Germany, Third Reich. A Rare Award Document for the Memel Medal to Reichsminister Wilhelm Frick

(Verleihungsurkunde zur Memellandmedaille). An extremely rare award document for the Memel Medal, constructed off-white paper stock with black ink, named to “REICHSMINISTER WILHELM FRICK”, issued in Berlin on 21 November 1939, featuring an embossed seal and certified by the facsimile signature of Otto Meissner, measuring 21 cm (w) x 29.5 cm (h), in extremely fine condition.

Footnote: Wilhelm Frick was born on 12 March 1877 in Alsenz, Germany. After completing studies at the University of Munich and Humboldt University of Berlin, he joined the Bavarian civil service and was employed with the Munich Police, and later held other low-level government positions. His attempts to enlist in the German military during the First World War were rebuffed owing to a lack of fitness. Following Germany’s defeat, Frick sympathized with the anti-communist Freikorps movement and, after an introduction to AH, used his position to secure permits for NSDAP rallies and demonstrations. He participated in the failed Beer Hall Putsch in November 1923, and received a suspended sentence after a brief period in custody. Returning to civil service, Frick was elected to the Reichstag in May 1924 after running as a candidate for a party fronting for the now-banned NSDAP. He later rose to Minister of the Interior on 30 January 1933, a post which he would hold for the next decade. He was instrumental in the passage of key legislation of the Third Reich, facilitating the NSDAP’s grip on power and helping to formulate its racial policies, but his career was tempered by a long-running feud with Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler. Put on trial by the Nuremberg Tribunal, Frick was convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity, sentenced to death, and executed by hanging on 16 October 1946.