1939 German Iron Cross 1st Class with Flat Pin

This version of Reddick Militaria's reproduction of the 1939 German Iron Cross 1st Class is die-struck, featuring a frosted silver finish and blackened cross with excellent details. It now comes with a flat pin back, which is maker marked "65". Reconstituted by Adolf Hitler in 1939, the Imperial Crown, "W" emblem and 1914 date were removed and replaced with the Third Reich swastika and the 1939 date. At this time, several additional grades were created as well.

The addition of the Knights Cross brought four grades with three additional suspension devices.

The ribbon was changed to include a central red stripe with white and black edges. The first class remained a pin-backed breast badge, and the second class, a medal with ribbon.

The following is translated from the original 1942 edition of Medals & Decorations of the Third Reich, by SS Colonel Dr. Heinrich Doehle. Copyright 1995, J. Rex Reddick:

On 1 September 1939, the memorial day of the battle of Sedan (1870-1871 Franco-German War), the statutes of the Iron Cross, first established on 1 March 1813 by Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm III in Breslau, were renewed. The Iron Cross statutes were also renewed during the wars of 1870 and 1914. The renewal statute begins:

"After my decision to call the German people to arms because of threatening attacks, I renew the Iron Cross, in memory of the heroic battles fought by the sons of Germany to protect the homeland in the earlier Great War."

The renewal statutes of 1 September 1939 were supplemented on 3 June 1940. The 1813, 1870 and 1914 Iron Cross was a Prussian award: however, the 1939 Iron Cross is a German award. Deviating from prior classification, the Iron Cross 1st and 2nd Class and Grand Cross of the Iron Cross (the Blücher Star was not in the establishing document) the 1939 Iron Cross will be awarded in seven grades, as follows:

Iron Cross 2nd Class

Iron Cross 1st Class

Knights Cross of the Iron Cross

Knights Cross of the Iron Cross with Oakleaves

Knights Cross of the Iron Cross with Oakleaves & Swords

Knights Cross of the Iron Cross with Oakleaves and Swords and Diamonds

Grand Cross of the Iron Cross

The original Iron Cross was designed by Karl Frederich Schinkel and retains its original form. The obverse shows in the center of the cross a swastika and in the lower arm the year 1939. The reverse shows in the bottom arm the year 1813. The suspension ribbon is black-white-red. The Knights Cross is a little larger than the 2nd Class and is worn at the throat. The Oakleaves to the Knights Cross is composed of three silver oak leaves added to the top arm of the cross and through which the suspension ribbon is threaded. The Grand Cross is twice the size of the Iron Cross 2nd Class and is worn at the throat on a wide black-white-red ribbon.