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83-532: From May to October 1950, Gerhard Graf von Schwerin had already advised Chancellor Konrad Adenauer on security policy issues and made preparations for the establishment of a future Ministry of Defense. For this purpose, the Schwerin Office was set up with the code name Central Homeland Service (ZfH) (not to be confused with the Federal Central Homeland Service). The ZfH was affiliated with

166-655: A cross pattée . When the Quadriga of the Goddess of Peace was retrieved from Paris at Napoleon's fall, it was re-established atop Berlin's Brandenburg Gate . An Iron Cross was inserted into Peace's laurel wreath , making her into a Goddess of Victory . In 1821 Schinkel crowned the top of his design of the National Monument for the Liberation Wars with an Iron Cross, becoming name-giving as Kreuzberg (cross mountain) for

249-540: A platinum frame that he was wearing at the time of his surrender to the allies in 1945. The Star of the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross (also called Iron Cross with Golden Rays) was pinned to the left breast, above the Iron Cross 1st Class. Like the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross, it was for bestowal upon successful general officers. The Star of the Grand Cross was awarded only twice, both to Field Marshals who already held

332-470: A German decoration (rather than Prussian), and continued the tradition of issuing it in various classes. Legally, it is based on the "Enactment for the re-introduction of the Iron Cross" ( Verordnung über die Erneuerung des Eisernen Kreuzes ) of 1 September 1939. The Iron Cross of World War II was divided into three main series of decorations: the Iron Cross (the lowest), the Knight's Cross (intermediate), and

415-409: A German monarch. There was also the "1957" issue, a replacement medal for holders of the 1939 series which substituted an oak-leaf cluster for the banned swastika. When the Iron Cross was reauthorized for World War I in 1914, it was possible for individuals who had previously been awarded one in 1870 to be subsequently granted another. These recipients were recognized with the award of a clasp featuring

498-572: A clandestine personal approach to the British Government , suggesting that if it abandoned its policy of appeasement towards the Third Reich, and instead moved to a stance of open military opposition towards its escalating aggression in central Europe, this would provide a rallying point and catalyst for elements in the German military who were at that time considering launching a coup d'etat against

581-485: A communique, which he left at the town's post office, for the approaching American commander notifying him of this decision and requesting that he treat the remaining German civilian population humanely. As he was preparing to abandon the town, Schwerin received intelligence from senior command headquarters informing him that the American advance appeared to have halted to re-group, a large scale attack upon Aachen in consequence

664-404: A miniaturized 1914 Iron Cross on a metal bar. The award was quite rare, since by this time there were few in service who held the 1870 Iron Cross. In World War II it was also possible for a holder of the 1914 Iron Cross to be awarded a second or higher grade of the 1939 Iron Cross. In such cases, a " 1939 Clasp " ( Spange ) would be worn on the original 1914 Iron Cross. For the 1st Class award,

747-467: A pin which exhibited three Iron Crosses with an exaggerated swastika, thereby consolidating the awards. In some cases, Minox miniature cameras were given to people together with an Iron Cross. As modern German law prohibits the production and display of items containing Nazi insignia , the West German government authorized replacement Iron Crosses in 1957 with a trifoliate Oak Leaf Cluster in place of

830-540: A qualified test pilot and development engineer and decorated in August 1943. Other DRK female auxiliaries who received the Iron Cross for acts of bravery are Hanny Weber, Geolinde Münchge, Elfriede Gunia, Ruth Raabe, Ilse Daub, Greta Graffenkamp, Elfriede Muth, Ursula Kogel, Liselotte Schlotterbeck, Rohna von Ceuern, Anna Wohlschütz, and Dr. Elizabeth Potuz. Two non-German female auxiliaries of the German Red Cross were awarded

