Editing Iron Cross (section)

==World War I==
[[File:Eisernes Kreuz (1914).svg|thumb|1914 Iron Cross]]

Emperor [[Wilhelm II]] reauthorized the Iron Cross on 5 August 1914, at the start of [[World War I]]. During these three periods, the Iron Cross was an award of the Kingdom of Prussia, although—given Prussia's pre-eminent place in the [[German Empire]] formed in 1871—it tended to be treated as a generic German decoration. The 1813, 1870, and 1914 Iron Crosses had three grades:

* Iron Cross, 2nd class, (''{{lang|de|Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse}}'', or EKII)
* Iron Cross, 1st class, (''{{lang|de|Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse}}'', or EKI)
* [[Grand Cross of the Iron Cross]] (''{{lang|de|Großkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes}}'', often simply ''{{lang|de|Großkreuz}}'')

Although the [[obverse]] of the medals of each class was identical, the manner in which each was worn differed. The Iron Cross, 1st class, employed a pin or screw posts on the back of the medal, and was worn on the left side of the recipient's uniform, like the original 1813 version. The Iron Cross 2nd Class, and the larger Grand Cross, were suspended from different ribbons: the Grand Cross from a neck ribbon, the 2nd Class from a ribbon on the chest. The usual display of the 2nd Class version was as a ribbon through one of the button holes in the recipient's tunic.

The Grand Cross was intended for senior generals of the [[Prussian Army|Prussian]] or (later) the German Army. An even higher decoration, the [[Star of the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross]] (also called the ''Blücher Star''), was awarded only twice, to {{lang|de|[[Generalfeldmarschall]]}} [[Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher]] in 1813 and to {{lang|de|Generalfeldmarschall}} [[Paul von Hindenburg]] in 1918. A third award was planned for the most successful German general during World War II, but was not made after the [[defeat of Germany]] in 1945.

The Iron Cross, 1st class, and the Iron Cross, 2nd class, were awarded without regard to rank. One had to possess the 2nd Class already in order to receive the 1st Class (though in some cases both could be awarded simultaneously). The egalitarian nature of this award contrasted with those of most other German states (and indeed of many other European monarchies), where military decorations were awarded based on the rank of the recipient. For example, [[Bavaria]]n officers received various grades of that [[Military Merit Order (Bavaria)|Kingdom's Military Merit Order]] (''{{lang|de|Militär-Verdienstorden}}''), while enlisted men received various grades of the [[Military Merit Cross (Bavaria)|Military Merit Cross]] (''{{lang|de|Militär-Verdienstkreuz}}''). Prussia did have other orders and medals which it awarded on the basis of rank, and even though the Iron Cross was intended to be awarded without regard to rank, officers and NCOs were more likely to receive it than junior enlisted soldiers.

During World War I, approximately 218,000 EKIs, 5,196,000 EKIIs and 13,000 non-combatant EKIIs were awarded.<ref>{{cite book |last=Stein |first=Hans-Peter |others=Hans-Martin Ottmer (contributor), [[Military History Research Office (Germany)]] (editing) |title=Symbole und Zeremoniell in deutschen Streitkräften vom 18. bis zum 20. Jahrhundert |edition=2 |language=de |trans-title=Symbols and Military Ceremonies in the German Armed Forces from the 18th to the 20th Century |editor=Military History Research Office (Germany) |editor-link=Military History Research Office (Germany) |publisher=E. S. Mittler |location=Herford |year=1991 |isbn=3-89350-341-2 |oclc=444548272 |page=59}}</ref> Exact numbers of awards are not known, since the Prussian military archives were destroyed during World War II. The multitude of awards reduced the status and reputation of the decoration. Among the holders of the 1914 Iron Cross, 2nd class, and 1st Class was [[Adolf Hitler]], who served as an Austrian citizen in the [[Bavarian Army]] with the rank of ''{{lang|de|[[Gefreiter]]}}'' (lance-corporal), he received these medals for showing bravery on the field of battle.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=30}} Most photographs of Hitler show him wearing his EKI in standard fashion on his left breast.

<gallery mode="packed" heights="200" perrow="3">
File:Ek23f.JPG|right|World War I Iron Cross, 1st Class
File:Musketier Edgar Wintrath der Königlich-Preußischen Landwehr-Division, item 5.jpg|Certificate of award to a musketeer in the Royal Prussian Landwehr, October 1918
Image:Ww1germans.jpg|German soldiers who had been awarded the Iron Cross
</gallery>

===Allied Propaganda versions===
{{unreferenced section|date=November 2022}}
In 1914, a variety of very crude anti-German propaganda versions of the Iron Cross were created by the Allies, and sold to raise money for the war effort and the relief of [[Belgian refugees]]. One was inscribed "FOR KULTUR" in raised letters, another "FOR BRUTALITY." Yet another showed the names of French and Belgian towns attacked or destroyed during the [[retreat from Mons]] on the ends of the upper arms of the cross; these included [[Rheims]], [[Louvain, Belgium|Louvain]] and [[Amiens]] on one side, and [[Antwerp]], [[Dinant]] and [[Ghent]] on the other, with the date 1914 on the lower arm, and a central W for [[Wilhelm II, German Emperor|Kaiser Wilhelm]] as on the original. Another commemorated the [[raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby]], showing the names of these "war atrocities" on the arms of the cross.