German Iron Cross decoration (?) WW1, NICE CONDITION, the cross is 100 mm (!!), VERY HEAVY: 327 gram, solid metal, probably it used to be a kind of decoration on a vehicle or on a wall, there are screws welded at the back, VERY INTERESTING, UNSEEN EXAMPLE
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The Iron Cross (German: Eisernes Kreuz) was a military decoration of the Kingdom of Prussia, and later of Germany, which was established by King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia and first awarded on 10 March
· Iron Cross 2nd Class (German: Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse)
· Iron Cross 1st Class (German: Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse)
· Grand Cross of the Iron Cross (German: Großkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes, often simply Großkreuz)
Although the medals of each class were identical, the manner in which each was worn differed. Employing a pin or screw posts on the back of the medal, the Iron Cross First Class was worn on the left side of the recipient's uniform. The Grand Cross and the Iron Cross Second Class were suspended from different ribbons. The Grand Cross was intended for senior generals of the German Army. An even higher decoration, the Star of the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross, was awarded only twice, to Field Marshal Gebhard von Blücher in 1813 and to Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg in
· Iron Cross 2nd Class (Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse)
· Iron Cross 1st Class (Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse) (abbreviated as EKI or E.K.I.)
The Iron Cross was awarded for bravery in battle as well as other military contributions in a battlefield environment. The Iron Cross 2nd Class came with a ribbon and was worn in one of two different methods:
· When in formal dress, the entire cross was worn mounted alone or as part of a medal bar.
· For everyday wear, only the ribbon was worn from the second hole in the tunic button.
The Iron Cross First Class was a pin-on medal with no ribbon and was worn centered on a uniform breast pocket, either on dress uniforms or everyday outfit. It was a progressive award, with the second class having to be earned before the first class and so on for the higher degrees. It is estimated that some four and a half million Second Class Iron Crosses were awarded in the Second World War, and 300,000 of the First Class#. Two Iron Cross First Class recipients were women, one of whom was test pilot Hanna Reitsch. One of the Muslim SS members to receive the award was SS Obersturmführer Imam Halim Malkoć, and was granted the Iron Cross (Second Class) in October 1943 for his role in suppressing the Villefranche-de-Rouergue mutiny. He and several other Bosnian Muslims were decorated with the EK. II personally by Himmler in the days after the mutiny. Interestingly, he would only wear the ribbon, and not the cross itself because of his faith. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes, often simply Ritterkreuz) recognized extreme battlefield bravery or successful leadership. The Knight's Cross was divided into five degrees:
· Knight's Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes)
· Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves (mit Eichenlaub)
· Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern)
· Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds (mit Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten)
· Knight's Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds (mit Goldenem Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten)
In total, 7,313 awards of the Knight's Cross were made. Only 883 received the Oak Leaves; 160 both the Oak Leaves and Swords (including Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto (posthumously); 27 with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds; and one with the Golden Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds (Oberst Hans-Ulrich Rudel). Recipients of the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds
Pilots
· Colonel (Oberst) Werner Mölders (15 July 1941)
· Lieutenant General (Generalleutnant) Adolf Galland (28 February 1942)
· Colonel (Oberst) Gordon M. Gollob (3 August 1942)
· Captain (Hauptmann) Hans-Joachim Marseille (3 September 1942)
· Colonel (Oberst) Helmut Lent (7 July 1944)
· Major Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer (14 October 1944)
· Major Walter Nowotny (19 October 1943)
· Colonel (Oberst) Hans-Ulrich Rudel (Diamonds: 29 March 1944, Golden Oak Leaves: 1 January 1945)
· Major Erich Hartmann (8 August 1944)
· Colonel (Oberst) Hermann Graf (16 September 1942)
Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring never held the Diamonds. He, being one of the first soldiers presented with the Knight's Cross in 1939, was presented with the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross in 1940.
Submarine captains of the German Navy (Kriegsmarine):
· Captain (Kapitän zur See) Wolfgang Lüth (11 August 1943)
· Commander (Fregattenkapitän) Albrecht Brandi (21 November 1944)
General Field Marshals (Generalfeldmarschälle):
· Erwin Rommel (11 March 1943)
· Albert Kesselring (19 July 1944)
· Walter Model (17 August 1944)
· Ferdinand Schörner (1 January 1945)
Generals and state officials
· Brig. General (Generalmajor) Adelbert Schulz (9 January 1944)
· Waffen-SS Lt. General (SS-Obergruppenführer) Herbert Otto Gille (19 September 1944)
· Waffen-SS Brig. General (SS-Brigadeführer) Sylvester Stadler (6 May 1945)
· Lt. General (General der Fallschirmtruppe) Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke (19 September 1944)
· Maj. General (Generalleutnant) Theodor Tolsdorff (18 March 1945)
· Maj. General (Generalleutnant) Dr. Karl Mauss, DDS (15 April 1945)
· Lt. General (General der Panzertruppe) Dietrich von Saucken (8 May 1945))
· Lt. General (General der Panzertruppe) Hermann Balck (31 August 1944)
· Lt. General (General der Panzertruppe) Hasso von Manteuffel (18 February 1945)
· Maj. General (Generalleutnant) Hyazinth Graf Strachwitz (15 April 1944)
· Waffen-SS General (SS-Oberstgruppenführer) Sepp Dietrich (6 August 1944)
· General (Generaloberst) Hans-Valentin Hube (20 April 1944)
Like the Knight's Cross, the Grand Cross (Großkreuz) was also worn suspended from the collar. The only recipient of the Grand Cross during the Second World War was Reichsmarschall, or "Reich Marshal of the Greater German Reich," Hermann Göring, who was awarded the decoration on 19 July 1940. The medal is in effect an oversized Knight's Cross. It had the same overall characteristics as the Knights Cross but was much larger, measuring