913-570: A slightly modified version of the SS "Leibermuster," a Flecktarn camouflage pattern developed by 1945. These patterns and fabrics were manufactured in Belgium. After France unexpectedly rejected the largely ratified EDC plans at the last moment, the further distribution of EDC uniforms to the newly established Bundeswehr was discontinued in 1956. Overall, the Bundeswehr's equipment still retained many elements of

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996-517: A stand on the Polish border eight months later rather than somewhere else. Frank Roberts , an official in the Foreign Office 's German Department who also dealt with the issue, light-heartedly - in spite of the risk that Schwerin had taken in making such a move on the eve of war, which would constitute high treason and a capital crime in the Third Reich's jurisdiction if it was discovered - dismissed

1079-449: A variety of very crude anti-German propaganda versions of the Iron Cross were created by the Allies, and sold to raise money for the war effort and the relief of Belgian refugees . One was inscribed "FOR KULTUR" in raised letters, another "FOR BRUTALITY." Yet another showed the names of French and Belgian towns attacked or destroyed during the retreat from Mons on the ends of the upper arms of

1162-656: The Balkenkreuz (bar cross) variant was used by the Wehrmacht . The Iron Cross is now the emblem of the Bundeswehr , the modern German armed forces. King Frederick William III of Prussia established the Iron Cross award on 17 March 1813 during the Napoleonic Wars (EK 1813). The award was backdated to the birthday (10 March) of his late wife, Queen Louise , who was the first person to receive it (posthumously). The Iron Cross

1245-516: The 116th Panzer Division . During the fighting with the American and British Empire forces that had entered France in 1944, Schwerin was temporarily removed from the command of 116th Division after a difference of opinion with a superior, but was re-appointed to the post shortly afterwards. As the American Army's advance crossed the Belgian border into Germany, it approached the town of Aachen where

1328-705: The European Defense Community .. The Blank Office investigated, among other things, camouflage patterns, combat, and dress uniforms for the Bundeswehr, ultimately deciding on a slightly modified version of the Splittertarn pattern, which had already been introduced in the Reichswehr in 1931. In connection with the European Defence Community (EDC), planned since 1952 and intended to include several European states, experiments were also conducted with

1411-690: The Friedrich-Wilhelm-Heinz-Dienst  [ de ] (FWHD). Adenauer dismissed Schwerin in October 1950 after he had spoken to representatives of the press about his activities. Theodor Blank then became his successor on October 26, 1950, at the same time the office was officially founded and Schwerin's office, the ZfH, was taken over. Important employees in the Blank Office were Wolf von Baudissin, his representative Heinz Karst  [ de ] ,

1494-701: The German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the insignia of the medieval Teutonic Order and borne by its knights from the 13th century. As well as being a military medal, it has also been used as an emblem by the Prussian Army , the Imperial German Army , and the Reichswehr of the Weimar Republic , while

1577-572: The Low Countries and France to North Africa, Russia to Germany and Italy. He received command of the 1st Battalion Motorized Infantry Regiment of the Grossdeutschland Division on the war's outbreak, and took part of the invasion and defeat of France in 1940 (elements of troops under his command in this unit committed two massacres of disarmed French Imperial African Senegalese Tirailleurs whom they had captured as prisoners of war during

1660-574: The Muslim SS members to receive the award, SS Obersturmführer Imam Halim Malkoč was granted the Iron Cross (2nd Class) in October 1943 for his role in suppressing the Villefranche-de-Rouergue mutiny . He, together with several other Bosnian Muslims, was decorated with the EK II personally by Himmler in the days after the mutiny. Because of his Muslim faith, he wore only the ribbon, and not

1743-821: The National Socialist government of Adolf Hitler. At a dinner party in Marylebone hosted by Admiral Sir Aubrey Smith , Schwerin met James Stuart , representing the British Government, Admiral John Godfrey , head of naval intelligence, and General Sir James Marshall-Cornwall , Director-General of air and coastal defence, to warn them of Hitler's intention to invade Poland . Along with the suggestion that Great Britain's and Germany's best interests would be served by Neville Chamberlain being replaced as prime minister by Winston Churchill , Schwerin advocated that pressure for an internal military coup by anti-Nazi elements of

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1826-575: The Prussian Military Merit Cross ), but is seen as a supplement of existing awards of the Bundeswehr . In the United States, the Iron Cross was adopted by outlaw motorcycle clubs in the 1960s, as a symbol of rebellion and probably for shock value . From biker subculture it spread to rock and heavy metal subcultures, becoming part of heavy metal fashion . Lemmy Kilmister of the influential band Motörhead often wore one. in

1909-682: The Sudetenland and the Memel region ). After post-war German armed forces began seeing active service, first in Kosovo and then in Afghanistan , a campaign began to revive the Iron Cross and other military medals, since Germany had no awards specifically for active military service. In 2007, a petition to the German parliament to revive the Iron Cross decoration was initiated, quickly receiving over 5,000 signatures. On 13 December 2007 parliament decided to let

1992-791: The Third Reich , fundamentally altering the post-World War political order in Europe. In October 1938 Schwerin was promoted to the rank of major. At the end of the 1930s he was a staff-officer with Oberkommando des Heeres (Supreme High Command on the German Army). In January 1939, whilst working at the UK/US intelligence section of the German War Ministry at the German Embassy in London , Schwerin made

2075-676: The Wehrmacht , of which he was aware, could be induced by the deployment of a squadron of Royal Navy battleships taking up a hostile position off Germany's Northern shore in the Baltic Sea , and by the Royal Air Force moving elements of its Bomber Command to a pre-battle theatre station in French airfields, as a means of indicating the British Empire 's ultimate willingness for a confrontation with

2158-638: The 'open town' communique that he had left at the post office, but by this time it had fallen into the hands of roaming Schutzstaffel security police operating in Aachen under the personal authority of Adolf Hitler, who had been sent in to stiffen resistance against any signs of wavering in the line by the German Army 's officer corps. On reading the communique's content, they ordered Schwerin be immediately relieved of command and placed under close-arrest, and organized Colonel Gerhard Wilck being sent in to replace him at

2241-577: The 1870 Iron Cross who were still in service in 1895 were authorized to purchase and wear above the cross a Jubiläumsspange ("Jubilee clip"), a 25-year clasp consisting of the numerals "25" on three oak leaves. William Manley is possibly the only recipient of both the Iron Cross and the Victoria Cross . He was awarded the Iron Cross for service with an ambulance unit in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71. Emperor Wilhelm II reauthorized

2324-451: The 1870, 1914 and 1939 series of Iron Crosses have the year "1813" appearing on the lower arm, symbolizing the year the award was created. The 1813 decoration also has the initials "FW" for King Friedrich Wilhelm III , while the next two have a "W" for the respective kaisers, Wilhelm I and Wilhelm II . The final version shows a swastika representing the Nazi Party instead of a letter for

2407-418: The 1950s and 1970s. The honour of the street name was withdrawn in 2008 after local political opposition in the town, upon the basis that while Schwerin was briefly Aachen's military commandant, two teenage boys had been summarily executed for looting. The name of the street was in consequence changed to the 'Kornelimunsterweg'. Schwerin was married three times. The first marriage was with Herta Kannengiesser;

2490-405: The 1990s, this other use of the Iron Cross had spread from bikers to skateboarders and many extreme sports enthusiasts and became part of the logo of several related clothing companies. The Anti-Defamation League states that the version of the symbol with a swastika has been commonly used by neo-Nazis and other white supremacists as a hate symbol since it was discontinued following World War II, but

2573-584: The 254th Infantry Brigade, before being appointed to the command of the 8th Jaeger Division in mid-1942 on the Eastern Front . In October 1942 he was promoted to the rank of major-general. From November 1942 he commanded the 16th Panzer Grenadier Division on the Eastern Front (being promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general in June 1943), being involved in the fighting around Stalingrad , and subsequently being awarded

