Knight's Cross of The Iron Cross - Historic Background

Historic Background

The Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm III established the Iron Cross (Eisernes Kreuz) at the beginning of the Befreiungskrieg (War of Liberation) as part of the Napoleonic Wars. Karl Friedrich Schinkel received the contract to design a silver-framed cast iron cross on 13 March 1813. The decree was then backdated to 10 March 1813, the birthday of the King's wife, Louise of Prussia, who had died in 1810. Iron was a material which reflected the spirit of that age and symbolised defiance. The Prussian state had mounted a campaign steeped in patriotic rhetoric and rallied their citizens to repulse the French occupation. To finance the military opposition against Napoleon I the king implored wealthy Prussians to turn in their jewels in exchange for a men's cast-iron ring or a ladies' brooch, each bearing the legend "I gave gold for iron."(Gold gab ich für Eisen) or alternatively, "Gold for defence, Iron for honour" (Gold zur Wehr, Eisen zur Ehr).

Initially, the Iron Cross award was of temporary nature and could only be made when the country was in a state of war. A formal renewal procedure was required every time the award was to be presented. The renewal date, relating to the year of re-institution, therefore appears on the lower obverse arm of the Iron Cross. The Iron Cross was renewed twice after the Napoleonic Wars and prior to World War II. Its first renewal on 19 July 1870 was related to the Franco-Prussian War and its second renewal came on 5 August 1914, with the outbreak of World War I. The 1914 Iron Cross remained a Prussian decoration but could be awarded in the name of the Kaiser (as the King of Prussia) to members of all the German states' armies and of the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy). The regulation was extended and from 16 March 1915 the award could also be presented to individuals in the military forces of allies of the German state. During this period the Iron Cross was always awarded in three grades, the Iron Cross 2nd Class (Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse), Iron Cross 1st Class (Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse) and the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross (Großkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) leaving a large gap in the grades of the Iron Cross. There was no nation-wide decoration situated between the Iron Cross 2nd and 1st Class, which could be awarded to soldiers of all ranks and the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross, which was awarded only to senior commanders for winning a major battle or campaign. This gap was partly filled by awards given from the Empire's member states. Among the best known of these awards are the Prussian Order Pour le Mérite and House Order of Hohenzollern, which could only be awarded to officers. For non-commissioned officers and soldiers the Prussian Golden Military Merit Cross (Goldenes Militär-Verdienstkreuz) was the highest achievable decoration. With the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II at the end of World War I the awards granted by the various royal households became obsolete.

With the outbreak of World War II on 1 September 1939, Adolf Hitler in his role as commander in chief of the German armed forces (Oberster Befehlshaber der deutschen Wehrmacht) decreed the renewal of the Iron Cross of 1939. The decree was also signed by the Chief of the Armed Forces High Command, Wilhelm Keitel, the Minister of the Interior, Dr. Wilhelm Frick and by the State-Minister and Chief of the Presidential Chancellery of the Führer and Reich Chancellor, Otto Meißner. The renewal of 1939 also filled the gap between the Iron Cross 1st Class and the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross. Rather than using an unrelated award to bridge this gap, a new grade of the Iron Cross series was introduced, the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, without distinction, was awarded to officers and soldiers alike, conform the National Socialist political slogan "One people, one nation, one leader" (Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer).