Germany - Third Reich: Iron Cross 1939, 2nd Class, this being the rare Schinkel form of similar frame size to the Imperial Iron Crosses, dating from circa 1939, this type was soon changed for the larger form.
Condition: Paintwork worn to swastika high points, Very Fine.
The frame measures 43mm across and indicates an early production Iron Cross 1939, 2nd Class made from stocks of existing WWI pattern Iron Crosses left over from WWI. As this slim-line version of the Iron Cross was in violation of Hitler's desires for a larger Iron Cross, the use of the leftover parts was soon stopped. Subsequently, Schinkel style Iron Crosses are difficult to find.
Adolf Hitler restored the Iron Cross in 1939 as a German decoration (rather than Prussian), and continued the tradition of issuing it in various classes. Legally, it is based on the enactment (Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 1573) of 1st September 1939 Verordnung uber die Erneuerung des Eisernen Kreuzes. (Regulation for the Re-introduction of the Iron Cross). The Iron Cross of World War II was divided into three man series of decorations with an intermediate category, the Knight’s Cross, instituted between the lowest, the Iron Cross, and the highest, the Grand Cross. The Knight’s Cross replaced the Prussian Pour le Merite or “Blue Max”. Hitler did not care for the Pour le Merite, as it was a Prussian order that could be awarded only to officers. The ribbon of the medal (2nd Class and Knight’s Cross) was different from the earlier Iron Crosses in that colour red was used in addition to the traditional black and white (black and where were the colours of Prussia, while black, white and red were the colours of Germany). It is estimated that some four and a half million 2nd Class Iron Crosses were awarded during World War II, and 300,000 of the 1st Class.