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2656-570: The 2nd (1st Pomeranian) Grenadier Regiment. He saw action with the infantry on both the Eastern and Western fronts in 1918 whilst still a teenager, serving as a company commander and battalion adjutant. He was wounded in action on 26 September 1918, and hospitalized until the war's end in November 1918. In 1918 he was awarded the Iron Cross for gallantry in action, both 2nd Class and 1st Class. Schwerin

2739-678: The 2nd Class version was as a ribbon through one of the button holes in the recipient's tunic. The Grand Cross was intended for senior generals of the Prussian or (later) the German Army. An even higher decoration, the Star of the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross (also called the Blücher Star ), was awarded only twice, to Generalfeldmarschall Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher in 1813 and to Generalfeldmarschall Paul von Hindenburg in 1918. A third award

2822-590: The Black Cross was featured on the Prussian war flag alongside the Black Eagle. It was designed by neoclassical architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel , based on Friedrich Wilhelm III. The design is ultimately derivative of the black cross used by the Teutonic Order . This heraldic cross took various forms throughout the order's history, including a Latin cross , a cross potent , cross fleury , and occasionally also

2905-521: The Eastern Front, Magda Darchniger, decorated in 1942, Marga Droste, who remained at her post in the Wilhelmshaven hospital despite her own wounds during a bombing in 1942, Ilse Schulz and Grete Fock, who served in the African campaign, Liselotte Hensel and Miss Holzmann, who were both decorated in 1943 for bravery during a bombing of Hamburg, and the countess Melitta Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg , acting as

2988-575: The Golden Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds ( Oberst Hans-Ulrich Rudel ). Like the Knight's Cross, the Grand Cross ( Großkreuz ) was worn suspended from the collar. It was reserved for general officers for "the most outstanding strategic decisions affecting the course of the war". The only recipient during the Second World War was Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring , who was awarded

3071-521: The Grand Cross (the highest). The Knight's Cross replaced the Prussian Pour le Mérite or "Blue Max". Hitler did not care for the Pour le Mérite , 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 as the color red was used in addition to the traditional black and white (black and white were

3154-763: The Grand Cross: in 1815 to Gebhard von Blücher for his part in the Battle of Waterloo , and in March 1918 to Paul von Hindenburg for his conduct of the 1918 Spring Offensive on the Western Front . It is often called the Blücher Star ( Blücherstern ) , after its first recipient. A Star of the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross was manufactured in World War II, but never formally instituted or awarded. The only known example, based on

3237-492: The Iron Cross ( Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes , often simply Ritterkreuz ) recognized military valour or successful leadership. The Knight's Cross was divided into five degrees: 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

3320-457: The Iron Cross on 5 August 1914, at the start of World War I . During these three periods, the Iron Cross was an award of the Kingdom of Prussia, although—given Prussia's pre-eminent place in the German Empire formed in 1871—it tended to be treated as a generic German decoration. The 1813, 1870, and 1914 Iron Crosses had three grades: Although the obverse of the medals of each class was identical,

3403-406: The Iron Cross were given entitlements and often wore signifying articles, such as an Iron Cross signet ring or cloth Iron Cross which could be affixed to clothing. Also, during the Nazi period, those attaining more than one award, for example, an officer who had attained an Iron Cross 2nd Class, an Iron Cross 1st Class, and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with the Oak Leaves, were entitled to wear

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3486-439: The Iron Cross: Norwegian nurse Anne Gunhild Moxnes in April 1944, and an unknown Belgian nurse in 1942. A young member of the female youth organisation of the Third Reich, Ottilie Stephan, was also awarded the Iron Cross in February 1945 under unknown circumstances. At least two Iron Cross, 1st class, recipients were women, test pilot ( Flugkapitän ) Hanna Reitsch and in January 1945 German Red Cross sister Else Grossmann. One of

