Cross of Honor of the World War

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Cross of Honor of the World War 1914/1918 with swords

The Cross of Honor of the World War (often named after its most common award level, the Cross of Honor for Frontline Fighters or Front Warrior Cross ) was donated on July 13, 1934 by the Reich President Paul von Hindenburg on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the start of the war in 1914 and was an award from the time of National Socialism for the Participants and the bereaved of those who participated in the First World War .

After Hindenburg's death on August 2, 1934, the Cross of Honor was awarded “in the name of the Führer and Reich Chancellor”, that is to say Adolf Hitler as head of state.

Foundation purpose

The opening words of the Foundation Ordinance were:

"To commemorate the immortal achievements of the German people in the World War of 1914/1918, I am donating a cross of honor for all those who took part in the war as well as for the widows and parents of those who died as a result of injuries or who died in captivity or who went missing."

The Cross of Honor was awarded in three versions:

  • DEU Cross of Honor of the World War Front Warrior BAR.svg Cross of honor for front fighters - with swords
  • DEU Cross of Honor of World War War participant BAR.svg Cross of honor for combatants - without swords
  • DEU Cross of Honor of World War Survivors BAR.svg Cross of honor for the bereaved widows and parents of fallen soldiers - without swords.

Definitions and award requirements

  • The world war within the meaning of the Foundation Ordinance comprised the period from August 1, 1914 to December 31, 1918.
  • According to the Foundation Ordinance, all external or internal injuries caused by direct or indirect effects of ordnance were considered to be wounding.
  • Any German who had performed military service on the German side or on the side of the allies was considered a war participant.
  • Any German war veteran who had participated in a battle, a skirmish, a trench war or a siege with the fencing troops was considered a fighter. In naval warfare, this requirement was fulfilled if this ship (war ship or auxiliary war ship) had taken part in a combat operation (which also included activities such as mine clearance) under the flag of war.
  • The widows and parents of those who died as a result of injuries or who died or disappeared in captivity were considered survivors. The status of widow was considered fulfilled if the marriage was not concluded after December 31, 1918. Otherwise, a later remarriage did not affect the status of a widow. Parents in the sense of this ordinance also included step-parents and adoptive parents.
  • Every Reich German had performed military service within the meaning of the ordinance if he was drafted into the German Army , the Imperial Navy or the Air Force in the First World War , as well as the staff of the Voluntary Nursing , the Imperial Volunteer Automobile Corps and the Voluntary Motorboat Corps , so far they were in the war zone.

Application and award

Award certificate of honor cross for front fighters 1914/1918
Depiction of the "Cross of Honor for Front Fighters" on a war memorial in Tettenweis

The Cross of Honor was only awarded on application (using sample application forms). In the case of parents, if the father had already died, the mother was entitled to apply. The applications were to be submitted by March 31, 1935, although exceptions were accepted in justified individual cases if the applicant was able to provide a sufficient reason why he could not meet the deadline. As a rule, the applications had to be submitted to the responsible local police authority.

The evidence in the possession of the applicant (such as military passports, pension notices, etc.) had to be attached to the applications.

The award took place i. d. Usually by the police director, mayor (urban districts) or district administrator.

If no or insufficient evidence was attached to the application and further findings were found to be necessary, the awarding authority arranged for the competent Central Evidence Office for War Losses and War Graves (ZAK) in Berlin - Spandau to clarify whether the applicant was a combatant or a war participant. The Bavarian award authorities had to address such clarification cases to the branch in Munich , the Saxon award authorities to the branch in Dresden and the Württemberg and Baden award authorities to the Reichsarchiv in Stuttgart .

The award authority's decision could not be appealed, which means that there was no legal remedy against this decision. However, wrongly awarded crosses of honor could also be revoked by the Reich Minister of the Interior.

The awarding of several crosses of honor to one and the same person (e.g. to a father who had fought himself and lost one of his sons in the war) was not permitted.

Award practice

Since Hindenburg died almost three weeks after the foundation and Hitler took over his functions, the Cross of Honor was now awarded in the name of the Führer and Reich Chancellor. A certificate of ownership was issued to the borrower. The names of the award lists of the holders of the Cross of Honor were kept permanently by the Reich Minister of the Interior or in the offices designated by him. In the event of the death of the entrusted person, the cross of honor remained as a souvenir to the bereaved, but was not allowed to be worn. The awarding authority sent the honorary cross to the borrower together with his submitted documents with a certificate of ownership.

