German 25 Years Faithful Service Cross with Case

A cross-form service decoration in a white metal finish, with a central mobile swastika device flanked by oak leaf wreath elements on one face, and the inscription "Fuer treue Dienste" ("For Faithful Service") within the wreath design on the other. The piece is suspended from a blue moire ribbon and presented in its fitted maroon-lined red card case, the lid stamped with a "25" within a sunburst border denoting the 25-year period of service award.

This decoration was instituted to recognize long service to the state, with the number of years of qualifying service indicated by the ribbon color and the case marking; the blue ribbon and "25" designation correspond to the twenty-five-year grade of the award.

The Faithful Service Decoration (Treudienst-Ehrenzeichen) was established by the Nazi government in 1938 to recognise long-serving officials, civil servants, and employees in state and public administration, replacing earlier Weimar and Imperial-era long-service awards. It was issued in two grades, for 25 and 40 years of service respectively, with the swastika at its centre reflecting its awarding authority under the Third Reich rather than a military or combat decoration. Recipients were typically bureaucrats, teachers, railway workers, and other civil servants whose careers spanned the transition into the Nazi state.