The Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 (german: Das Ehrenkreuz des Weltkrieges 1914/1918), commonly, but incorrectly, known as the Hindenburg Cross or the German WWI Service Cross was established by

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

Paul von Hindenburg Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (; abbreviated ; 2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934) was a German field marshal and statesman who led the Imperial German Army during World War I and later became President of Germany fr ...

, President of the German Weimar Republic, by an order dated 13 July 1934, to commemorate service of the German people during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. This was Germany's first official service medal for soldiers of

Imperial Germany The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

who had taken part in the war, and where they had since died it was also awarded to their surviving next-of-kin. Shortly after its issuance, the government of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

declared the award as the only official service decoration of the First World War and further forbade the continued wearing of German Free Corps awards on any military or paramilitary uniform of a state or

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

organization. The Honour Cross was awarded in three forms: * DEU Ehrenkreuz des Weltkrieges Frontkaempfer BAR

- for front-line veterans, with swords * DEU Ehrenkreuz des Weltkrieges Kriegsteilnehmer BAR

- for non-combatant veterans, without swords * DEU Ehrenkreuz des Weltkrieges Hinterbliebene BAR

- for surviving widows and parents of fallen participants in the war, without swords. The Honour Cross was modelled on the reverse side of the

War Commemorative Medal of 1870/71 The War Commemorative Medal of 1870-1871 (german: Kriegsdenkmünze für die Feldzüge 1870–1871) is a campagian medal presented by German Emperor, Kaiser William I, German Emperor, William I in his capacity as List of monarchs of Prussia, King of ...

(''Preußen Kriegsdenkmünze 1870-1871''), and was designed by Eugene Godet.German WWI Hindenburg Crosses
/ref> The medal awarded to combatants (the ''Frontkämpferkreuz'') displayed a laurel wreath encircling a medallion, with the dates "1914 1918". Crossed swords are between the arms. The reverse side was plain, except for the manufacturer's logo. The Honour Cross for non-combatants has no swords and a wreath of oak leaves. Both crosses are in bronze. The Honour Cross for Next-of-Kin (commonly known as the Widows Cross), was finished in black. The Honour Cross was worn suspended from a ribbon with black edge stripes, two white stripes, two black stripes and a red stripe in the middle between them. The ribbon for the Honour Cross for Next-of-Kin had these colours in a different order, having a white edge stripes, with two black stripes, white stripes on either side of a red stripe in the middle. They were frequently worn with the ribbon fashioned into a bow, with a pin on the back, which the mother or widow in question attached to her clothing. The application for this award had a time limit, which expired at the end of 1942. Each award came with an ''Urkunde'', or certificate, which indicated which form the award took. The certificates for the next-of-kin crosses came in two types: those for widows were titled ''Ehrenkreuz für Witwen'' (Honour Cross for Widows), those for parents ''Ehrenkreuz für Eltern'' (Honour Cross for Parents). The award was ranked above other service and occupation medals, but below other awarded combat medals. The number of awards given was: *for combatants 6,202,883 *for non-combatants 1,120,449 *for widows 345,132 *for parents 372,950 *total 8,041,414 By a decree dated 30 November 1938, the State Minister of the Interior introduced these awards into the '' Ostmark'' (the name of Austria after it was

annexed Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...

by Nazi Germany). By 1940, it had also been approved for persons of German heritage from seized lands of the

Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and sk, Sudety) is the historical German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the ...

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

, Danzig, Saar and Memel. Awarding of the cross to war participants of German heritage continued after the deadline for applications had closed within the previous boundaries of Germany. Such Honour Crosses were still being awarded as late as 1944. For all attached military personnel outside these regions, the ''Führer'', through the ordinance of 30 June 1942, had already ordered approval of these awards.

Notes

References

The Honour Cross of the World War (Hindenburg Cross)
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cross Of Honor Orders, decorations, and medals of Nazi Germany Military awards and decorations of Germany Awards established in 1934 1934 establishments in Germany Awards disestablished in 1944 Military awards and decorations of World War I