  • Sample form for award application for combatants or combatants

  • Sample form for the application for a cross of honor for the widows and parents of fallen soldiers

  • Sample form for confirmation of whether the soldier to be loaned was a combatant (with swords) or a war participant

  • Sample form for the application for a cross of honor for the widows and parents of fallen soldiers

  • Sample form for award certificate

  • Sample form of the list of names of the holders of the Cross of Honor

The Cross of Honor was often applied for by opponents of the Nazi regime, including those who participated in the World War II, because they felt they would be better protected from political and racial persecution in possession of this award. The Jewish World War II participants were also awarded the Cross of Honor. Like other orders from the First World War, this later had no effect on the regime’s approach to the Jewish porters.

The Askari of force for German East Africa Mohamed Husen , who lived in Berlin since 1929, applied for in October 1934 awarding the Cross of Honor at him. The German authorities decided not to give the award to “colored people”. Husen bought the medal in the militaria trade. In several photos Husen can be seen in Askari uniform with the front fighter badge.

Form and manufacture

Cross of Honor for Frontline Fighters (1934)

All three classes have shape and size in common: The cross of honor is made of iron . The shape of the cross is a 3.7 × 3.7 cm large paw cross , which is modeled on the cross shape of the iron cross with its curly arms. It is provided with a 2.8 mm wide border of the cross arms and a transverse standard eyelet on the upper arm, into which the carrying ring for the ribbon is drawn. The crosses for combatants from the front and those taking part in the war are bronzed, the cross for the bereaved with a matt black paint finish. The front of the cross for combatants has a laurel wreath open at the top with a loop that extends into the lower cross arm. In the wreath are the years 1914 and 1918 , and the cross is underlaid with two diagonally crossed swords . The version for combatants is provided with an oak wreath instead of a laurel wreath, and there are no swords as a sign of the front line. The bereaved received the same shape (with oak leaves, without swords), but painted black and with a different ribbon . Because of the high number of items, various companies produced the award. The back of the cross of honor is smooth, but the many companies approved for manufacturing have used the smooth back to mark their products with company logos, codes or letters.

Carrying method

Alfred Jodl , wearing the ribbon buckle of the Cross of Honor for front-line fighters (2nd field clasp from the left)

The cross of honor was carried on a black-white-red ribbon. The ribbon for combatants from the front and those taking part in the war was the same, with the cross for bereaved relatives a “white” variant was created similar to the Iron Cross, i.e. the sequence of the stripes on the ribbon was exchanged. The badge of honor was worn on the left chest, on medal buckles immediately after the Iron Cross (as far as the wearer had received it), but before all awards from the German states. The cross of honor awarded to the parents was carried by the father and, after his death, by the mother. The crosses of honor could also be worn in a reduced form. Wearing the ribbon in the buttonhole was permitted, but not when the swords were awarded.

Award numbers

Until March 31, 1935, the following award numbers are documented:

  • Front fighters (with swords): 6,202,883 crosses,
  • Participants in the war (without swords): 1,120,449 crosses,
  • Cross of honor for the widows and parents of fallen soldiers
    • for widows: 345,132 crosses,
    • for parents: 372,950 crosses.

This number of a total of 8,041,414 crosses is to be regarded as imprecise, as the Reich Minister of the Interior Wilhelm Frick changed the regulations on November 30, 1938 so that the cross of honor could now also be awarded to people who lived in the "Ostmark" and in were living in Sudeten German areas. Likewise, according to a further decree dated June 30, 1942, the Cross of Honor could also be awarded to ethnic German participants in World War I who lived in the "regained" areas in the west and east (e.g. Alsace-Lorraine, etc.). Cautious estimates therefore assume that the total number of all honor crosses by 1945 was 10,000,000.

Others

According to the law on titles, medals and decorations of July 26, 1957, the bearer of this award is permitted in the Federal Republic of Germany. The law mentioned does not contain any explicit mention of the cross of honor and also does not prescribe any modified form, since the cross had already been designed with its foundation without National Socialist symbols.

literature

  • Jörg Nimmergut : German medals and decorations until 1945. Volume 4. Württemberg II - German Empire. Central Office for Scientific Order Studies, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-0000-1396-2 .

