Civilian Disobedience Medal

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

• List of Orders, Decorations and Medals of the Kingdom of Belgium

External links

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

Orders, decorations, and medals of Belgium
Current orders	Order of Leopold Order of the Crown Order of Leopold II
Formerly awarded orders (dormant)	Order of the African Star Royal Order of the Lion
Pre 1914 war medals and decorations	Civic Guard Merit Medal 1830 Star of Honour Iron Cross 1830 Volunteers' Commemorative Cross 1870–71 Commemorative Medal
1914–1918 war medals and decorations	Croix de guerre 1914–18 Fire Cross 1914–1918 Yser Medal Yser Cross Volunteer Combatant's Medal 1914–1918 1914–1918 Commemorative War Medal 1914–1917 African Campaigns Commemorative Medal 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
1940–1945 war medals and decorations	Croix de guerre 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 War 1940–1945 Civic Decoration 1940–1945
Post 1945 war medals and decorations	Foreign Operational Theatres Commemorative Medal War Volunteer's Medal
Current military awards	Military Cross Military Decoration Croix de guerre (post-1954) Cross of Honour for Military Service Abroad Commemorative Medal for Armed Humanitarian Operations Medal for Services Rendered Commemorative Medal for Foreign Operations or Missions Medal for Military Merit Commemorative Medal for the "European March of Memory and Friendship" "Four Days of the Yser" Commemorative Medal
Current civilian awards	Civic Decoration Honour Badge of Labour Labour Decoration Decoration for Mutuality
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
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