History

The Decoration was founded by Adolf Hitler on January 30th, 1937, and was awarded each year to three German citizens personally selected by Hitler.

In 1935, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to German pacifist writer, Carl von Ossietzky, who at the time was imprisoned in a concentration camp. Hitler took this as a personal slight, and forbid German citizens from accepting the award in the future. To ensure this situation never re-occurred, Hitler established the National Prize for Art and Science as a replacement for the Noble Peace Prize.

The primarily component of the Award was a monetary reward of 100,000 Marks, but recipients also received a star and sash.

The first set of Awards was conferred on September 7th, 1937, to Alfred Rosenburg, the so-called philosopher of the Nazi Party, Professor August Bier and Dr. Ferdinand Sauerbruch, both medical doctors, and Dr. Wilhelm Filchner, an explorer.

A second set of Awards was conferred on September 7th, 1938, to Dr. Fritz Todt, the engineer responsible for the Siegfried Line and the Autobahn, Ferdinand Porsche, car manufacturer and designer of the Volkswagen, and Willi Messerschmitt and Ernst Heinkel, aircraft designers.

The Awards were no longer conferred following the onset of the Second World War, consequently making them one of the rarest of the Nazi decorations.