Solid silver with selective gold plating and a great design makes this commemorative medallion for the 60th Anniversary of the People’s Uprising a unique collectors piece.
It was a turbulent time in East Germany in 1953. Â The construction workers began the conflict with a strike on 16 June 1953 for better conditions following Stalin’s edict that more work was required for the same wages. By the end more than 500 villages and towns were involved in stoppages and strikes in nearly every major industry. Brutal military intervention and many deaths occurred before the uprising was stopped.
The medallion is encased in a capsule and is in mint proof condition. All marks or scratches in the photographs are on the plastic casing as the medallions were not removed for the purpose of photography, in order to preserve them.
A truly wonderful historic collectors piece for those who are interested in European post war history.
Limited to 5,000 examples these are getting very difficult to find.
Design
Peoples Uprising (German: Volksaufstand)
Year: Â Â Â Â Â 2013
Weight: Â Â Â 21 grams
Silver: Â Â Â Â 999/1000 – 99.9%
Gold: Â Â Â Â Â 24 K
Diameter: Â 35 mm
Strike: Â Â Â Â Proof
History
Only 8 years past the end of World war II and the East German government needed help. It requested the Red Army to assist with putting down the uprising with its rolling strikes and protests that had erupted on the announcement by Stalin that the workers should produce more and work longer for the same wages. Some 20,000 troops and 8,000 conscripted police with the support of Soviet T-34/85 tanks took to the streets in a bloody confrontation. Estimations of deaths both from the fighting and those sentenced death afterwards vary from 55 to 125 according to the East German government.
The West German government believed the numbers were significantly higher stating that 513 were killed in the uprising and 106 executed under martial law. Police and troops arrested 5,100 people and 1.200 were sentenced to terms of 5 years or more in penal camps. Furthermore either 17 or 18 Soviet soldiers were executed for refusal to shoot  the demonstrating workers.
Upon Stalin’s death it was recognized that some serious mistakes had been made and the policies made by Stalin were eased.