German monarchies (1802 - 1918) Germany only became a unified state in 1871. Before (and to a large extent after) the unification, Germany consisted of dozens of autonomous kingdoms and duchies, each with their own monarch and decorations. Some of the most well-known kingdoms were Prussia, Bavaria and Saxony. After 1871 the overarching structure in the henceforth federal system was the "Reich" (empire) with the "Kaiser" (emperor) as its monarch. However, there has never been a national, "German" lifesaving medal, except during the Third Reich (and, arguably, in the communist German Democratic Republic). The lifesaving medal was originally instituted in the kingdom of Prussia in 1802 as a large, non-wearable award. In september 1833, king Friedrich Wilhelm III decided that a hero who had saved a life should be publicly recognizable by a wearable award and instituted the small lifesaving medal, which bore his portrait until 1918. Also in 1833, the earlier large medal was redesigned and henceforth was awarded as a lifesaving medal second class. At the end of the 19th century, other German federal states followed Prussia's example and instituted a (wearable) lifesaving medal themselves, albeit with their own, particular designs. Click here for a map of imperial Germany.
Republic of Weimar (1918 - 1933) Between 1918 and 1933 Prussia and the other federal states were no longer monarchies but republics and hence needed new designs for their medals. These lifesaving medals were only produced and awarded for about a dozen years and are very rare. I don't own a lifesaving medal from this period yet, but I intend to buy a medal of the Free State of Prussia "soon". An example of that medal can be seen here: https://www.ehrenzeichen-orden.de/weimarer-republik/rettungsmedaille-am-band-der-republik-preusen-1925.htmlClick here for a map of the Weimar Republic.
Third Reich (1933 - 1945) Hitler and Hindenburg abolished all previous lifesaving medals and had the Prussian medal redesigned, now with an eagle and a swastika on the obverse, but still very similar to the 1833 medal (which was 100 years old at that moment). This was the first and only time that there was one national lifesaving medal for the entire country. Again, a larger table medal was awarded for saving a life when there had been less risk of life to the hero. Click here for a map of the Third Reich.
German Democratic Republic (1949 - 1990) The communist regime of East Germany (what is now Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Berlin, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony and Thuringia) instituted a wearable, silver lifesaving medal in 1954. In 1968 the design was changed a bit and the medal was no longer made of real silver. I will add an East German medal here as soon as I have bought one, but that won't be in the near future. Click here to see a map of the GDR (DDR in German).
Federal Republic of Germany (1949 - ... ) After the Second World War, the various German states (including the Eastern German states after the fall of communism in 1990) instituted their own lifesaving medals again, still mostly based on the prototype of 1833 and often with an orange ribbon with white stripes. Most of these medals were redesigned in the 1970's. A map of the Federal Republick (BRD in German) can be found here.