German Order (distinction)
| German Order Deutscher Orden | |
|---|---|
| Awarded by Nazi Party | |
| Country | Nazi Germany |
| Eligibility | Services to the state and party |
| Status | Abolished |
| Führer | Adolf Hitler |
| Classes | 3 |
| Statistics | |
| First induction | 11 February 1942 |
| Last induction | 28 April 1945 |
| Total inductees | 11 |
The German Order (German: Deutscher Orden) was the highest award that the Nazi Party could bestow on an individual for services to the "state and party".
Adolf Hitler awarded the first such order posthumously to Reichsminister Fritz Todt during Todt's funeral in February 1942. A second posthumous award of the German Order was given to SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich at his funeral in June that year. Cynics called the award the "dead hero order" as it was almost always awarded posthumously. Of the eleven confirmed recipients, only two survived the war - Konstantin Hierl and Artur Axmann. Its production, public wearing, or distribution is prohibited in the Federal Republic.