3569-423: The Iron Crosses 1st Class were stitched in ribbon to the left uniform breast. By order of 1 June 1813, the 2nd form was created in cast iron with silver borders, and 8 loops on the reverse, to be fixed to the left uniform breast. In 1817 a total of 670 chevaliers had received the Iron Cross 1st Class. King Wilhelm I of Prussia authorized further awards on 19 July 1870, during the Franco-Prussian War . Recipients of

3652-410: The Italian front by the British Army , becoming a prisoner of war. He was released from post-war Allied military custody in late 1947. In May 1950 Schwerin was appointed to the post of chief advisor on military issues and security policy to the Chancellor Konrad Adenauer , and head of the covert government agency Dienststelle Schwerin (with the code name "Zentrale für Heimatdienst"), responsible for

3735-410: The Ministry of Defence decide the matter. On 6 March 2008, President Horst Köhler approved a proposal by Minister of Defense Franz Josef Jung to institute a new award for bravery. The Ehrenzeichen der Bundeswehr (Badge of Honor of the German Armed Forces) series was instituted on 10 October 2008. However, it does not have the traditional form of the Iron Cross (instead more closely resembling

3818-415: The Naval Historical Team, a group of former high-ranking German naval officers who worked in Bremerhaven on the conception of a future German naval force, controlled and financed by the US Office of Naval Intelligence. In this way, in 1951 Wolfgang Kähler and Karl-Adolf Zenker became the most important naval planners of the Blank Office and the German delegation members for this topic in the negotiations on

3901-405: The Nazis. This politico-military strategy was communicated to Chamberlain but was rejected as being too aggressive at that point as a way of dealing with the gathering menace of the Third Reich. However, Schwerin's representations to the British Government may have contributed to its collective assessments which were ongoing at that time as to how to deal with Adolf Hitler, and to the decision to make

3984-419: The Oak Leaves and also the Swords of the Knight's Cross (personally presented by Adolf Hitler at a ceremony in the Berghof on Schwerin's arrival back in Germany) for his handling of the Division during the retreat from Russia whilst harried continually by overwhelming pursuing Soviet forces. The 16th Panzer Grenadier Division was transferred to France in March 1944, the unit being militarily upgraded to become

4067-514: The Prussian military archives were destroyed during World War II. The multitude of awards reduced the status and reputation of the decoration. Among the holders of the 1914 Iron Cross, 2nd class, and 1st Class was Adolf Hitler , who served as an Austrian citizen in the Bavarian Army with the rank of Gefreiter (lance-corporal), he received these medals for showing bravery on the field of battle. Most photographs of Hitler show him wearing his EKI in standard fashion on his left breast. In 1914,

4150-454: The Prussian-German army tradition. Theodor Blank was also responsible for introducing military vehicles such as the DKW Munga . Initially, the office consisted of 20 employees and grew to approximately 700 by 1953. The Blank Office also largely financed the Society for Military Science . A cooperative division of labor was established. Gerhard von Schwerin Gerhard Helmut Detleff Graf von Schwerin (23 June 1899 – 29 October 1980)

4233-420: The Spange appears as an eagle with the date "1939". This was pinned to the uniform above the original medal. Although they were two separate awards in some cases the holders soldered them together. A cross has been the symbol of Germany's armed forces (now the Bundeswehr ) since 1871. On 17 March 1813 King Frederick William III of Prussia, who had fled to non-occupied Breslau (today Wrocław ), established

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4316-415: The World War I version but with the 1939 Iron Cross centerpiece, was found by Allied forces at the end of the war, and it is now in the museum at West Point . It is likely that Reichsmarschall Göring was the intended eventual recipient. He was the only holder of the World War II Iron Cross Grand Cross, and both the previous recipients of the Star had already received the Grand Cross. Officers awarded

