First Class Iron Cross, Eisernes Kreuz 1, 1939.

A very good example of a 1939  First Class Iron Cross, Eisernes Kreuz 1.  Approx 1 3/4 inch tall, pin to rear with a stamp to centre.  In good condition.

Price: TBA

Iron Cross

The Iron Cross (German: Eisernes Kreuz (help?info)) was a military decoration of the Kingdom of Prussia, and later of Germany, which was established by King Frederick William III of Prussia and first awarded on 10 March 1813 in Breslau (now Wroclaw). In addition to the Napoleonic Wars, the Iron Cross was awarded during the Franco-German War, the First World War, and the Second World War.

The Iron Cross was normally a military decoration only ? though there were instances of it being awarded to civilians for performing military functions. As an example, the civilian pilot Hanna Reitsch was awarded the Iron Cross First Class for her bravery as a test pilot during World War II.

Adolf Hitler restored the Iron Cross in 1939 as a German decoration (rather than Prussian as in earlier versions), continuing the tradition of issuing it in various grades. Legally it is based on the enactment (Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 1573^[3]) of 1 September 1939 Verordnung ?ber die Erneuerung des Eisernen Kreuzes (Regulation of the renewing of the Iron Cross). The Iron Cross of the Second World War was divided into three main series of decorations with an intermediate category, the Knight's Cross, instituted between the lowest, the Iron Cross, and the highest, the Grand Cross. The Knights Cross replaced the Prussian Pour le M?rite or Blue Max. Hitler did not care for the Pour le M?rite, as it was a Prussian order that could be awarded only to officers. The ribbon of the medal (2nd class and Knight's Cross) was different from the earlier Iron Crosses in that the color red was used in addition to the traditional black and white (black and white were the colours of Prussia, while black, white, and red were the colors of Germany). Hitler also created the War Merit Cross as a replacement for the non-combatant version of the Iron Cross.

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