Bidspirit auction | German Third Reich Police 8-Year

German Third Reich Police 8-Year Long Service Medal - German Third Reich Police 8-Year Long Service Medal (”Für treue Dienste in der Polizei”) This medal is struck in a pale metal believed to be a silvered alloy, with the obverse depicting an eagle with outstretched wings perched above a wreathed swastika. The reverse bears the inscription ”Für treue Dienste in der Polizei” (”For faithful service in the police”) encircling the numeral ”8,” denoting the eight-year qualifying period of service. This award was instituted in 1938 to recognise long service within the German police, which by that time had been integrated into the Nazi state apparatus and placed under SS oversight following Himmler's appointment as Chief of German Police in 1936. The 8-year grade represented the junior tier of a graduated series of long-service awards (8, 18, and 25 years), modelled on similar Wehrmacht long-service decorations. Recipients were regular uniformed police (Ordnungspolizei) and other police personnel whose duties increasingly overlapped with the security and occupation functions of the regime during this period.