4399-407: The award was presented. It was worn with a 57 mm (2.2 in) wide ribbon bearing the same colors as the Knight's Cross and 2nd Class ribbons. The award case was in red leather with the eagle and the swastika outlined in gold. The original Grand Cross presented to Göring (personally by Hitler) was destroyed during an air raid on his Berlin home. Göring had extra copies made, one of them with

4482-515: The basis of his initial decision to withdraw from Aachen in the September 1944 fighting by styling himself as the "Saviour of Aachen" (although substantial fighting and destruction had occurred in the town in the subsequent Battle of Aachen after his arrest and removal from the scene). This narrative found some acceptance, with his being granted the honour by the town of having a street 'Graf Schwerin Strasse' (Count Schwerin's Street) named after him and being given civic awards at ceremonies held there in

4565-428: The black and white colors on the ribbon were reversed. The ribbon color for the 1939 EKII was black/white/red/white/black. Since the Iron Cross was issued over several different periods of German history, it was annotated with the year indicating the era in which it was issued. For example, an Iron Cross from World War I bears the year "1914", while the same decoration from World War II is annotated "1939". The reverse of

4648-414: The colors of Prussia, while black, white, and red were the colors of Nazi Germany). Hitler also created the War Merit Cross as a replacement for the non-combatant version of the Iron Cross. It also appeared on certain Nazi flags in the upper left corner. The sides of the cross were curved, like most original iron crosses. The standard 1939 Iron Cross was issued in the following two grades: The Iron Cross

4731-446: The cross. Three Finnish Jews were awarded the Iron Cross: Major Leo Skurnik and Captain Salomon Klass of the Finnish Army and nurse Dina Poljakoff from the Lotta Svärd organization. All three refused the award. The Spanish double-agent Juan Pujol García , known to the Germans as Arabel and the British as Garbo received the 2nd Class Iron Cross, and an MBE from King George VI four months later. The Knight's Cross of

4814-406: The cross; these included Rheims , Louvain and Amiens on one side, and Antwerp , Dinant and Ghent on the other, with the date 1914 on the lower arm, and a central W for Kaiser Wilhelm as on the original. Another commemorated the raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby , showing the names of these "war atrocities" on the arms of the cross. Adolf Hitler restored the Iron Cross in 1939 as

4897-427: The decoration on 19 July 1940 for his command of the Luftwaffe , after the Battle of France in 1940. The medal is a larger version of the Knight's Cross, measuring 63 mm (2.5 in) wide as opposed to about 44 mm (1.7 in) for the Iron Cross and 48.5 mm (1.9 in) for the Knight's Cross. It was originally intended to have outer edges lined in gold, but this was changed to silver before

4980-437: The generals Adolf Heusinger , Hans Speidel and the mastermind of a civilian Bundeswehr administration Ernst Wirmer  [ de ] . The work of the Blank Office, which served to prepare for rearmament, contradicted the Allies' regulations that Germany should remain demilitarized in the long term; however, it was known to the Western Allies and tolerated by them. For naval issues, the office initially relied primarily on

5063-410: The head of the 116th Division. With the aid of Field Marshals Gerd von Rundstedt and Walter Model , Schwerin received only a severe reprimand for his actions at Aachen. He was then ordered to the Italian front to take over the command of the LXXVI Panzerkorps in December 1944. At the beginning of April 1945 he was promoted to the rank of General of Panzer Troops. On 26 April 1945 he was captured on

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5146-446: The hill it stands on and, 100 years later, for the homonymous quarter adjacent to it. The Black Cross was used on the naval and combat flags of the German Empire . The Black Cross was used as the German Army symbol until 1915 when a simpler Balkenkreuz replaced it. The Reichswehr of the Weimar Republic (1921–35), the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany (1935–45), and the Bundeswehr (1 October 1956 to present) also inherited

