Germany scraps new Iron Cross


By Bojan Pancevski

Last Updated: 2:13am GMT 08/03/2008





The German government was yesterday forced to scrap plans to re-introduce the Iron Cross, after opponents said the military medal still carried the "burden" of association with Nazi atrocities.
Iron Cross: the Nazis added a swastika to the design

The medal, the equivalent of the Victoria Cross in Britain, was established during the Napoleonic Wars to reward bravery and valour of officers and enlisted men alike.
But its reputation was tarnished by the Nazis, who added a swastika to the design, linking it to atrocities in the Second World War. It was abolished in post-Nazi Germany. On Tuesday the Defence Minister, Franz Josef Jung, backed a campaign to re-introduce the cross for valour in combat in flashpoints such as Afghanistan. Currently, there are only medals for service.
But within 24 hours the ministry reversed its support after the move led to a public outcry, with critics claiming the Iron Cross was too reminiscent of the Nazi era. "We are not thinking of bringing it back, though we do want to introduce a medal to honour soldiers who show courage," a spokesman said.
A source from the ministry suggested a compromise solution could create a new medal, which would, however, resemble the Iron Cross.
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Col Ernst-Reinhard Beck, head of the Reserve Soldiers Association which began the campaign, said "a lot of fear and horror was spread" under the symbol, but added that a modified version was still being used as an emblem of the army.
Mr Beck, also an MP in Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrat party, said: "The Iron Cross has become a sign of hope, aid and solidarity in regions of crisis around the world, and we have no reason to be ashamed of it."

Germany scraps new Iron Cross - Telegraph

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For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman.

I'm the "Confederate with a pipe"!! LOL

How odd considering this is the official Bundeswehr logo.
bundeswehr.de: Startseite Bundeswehr



Here are the Service Medals.
bundeswehr.de: Ehrenzeichen und Einsatzmedaille

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This guy thought of everything



This grave matter is also pondered elsewhere
Iron Cross - Iran Defence Forum

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This guy thought of everything



This grave matter is also pondered elsewhere
Iron Cross - Iran Defence Forum

And here are a few replicas:
German Military Medals -- Militaire Promotions

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Personally, this seems to me like PC-extremism. I have always associated the Iron Cross with the German armed forces ( as much in WW1 as WWII ) and do not link it with 'Nazi atrocities'.

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"Stand by to pull me out of the seat if I get hit" - Guy Gibson

Agreed: the symbol goes back as early as 1813 when Prussia fought Napoleon. The Iron cross should not be considered as a Nazi symbol, or else the Balkenkreuz, or even the word Panzer etc could be considered as being associated to Nazis too...... A bit far fetched, or isn't it?

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I think this is perhaps "Over-the-Top" as well.
Not unlike depriving England of her "Lion",
Japan of her "Chrysanthemum",
America of her "Eagle",
Russia of her "hammer & Cycle", and so on...

This may be unnecessary repression from overly paranoid wimps making a mountain out of a mole hill.....did I just describe PC ?

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All opinions expressed here are those of "Little Green Men" and don't necessarily represent views, positions, policy, thoughts, actions, or anything else.

I agree and it is too bad. Almost like the credit is given to the Nazis for 'inventing' the Iron Cross when it was an older award.

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American by birth, TEXAN by the grace of GOD!

Well-said Martin, Gents. I don't see why the 1957 version of the Iron Cross could not be used? On the front are oak leaves and on the back still had the 1813 numbers. If they want to further distance a new Iron Cross with the one from 1939, simply change the ribbon colors from red-white-black to that of the colors of the German National Flag-and of course, keep the oak leaves design on the front or either have a mini version of the cross in place on the front center of the cross. But then someone might bitch about that making it look too much like a swaz from a distance-so again, if the German Govt would take design suggetions, simply make it look like the 1957 version of the Iron Cross but with the German National flag colors for its ribbon.

I think that would be "problem solved" would'nt you?

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Lost are only those, who abandon themselves) Hans-Ulrich Rudel.

Hmmm, lot of 'VC equivalent' holders in the German armed forces from the early 19th century onwards then, must have been some real heroic lads .

