Iron Cross

The Iron Cross (German: Eisernes Kreuz) is 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 1813. The Iron Cross is only awarded in wartime. In addition to the Napoleonic Wars, the Iron Cross was awarded during the Franco-Prussian War, and the First (WWI) and Second World Wars. It has not been awarded, nor any other form of a military decoration to honor or bravery, since May 1945 in the german Bundeswehr.

Design

The Iron Cross (a black four-pointed cross with white trim, with the arms widening towards the ends, similar to a Maltese Cross) was designed by the neo-classical architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel and reflects the cross borne by the Teutonic Knights in the 14th century which was also the emblem of Frederick the Great. When the Quadriga of the Goddess of Peace was retrieved from Paris at Napoleon's fall, the Goddess was re-established atop Berlin's Brandenburg Gate. An Iron Cross was substituted for her laurel wreath, making her into a Goddess of Victory.

Related Topics:
Cross - Maltese Cross - Karl Friedrich Schinkel - Teutonic Knights - 14th century - Frederick the Great - Quadriga - Paris - Napoleon - Berlin - Brandenburg Gate - Laurel - Wreath - Goddess of Victory

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In contrast to many other medals, the Iron Cross has a very simple design, unadorned, and is made from relatively cheap and common materials. It was traditionally cast in iron (although, in later years, the decoration was cast in zinc and aluminium).

Related Topics:
Iron - Zinc - Aluminium

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The ribbon for the 1813, 1870, and 1914 Iron Cross (2nd Class) was black with two thin white bands. The non-combatant version of this award had the same medal, but the black and white colors on the ribbon were reversed.

Related Topics:
Ribbon - Non-combatant

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Since the Iron Cross was issued over several different periods of German history, the Iron Cross is annotated by a year numeral to indicate the era in which the Iron Cross was issued: so, for example, an Iron Cross from the First World War would be annotated with the year numeral "1914", while the same decoration from the Second World War would be annoted with the numeral "1939". All Iron Crosses from the Second World War contained a swastika centered on the decoration. The reverse of the 1870, 1914, and 1939 series Iron Crosses had the year "1813" annoted on the lower arm, symbolizing the year the award was first created.

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It was also possible for a holder of the 1914 Iron Cross to be awarded a higher grade of the 1939 Iron Cross. A reward of the first or second class was also possible. In such cases, a "1939 Clasp" ("Spange") would be worn on the original 1914 Iron Cross. (A similar award was made in 1914, but that was quite rare, since there were few in service who held the 1870 Iron Cross.)

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