Romanian Commemorative Medal for the Crusade Against Communism
The Medal Commemorating the Crusade Against Communism (Romania: Medalia Cruciada împotriva comunismului; German: Erinnerungsmedaille an den Kreuzzug gegen den Kommunismus) was a Romanian military award of World War II. It was instituted on 1 April 1942, by the Royal Decree No. 1014, of King Michael I of Romania. It was commissioned to recognise the distinguished service of Romanian and other Axis Powers military and civilian personnel for military merits during the Operation Barbarossa as well as on both the Eastern and Home fronts.
The medal is suspended by medal ribbon which is of primarily of red, bordered by white and the centre featuring the national colours of Romania, red, yellow and blue. It features an obverse inscription that translates to “Grateful Romania,” and a reverse inscription that translates to “Crusade Against Communism.” There may be additional versions of the Bronze Medal that differ in size or composition due to a variety of manufacturers. The medal could be awarded with campaign clasps to denote service in specific military operations. These include:
- “AZOV”
- “BASARABIA”
- “BUCOVINA”
- “BUG”
- “CRIMEA”
- “DOBROGEA”
- “DONET”
- “MAREA NEAGRA” (as of 16 July 1942)
- “NIPRU”
- “NISTRU”
- “ODESSA”
There are also three known unofficial clasps, which include:
- "CAUCAZ"
- "CALMUCIA"
- "STALINGRAD"
Bars awarded subsequently were worn below the original one on the medal ribbon, and all of the additional bars were silver. The rarest of all bars is the one for the Battle of Stalingrad, due largely to the fact that very few Axis survived the 1943 battle (those recipients who were captured often lost or discarded their awards, or had these stolen). Medals without clasps were awarded for participation on the home front. The Cruciada împotriva comunismului was produced by a number of firms within Romania, and was also made under licence by the renowned German company "C. E. Junker" of Berlin. The number of medals made and awarded is unknown, but believed to be in excess of 1,250,000.
