Luftwaffe German Cross in Gold – Type 1

Product Description: This desirable Luftwaffe German Cross in Gold, Type 1, displays great and does not appear to ever have been sewn to a uniform. It is beautifully hand-embroidered on a backing of typical Luftwaffe blue-gray wool, less common than the field gray backing used by the Heer and SS. The applied brass alloy wreath is a nice, detailed strike, with the correct die flaw on the date. This piece shows some age, with some discoloration to the white roundel, and a small piece of the red wire inner wreath border is missing, but no major damage. The edges remain crisp, there is no mothing, and all of the embroidery is complete, with strong original color. The reverse of this Luftwaffe German Cross in Gold is complete with its original black paper backing. Overall, this is a great, representative example of a scarce award.

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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