5229-423: The invasion). He also commanded up to 1941 the Rifle Regiment No.86, and the Grossdeutschland Regiment. Whilst with the Afrika Korps on 7 April 1941, commanding the Special Purposes Regiment No. 200, Schwerin led a long-range joint German and Italian commando force deep into the British Empire's lines in Libya to capture the Mechili oasis, heralding the Afrika Korps' entry into operations in North Africa under

5312-473: The late 20th century, the symbol has also been adopted into the outlaw motorcycle subculture and heavy metal fashion . The Black Cross ( Schwarzes Kreuz ) is the emblem used by the Prussian Army and Germany's army from 1871 to the present. It was designed on the occasion of the German Campaign of 1813 , when Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia commissioned the Iron Cross as the first military decoration open to all ranks, including enlisted men. From this time,

5395-413: The leadership of Erwin Rommel , which resulted in almost 3000 British Imperial prisoners of war being rounded-up, three generals in their number. In late 1941 he returned to Europe to take part in Operation Barbarossa , commanding Infantry Regiment No. 76 in the charge Eastwards into the Soviet Union , for which he received the Knight's Cross in January 1942. From April to May 1942 he briefly commanded

5478-408: The manner in which each was worn differed. The Iron Cross, 1st class, employed a pin or screw posts on the back of the medal, and was worn on the left side of the recipient's uniform, like the original 1813 version. The Iron Cross 2nd Class, and the larger Grand Cross, were suspended from different ribbons: the Grand Cross from a neck ribbon, the 2nd Class from a ribbon on the chest. The usual display of

5561-418: The military decoration of the Iron Cross, backdated to 10 March (the late Queen Louise 's birthday). The Iron Cross was awarded to soldiers during the Wars of Liberation against Napoleon. Before a soldier could be awarded with the Iron Cross 1st Class, he needed to have been decorated with the Iron Cross 2nd Class. It was first awarded to Karl August Ferdinand von Borcke on 21 April 1813. The first form of

5644-662: The rank of the recipient. For example, Bavarian officers received various grades of that Kingdom's Military Merit Order ( Militär-Verdienstorden ), while enlisted men received various grades of the Military Merit Cross ( Militär-Verdienstkreuz ). Prussia did have other orders and medals which it awarded on the basis of rank, and even though the Iron Cross was intended to be awarded without regard to rank, officers and NCOs were more likely to receive it than junior enlisted soldiers. During World War I, approximately 218,000 EKIs, 5,196,000 EKIIs and 13,000 non-combatant EKIIs were awarded. Exact numbers of awards are not known, since

5727-471: The reconstruction of West Germany's military whilst under American occupation during the Cold War . However, after he talked to the press about his work he was replaced by Theodor Blank in October 1950. Schwerin subsequently was active as an advisor on military policy for the parliamentary group of the Free Democratic Party of Germany . Schwerin sought to augment his Prussian Officer anti-Nazi credentials in West Germany's post-war political environment on

5810-449: The remnants of Schwerin's 116th Panzer-Division were deployed. By this time, 116th "Division" had been reduced to 600 men, twelve serviceable tanks and was bereft of artillery guns. Coming to the conclusion that his force didn't possess the strength to deny the town to the Allies, and an attempt to do so would be a tactically futile loss of life and endangerment of the town's civilians, several thousand of whom had not been evacuated from what

5893-429: The second was with Julia Zulich, two children resulting: Gabrielle (b. August 1932) and Christian (b. January 1939), two grandsons Alex von Rutenberg and Maximilian zu Sayn Wittgenstein. The last marriage was with Esther Klippel. Schwerin died in 1980. Iron Cross The Iron Cross (German: Eisernes Kreuz , listen , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia , and later in

5976-503: The subject of Schwerin's approaches as being an internal matter for the German high command. In April 1939 Schwerin was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. On return to Germany, as the war was declared a few months later in September 1939, which his manoeuvring in London had failed to avert, Schwerin assumed duties as a frontline German military officer, and what followed was an extensive campaign career which took him from fighting in