A real shame I reckon, I could understand them being a little cautious about a Knights cross reintroduction purely down to it's 'Adolf introduced' pedigree, but the Iron Cross is still a 'clean' military symbol as far as I'm concerned, and one with a long and solid tradition.

Just thinking of the many Jewish holders of the award before Hitler came to power, isn't it something of a victory to the Nazi's for a symbol to fall purely because they put their stamp on it for a few years? Better to reclaim it and further underline what an aberration the Third Reich was?

Cheers,
Adam.

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It's only the Internet.

Hi Adam, whomever wrote that story got it way wrong. If that author is comparing the 2nd or 1st classes of the Iron Cross with that of being equel to the VC-did not do their homework before writing this story. Only the Knights Cross, is equivillent to the Victoria Cross, Medal of Honor and Hero of the Soviet Union.

I also have an Iron Cross 2nd class from 1870-and that is only equal in "rank" to the 1813, 1914, 1939 and 1957 Iron Crosses second classes (respectively) and also equal to the Friedrich August Cross 2nd Class (for WWI) which I also have two examples of. ;-))

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Lost are only those, who abandon themselves) Hans-Ulrich Rudel.

I was just thinking it was a good example of why one must always sidle up to stuff knocked out in the press with caution.
I kind of collect these little errors (like the misidentified Werner von Braun photos in a recent article), just as a reminder to always be a little suspicious of everything else they write .

The first WW2 Iron Cross I bought as a kid cost £3.50 at a car boot sale, I lost it in the woods one day so thought I might find another at Beltring this year... c.£45 for a tatty one!
There's going to come a time when it really is only the very wealthy that can afford any sort of German Militaria at all. (I hope you look forward to the queue of millionaires beating a path to your door & easing your retirement with a healthy trade in shoulder boards ).

Cheers,
Adam.

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It's only the Internet.

That day most collectors and reenactors will swith to copies instead. I must admit some are really good quality , it's actually hard to see the difference.

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Cannot see any REAL reason anymore why the German army could not carry on the Iron Cross tradition.

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Hi Adam, that day has already arrived in the world of German Militaria Collecting. The only savings-grace is that many collectors are now mainly buying from other collectors-and or trading-instead of wasting most of their money with rip-offs like bill shea @ The Ruptured Duck, the Third Reich Depot and others.

Appx 95% of all the militaria I got in the past four years came from fellow collector/friends. The only new stuff I got from a dealer in these past years were from trade items and or from a deal I made with somebody else who in turned bought what I wanted with their cash.

My collecting has greatly slowed down for a few reasons and all I have managed to build up my collection with are: about 5-6 pairs of shoulderboards-(not including that pair of Generalmajors Shoulderboards I just got a few weeks ago), one minty pair of Infantry Officers Collartabs, one original and minty postcard of the Grand Duke of Mecklinburg/Schwerin: Franz-Friedrich von Grossherzog IVth, one mint conditioned black Walther P-38 breakaway holster, one Silver Infantry Assault Badge, one Silver Close Combat Clasp, one "Condor Legion" Black Wound Badge, one General Assault Badge; and one mint 1939 EK2 w/ mint paper packet-which is also maker-stamped. Not much I do admit-but then again, there's not much offered anywhere in my immediate area.

The pickings seem to be getting a little scarce these days. However, there are untold of millions of items still "in the woodwork" awaiting for the right persons to come along and find out about them. I've only collected maybe up to 20 different items in about 3 years-which is not much I admit.

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Lost are only those, who abandon themselves) Hans-Ulrich Rudel.

Without the Swastika appearing on it there really shouldn't be a problem. And as some have mentioned a version of it is already in use for aircraft and vehicle markings.

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For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman.

I'm the "Confederate with a pipe"!! LOL

I agree, don't let the actions of one nut ruin something that has been areound ALOT longer than he was!!

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This is a pair of Dutch resistance crystal radios, built into a small metal can, and a matchbox. The image is from a postcard bought at a Dutch Resistance Museum in Amsterdam. The matchbox is marked in Swedish, but Swedish matches were sold in Holland for many years..
Scott