GERMAN WWI 2nd Class ORIGINAL IRON CROSS Medal 1914 (1813)
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GERMAN WWI 2nd Class ORIGINAL IRON CROSS Medal 1914 (1813)

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€150.00 €95.00
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GERMAN WWI 2nd Class ORIGINAL IRON CROSS Medal 1914 (1813)

Iron Cross, , German Eiserne Kreuz, Prussian military decoration instituted in 1813 by Frederick William III for distinguished service in the Prussian War of Liberation. Use of the decoration was revived by William I for the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, recreated in 1914 for World War I, and last revived by Adolf Hitler on Sept. 1, 1939, the same day that German forces invaded Poland.

Originally, the Cross had three classes, listed in ascending order: second class, first class, and Grand Cross, the latter being awarded only 19 times through the end of World War I (1918). A special class, the Grand Cross on a radiant star, was created especially for Field Marshal G.L. Blücher after the Battle of Waterloo (1815). It was awarded only once more, to Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg in 1918. A civilian order of the Cross was created for and conferred upon (1915) the English Germanophile Houston Stewart Chamberlain. From the time of its creation until the end of World War I, 5,719,300 Iron Crosses first and second class were awarded.

During World War II, Hitler decreed the Cross could be conferred on Germans and citizens of countries allied with Germany for exceptional bravery and/or leadership in the face of the enemy. The number of grades was expanded to eight, which, listed in ascending order, are: second class; first class; Knight’s Cross; Knight’s Cross with oak leaves; with oak leaves and swords; with oak leaves, swords, and diamonds; with golden oak leaves, swords, and diamonds (conferred only once); and an even larger Grand Cross (awarded only once, to Hermann Göring for the Air Force’s part in the 1940 French campaign).