Civilian Disobedience Medal

Civilian Disobedience Medal
Civilian Disobedience Medal(obverse)
Type	War medal
Awarded for	Refusal to help the German war effort during World War 2
Presented by	Kingdom of Belgium
Eligibility	Belgian citizens
Status	No longer awarded
Established	12 February 1951
Reverse of the Civilian Disobedience Medal

The Civilian Disobedience Medal (French: Médaille du Réfractaire, Dutch: Werkweigeraarsmedaille) was a war service medal of the Kingdom of Belgium established by royal decree on 12 February 1951 and awarded to Belgian citizens refusing to support the German war effort during the Second World War.

Award description

The Civilian Disobedience Medal was a circular 37mm in diameter bronze medal. Its obverse bore the relief torso of a civilian male with his arms crossed and his face turned away to the right in defiance. The reverse bore the relief inscription on two lines in Latin "FORSAN VICTI NUNQUAM SERVI" roughly translating into "MAYBE DEFEATED BUT NEVER SLAVES". The years "1940-1945" are inscribed along the reverse's upper circumference.

The medal was suspended by a ring through a suspension loop to a 38mm wide silk moiré green ribbon with two 3mm wide longitudinal stripes located 1cm from the edges, the stripes came in three different colours depending on the reason for bestowal:

• yellow stripes indicated refusal to serve in the German armed forces;
• white stripes indicated refusal to work for the Germans;
• red stripes indicated refusal to return to Germany by a forced labourer following leave at home in Belgium.

References

• Royal Decree of 12 February 1951 creating the Médaille du Réfractaire

Other sources

• Quinot H., 1950, Recueil illustré des décorations belges et congolaises, 4e Edition. (Hasselt)
• Cornet R., 1982, Recueil des dispositions légales et réglementaires régissant les ordres nationaux belges. 2e Ed. N.pl., (Brussels)
• Borné A.C., 1985, Distinctions honorifiques de la Belgique, 1830-1985 (Brussels)

See also

• Orders, decorations, and medals of Belgium

External links

• Bibliothèque royale de Belgique (In French)
• Les Ordres Nationaux Belges (In French)

• v
• t
• e

Orders, decorations, and medals of Belgium

National orders

• Order of Leopold
• Order of the African Star
• Royal Order of the Lion
• Order of the Crown
• Order of Leopold II

Pre–1914

• Civic Guard Merit Medal
• 1830 Star of Honour
• Iron Cross
• 1830 Volunteers' Commemorative Cross
• 1870–71 Commemorative Medal
• Service Star

World War I

• War Cross 1914–18
• Fire Cross 1914–1918
• Yser Cross and Medal
• Volunteer Combatant's Medal 1914–1918
• Commemorative Medal of the 1914–1918 War
• Commemorative Medal of the 1914–1917 African Campaigns
• Liège Medal
• Maritime Decoration 1914–1918
• Political Prisoner's Medal 1914–1918
• Deportees' Cross 1914–1918
• 1914–1918 Medal for National Restoration
• King Albert Medal
• Queen Elisabeth Medal
• Inter-Allied Victory Medal 1914–1918
• Civic Decoration 1914–1918
• Commemorative Medal of the National Committee for Aid and Food

World War II
& Korean War

• War Cross 1940–45
• Maritime Medal 1940–1945
• 1940–1945 Military Combatant's Medal
• Volunteer's Medal 1940–1945
• 1940–1945 African War Medal
• 1940–1945 Colonial War Effort Medal
• Abyssinian Campaigns Commemorative Medal
• Resistance Medal 1940–1945
• Civilian Resistance Medal
• Civilian Disobedience Medal
• Political Prisoner's Cross 1940–1945
• Prisoner of War Medal 1940–1945
• Escapees' Cross 1940–1945
• Medal for Resistance against Nazism in the Annexed Territories
• Medal of the Recruiting Centers 1940
• Medal of Belgian Gratitude 1940–1945
• Commemorative Medal of the 1940–1945 War
• Foreign Operational Theatres Commemorative Medal

Current
military awards

• Military Decoration for exceptional service, bravery or exceptional devotion
• Military Cross
• Military Decoration for faithful service
• Cross of Honour for Military Service Abroad
• Commemorative Medal for Armed Humanitarian Operations
• Commemorative Medal for Foreign Operations or Missions
• Commemorative medal for missions or operations regarding the operational defense of the territory
• Meritorious Service Medal

Current
civilian awards

• Civil decoration for acts of bravery, selfsacrifice and philanthropy
• Civil decoration for faithful service
• Labour Decoration
• Laureate of labour

Commemorative
medals

• Commemorative Decoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Creation of the Railroads
• Commemorative Medal of the Reign of King Leopold II
• Commemorative Medal for the 75th Anniversary of the Belgian Postal Service
• Centenary of National Independence Commemorative Medal
• Commemorative Medal for the Centenary of the Telegraphic Service
• Commemorative Medal for the 100th Anniversary of the Belgian Postal Service
• Commemorative Medal of the Reign of King Albert I
• Commemorative Medal for the "European March of Memory and Friendship"
• "Four Days of the Yser" Commemorative Medal

Belgian Red Cross

• Order of the Belgian Red Cross
• Blood Donour's Medal
• 1940–1945 Cross of Honour of the Belgian Red Cross
• 1940–1945 Belgian Red Cross Decoration

 Belgium portal