6059-529: The swastika, similar to the Iron Crosses of 1813, 1870, and 1914, which could be worn by World War II Iron Cross recipients. The 1957 law also authorized de-Nazified versions of most other World War II-era decorations (except those specifically associated with Nazi Party organizations, such as SS Long Service medals, or with the expansion of the German Reich , such as the medals for the annexation of Austria,

6142-415: The use of the emblem in various forms. The traditional design in black is used on armored vehicles and aircraft, while after German reunification , a new creation in blue and silver was introduced for use in other contexts. The ribbon for the 1813, 1870 and 1914 Iron Cross (2nd Class) was black with two thin white bands, the colors of Prussia. The non-combatant version of this award had the same medal, but

6225-470: Was a German General der Panzertruppe during World War II . Gerhard von Schwerin was born to a Prussian aristocratic family in 1899. His father was a civil official in the Prussian State Government. At the age of 15 he entered the military cadet school at Koslin . Joining the Prussian Army 's 2nd Foot Guards Regiment as a Fahnrich (commissioned officer cadet), he subsequently transferred to

6308-431: 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 2nd Class Iron Crosses were awarded during World War II, and 300,000 of the 1st Class. Thirty-nine women, chiefly female nurses from the German Red Cross were granted the Iron Cross 2nd Class. Example of such women are Elfriede Wnuk, wounded in 1942 on

6391-582: Was also awarded during the Franco-Prussian War (EK 1870), World War I (EK 1914), and World War II (EK 1939). During World War II, the Nazi regime made their own version by superimposing a swastika on the medal. The Iron Cross was usually a military decoration only, though some were awarded to civilians for performing military roles, including Hanna Reitsch and Melitta Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg for being civilian test pilots during World War II. Since

6474-469: 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 the cross itself was worn in one of two different ways: Note that for everyday wear, only the ribbon was worn from the second buttonhole in the tunic. The Iron Cross, 1st 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

6557-669: Was discharged from the army in 1920. He spent the following two years engaged in a managerial business apprenticeship with a coffee import firm in Bremen , and a petroleum company in Berlin. In 1922 he rejoined the Reichswehr as a professional soldier, being commissioned with the rank of lieutenant into the Prussian Army's Infantry Regiment No.1. In 1931 he joined Infantry Regiment No.18 in Paderborn . He

6640-505: Was not imminent, and notifying him that reinforcements were en route to him for the town's defense. At this moment, an American reconnaissance force appeared in the South-West suburb of Aachen, which Schwerin received orders to counter-attack and bar from entering the town, which he complied with, ordering the 116th Division's grenadiers to engage it and force it back out. Given the rapidly changing situation, he dispatched an officer to retrieve

6723-586: Was now about to become the fighting line, and also to try to protect the city's historical architecture and relics from being destroyed - Aachen being the ancient capital and crowning site of the kings of the Holy Roman Empire - Schwerin unilaterally decided to withdraw from Aachen and declare it an open town without seeking approval from superior command, in a manner similar to what General Dietrich von Choltitz had done in Paris two weeks earlier. Schwerin wrote

6806-544: Was planned for the most successful German general during World War II, but was not made after the defeat of Germany in 1945. The Iron Cross, 1st class, and the Iron Cross, 2nd class, were awarded without regard to rank. One had to possess the 2nd Class already in order to receive the 1st Class (though in some cases both could be awarded simultaneously). The egalitarian nature of this award contrasted with those of most other German states (and indeed of many other European monarchies), where military decorations were awarded based on

6889-763: Was promoted to captain in June 1933. From 1933 to 1935 he attended the General Staff course at the Prussian Military Academy in Berlin. Whilst Schwerin was at the Academy the German Chancellor Adolf Hitler seized autocratic governing power in a paramilitary political revolution in Berlin, abolished the Weimar Republic state with the passing into law of the Enabling Act of 1933 , and declared an ideological militarist dictatorship described as

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