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Condition: Excellent
Maker: “20” – C.F. Zimmermann
Pattern: Lightweight
Base Material: CupAl
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Product Description: This is a nice, all-original example of a German Cross in Gold by C. F. Zimmermann. It shows light, honest wear. The black enamel on the swastika is all there, with some light surface scratches. The disk behind the swastika retains most of the original finish, with some wear. The gilded wreath is really nice, with slight wear to the high points that reveals a coppery-colored base metal. The starburst is Tombak based, and retains nearly all of the finish, with some typical edge wear. The back of this German Cross in Gold shows no signs of repair, and is textbook in all aspects. There is wear to the original silver finish, though this is retained under the pin and around the hinge and catch. The underside of the broad pin is stamped “20” for C. F. Zimmermann. The four hollow rivets are perfect. This cross weighs in at a substantial 45.1 grams. This scarce and very desirable cross is in excellent condition overall, and displays great.
Historical Description: The German Cross in Gold was instituted on September 28th, 1941. The German High Command saw it necessary to create an award which would bridge the gap between the Iron Cross First Class and the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross. Once instituted, the German Cross became Germany’s second highest military decoration, second only to the Knights Cross and its subsequent grades. The German Cross was similar to the Knights Cross in regards that the award was not based off of any previous awards in German history. It was a unique creation which also ended with the war. There were approximately 26,000 recipients of the German Cross in Gold. This number, however, does not reflect the total amount of German Crosses produced.
The German Cross was actually not a cross at all. It took on the form of an eight-pointed star, resembling some of the former breast awards of the Imperial era. The award came in two forms, a metal version and a cloth version. The metal version being the most complex of the two, it consisted of five separate pieces being fitted and held together using four to twelve rivets depending on who the manufacturer was. The cloth version follows the exact same design as the metal produced version except the entire cross is cloth with the exception of the laurel wreath still being metal.
Known Manufacturers: Deschler & Sohn, Munchen,;C.E. Juncker, Berlin; C.F. Zimmermann, Pforzheim; Gebruder Godet, Berlin; Otto Klein, Hanau
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