Editing Iron Cross (section)

==Post-World War II==
[[File:Iron_Cross_1939_(1957_Version).svg|thumb|The 1957 version of the 1939 Iron Cross with trifoliate oak leaves replacing the swastika]]
As [[Strafgesetzbuch section 86a|modern German law prohibits the production and display of items containing Nazi insignia]], the West German government authorized replacement Iron Crosses in 1957 with a trifoliate Oak Leaf Cluster in place of the swastika, similar to the Iron Crosses of 1813, 1870, and 1914, which could be worn by World War II Iron Cross recipients. The 1957 law also authorized de-Nazified versions of most other World War II-era decorations (except those specifically associated with Nazi Party organizations, such as SS Long Service medals, or with the expansion of the German ''{{lang|de|Reich}}'', such as the medals for the annexation of Austria, the [[Sudetenland]] and the [[Memel Territory|Memel region]]).

After post-war German armed forces began seeing active service, first in [[Kosovo]] and then in [[Afghanistan]], a campaign began to revive the Iron Cross and other military medals, since Germany had no awards specifically for active military service. In 2007, a petition to the German parliament to revive the Iron Cross decoration was initiated, quickly receiving over 5,000&nbsp;signatures.{{Citation needed|date=September 2019}} On 13 December 2007 parliament decided to let the Ministry of Defence decide the matter.<ref>[http://www.bundestag.de/ausschuesse/a02/uebersicht_abgeschlossen/BGR_16-00101.pdf] {{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> On 6 March 2008, President [[Horst Köhler]] approved a proposal by Minister of Defense [[Franz Josef Jung]] to institute a new award for bravery. The ''{{lang|de|[[Badge of Honour of the Bundeswehr|Ehrenzeichen der Bundeswehr]]}}'' (Badge of Honor of the German Armed Forces) series was instituted on 10 October 2008. However, it does not have the traditional form of the Iron Cross (instead more closely resembling the [[Military Merit Cross (Prussia)|Prussian Military Merit Cross]]), but is seen as a supplement of existing awards of the ''{{lang|de|Bundeswehr}}''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.faz.net/s/Rub594835B672714A1DB1A121534F010EE1/Doc~E4A28C75C03A14D05B47B13BF98D6B086~ATpl~Ecommon~Scontent.html |title='Kein Eisernes Kreuz': Köhler für Tapferkeitsorden – Inland |work=Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung |date=6 March 2008 |access-date=2013-05-23}}</ref>

<gallery widths="150" heights="150">
File:Bundeswehr Kreuz.svg|Emblem of the {{lang|de|[[Bundeswehr]]}}, the modern German armed forces (since 1956)
File:BWEhrenkreuzGold.jpg|[[Badge of Honour of the Bundeswehr|Badge of Honor of the German Armed Forces]]
File:Barracuda av dr.jpg|Iron Cross insignia on a [[EADS Barracuda|UAV Barracuda]]
File:Militärflugplatz Laupheim 12.jpg|Iron Cross insignia on a [[German Air Force]] CH-53G in 2015
File:Leopard 2A7 right side.JPG|The Iron Cross insignia on a [[Leopard 2]] [[main battle tank]] turret
File:COA Reservistenverband BW.svg|[[Reservist Association of Deutsche Bundeswehr]]
File:COA Soldatenhilfswerk der Bundeswehr.svg|Bundeswehr Soldiers' Relief Fund
File:LKdo Berlin.jpg|Standortkommando Berlin
File:DEU Panzerbataillon 524 COA.svg|Association badge of the tank battalion 524
File:DEU Panzerbataillon 403 COA.svg|Association badge of the tank battalion 403 (außer Dienst gestellt)
File:DEU Panzerbataillon 413 COA.svg|Association badge of the tank battalion 413
File:Polvolcorp.svg|Emblem of the [[Polish Volunteer Corps]]
</gallery>

===Biker and heavy metal subcultures===
[[File:Lemmy-02.jpg|thumb|alt=Lemmy onstage playing bass guitar|Lemmy Kilmister of Motörhead wearing his trademark Iron Cross necklace ([[Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross]]).]]
In the United States, the Iron Cross was adopted by [[outlaw motorcycle club]]s in the 1960s, as a symbol of rebellion and probably for [[shock value]].<ref name="ADL">{{cite web |url=https://www.adl.org/education/references/hate-symbols/iron-cross |title=Iron Cross |website=Anti-Defamation League}}</ref> From biker subculture it spread to rock and [[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]] subcultures, becoming part of [[heavy metal fashion]]. [[Lemmy Kilmister]] of the influential band [[Motörhead]] often wore one.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Waksman |first1=Steve |title=This Ain't the Summer of Love: Conflict and Crossover in Heavy Metal and Punk |date=2009 |publisher=University of California Press |pages=151–152}}</ref> In the 1990s, this other use of the Iron Cross had spread from bikers to skateboarders and many extreme sports enthusiasts and became part of the logo of several related clothing companies. The [[Anti-Defamation League]] states that the version of the symbol with a swastika has been commonly used by neo-Nazis and other white supremacists as a hate symbol since it was discontinued following World War II, but the wider use of the Iron Cross in various subcultures means determining its use as a hate symbol relies on context: "an Iron Cross in isolation (i.e., without a superimposed swastika or without other accompanying hate symbols) cannot be determined to be a hate symbol".<ref name="ADL"/>