Web links

Commons : Cross of Honor of World War  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Reichsgesetzblatt No. 81 of July 15, 1934, page 619, item 1 of the ordinance of the Reich President on the establishment of a cross of honor of July 13, 1934
  2. ↑ Reichsgesetzblatt No. 81 of July 15, 1934, page 619, item 1 of the ordinance of the Reich President on the establishment of a cross of honor of July 13, 1934
  3. ↑ Reichsgesetzblatt No. 81 of July 15, 1934, page 620, Ordinance on the Implementation of the Ordinance of the Reich President on the Foundation of a Cross of Honor of July 13, 1934, Re Item 1 Paragraph 1
  4. ↑ Reichsgesetzblatt No. 81 of July 15, 1934, page 620, Ordinance on the Implementation of the Ordinance of the Reich President on the Foundation of a Cross of Honor of July 13, 1934, Re Item 1 Paragraph 3
  5. ↑ Reichsgesetzblatt No. 81 of July 15, 1934, page 620, Ordinance on the Implementation of the Ordinance of the Reich President on the Foundation of a Cross of Honor of July 13, 1934, Re Item 3 Paragraph 2
  6. ↑ Reichsgesetzblatt No. 81 of July 15, 1934, page 619, item 3 of the ordinance of the Reich President on the establishment of a cross of honor of July 13, 1934
  7. ↑ Reichsgesetzblatt No. 81 of July 15, 1934, page 620, Ordinance on the Implementation of the Ordinance of the Reich President on the Foundation of a Cross of Honor of July 13, 1934, Re Item 3 Paragraph 3
  8. ↑ Reichsgesetzblatt No. 81 of July 15, 1934, page 620, Ordinance on the Implementation of the Ordinance of the Reich President on the Foundation of a Cross of Honor of July 13, 1934, Re Item 1 Paragraph 2
  9. ↑ Astrid Stölzle: War Nursing in the First World War The Nursing Personnel of Voluntary Nursing in the Stages of the German Empire, Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 2013, plus Diss. Univ. Stuttgart, 2013. ISBN 978-3-515-10481-4
  10. ↑ Reichsgesetzblatt No. 81 of July 15, 1934, page 620, Ordinance on the Implementation of the Ordinance of the Reich President on the Foundation of a Cross of Honor of July 13, 1934, on Item 4 Paragraphs 1, 2, 3 and 4
  11. ↑ Reichsgesetzblatt No. 81 of July 15, 1934, page 620, Ordinance on the Implementation of the Ordinance of the Reich President on the Foundation of a Cross of Honor of July 13, 1934, Re Item 4 Paragraphs 5, 6 and 7
  12. ↑ Reichsgesetzblatt No. 81 of July 15, 1934, page 620, Ordinance on the Implementation of the Ordinance of the Reich President on the Foundation of a Cross of Honor of July 13, 1934, Re Item 4 Paragraph 12
  13. ↑ Reichsgesetzblatt No. 81 of July 15, 1934, page 619, item 5 of the ordinance of the Reich President on the foundation of a cross of honor of July 13, 1934
  14. ↑ Reichsgesetzblatt No. 81 of July 15, 1934, page 619, item 7 of the ordinance of the Reich President on the establishment of a cross of honor of July 13, 1934
  15. ↑ Reichsgesetzblatt No. 81 of July 15, 1934, page 620, item 8 of the ordinance of the Reich President on the foundation of a cross of honor of July 13, 1934
  16. ↑ Reichsgesetzblatt No. 81 of July 15, 1934, page 620, Ordinance on the Implementation of the Ordinance of the Reich President on the Foundation of a Cross of Honor of July 13, 1934, on Item 4 Paragraphs 9, 10 and 11
  17. ↑ Michael Berger: For Emperor, Empire and Fatherland: Jewish soldiers. Orell Füssli, Zurich 2015, p. 176.
  18. ↑ Marianne Bechhaus-Gerst: Faithful to death. From German East Africa to Sachsenhausen. A life story. Links-Verlag, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-86153-451-8 , p. 96ff
  19. ↑ Reichsgesetzblatt No. 81 of July 15, 1934, page 619, item 2 of the ordinance of the Reich President on the foundation of a cross of honor of July 13, 1934
  20. ↑ Reichsgesetzblatt No. 81 of July 15, 1934, page 619, item 4 of the ordinance of the Reich President on the foundation of a cross of honor of July 13, 1934
  21. ↑ Reichsgesetzblatt No. 81 of July 15, 1934, page 620, Ordinance on the Implementation of the Ordinance of the Reich President on the Foundation of a Cross of Honor of July 13, 1934, on Item 4 Paragraphs 1 and 2
  22. ↑ Reichsgesetzblatt No. 81 of July 15, 1934, page 620, Ordinance on the Implementation of the Ordinance of the Reich President on the Foundation of a Cross of Honor of July 13, 1934, Re Item 4 Paragraph 4