive foreign awards , most notable awards and decorations of the United States military . During the 1980s , the NATO Medal and United Nations Medal were also frequently awarded to German personnel . Modern Day Awards . In the modern day German armed forces , several combat service medals exist due to German participation in overseas deployed missions in the War on Terror and other NATO - United Nations Peacekeeping ventures . German personnel are also eligible to receive and display civil service medals , sports and fitness awards , and certain marksmanship awards . The reunification of Germany also saw new regulations concerning the status of East German awards introduced into the modern German military . These regulations typically stipulated that awards associated with the Communist regime were prohibited from display , but did recognize the status and continued wear of certain non - political service medals . Frequent violations of wear . Some awards are awarded to German soldiers as a ribbon but are currently not permitted to be worn on uniforms of the German Armed Forces . Examples include :