Badge of Honour of the Bundeswehr

The Decorations of Honour of the Bundeswehr (German: Ehrenzeichen der Bundeswehr) are the sole series of military decorations of the Bundeswehr, the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. These honours and awards were introduced in 1980 on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Bundeswehr by then Minister of Defence Hans Apel and subsequently approved by President of the Federal Republic Karl Carstens.

The first awards were made on November 6, 1980. In 2008, the decorations were updated and received three grades exclusively reserved for heroic deeds. The new awards were the result of a petition by German citizens to restore the order of the Iron Cross, which itself, however, was never reinstituted.

Germany, sworn to peace and to abstain military power after more than 75 years of dominating neighbours with military might in the 19th and 20th century, has been hesitant towards decorations ever since WWII, for their distinctiveness has been diluted heavily by the former Wehrmacht and its inflationary practice of awarding, which sought to keep up morale in face of imminent defeat and also included awarding war crimes.