Heer DKiG

Product Description: This Heer DKiG is a great example of this Wehrmacht valor award, in the cloth version intended primarily for wear on field uniforms. This variant of cloth German Cross in Gold is the type known to collectors as  Type 3. The backing on this one is an attractive light field gray shade, as worn by members of the Heer and Waffen-SS. It is correctly and excellently hand-embroidered, using thread an bullion wire. The wreath is a nice detailed strike, made of a brass alloy (Tombak), with the correct die flaw on the date. The obverse shows some minor age toning to the white roundel behind the black embroidered swastika, and also some insect damage to the edges of the wool backing. The reverse of this Heer DKiG retains most of the original backing paper. There is a white, postage stamp typed paper tag, that is ink stamped “C.A. Westmann, Dresden,” presumably a maker or perhaps a distributor of these. There are no stitch holes or wear, no sign this was ever worn. These Westmann-marked crosses are regarded as being high quality pieces, and this example is no exception.

Historical Description: The German Cross in Gold was instituted on September 28^th, 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-point 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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