Original German WWI & WWII Medal Bar Featuring Iron Cross 1914 2nd Class and WWII Fireman’s 2nd Class Award – 4 Total Medals Original Items

Original Items: Only One Available. This is a very nice German medal bar from a soldier who fought during WWI and WWII. Judging by the awards featured, he would have spent over 20 years in service within the German military.

The Following Medals Are Featured (From Left to Right):
– Imperial German WWI Iron Cross 1914 2nd Class Medal: Established by Frederick William in 1813 for gallantry in action, the decoration was revived several times for later conflicts. The bulk of the issues are divided into 1st and 2nd class versions, but a rare and superior ‘Grand Cross’ was also awarded for successful field commanders. During WW1 the lower decoration was freely awarded with 5½ million second class types issued.

– Wurttemberg Silver Medal for Bravery: King Wilhelm’s II Silver Medal for Loyalty, Bravery and Military Merit (or simply Medal for Military Merit). This is the 5th type of the medal. On the obverse: The Portrait of King Wilhelm II. On the reverse: Inscribed “Fur Tapferkeit und Treue” (For Bravery and Loyalty). The medal was instituted in this form (5th) in 1892 and continued to be awarded throughout the Great War (at its later stages the medal was produced in silvered bronze and silvered zinc). It was discontinued in 1918 after the end of WW1 and the fall of the Monarchy.

– WWII Fire Brigade Cross 2nd Class: This Fire Brigade Cross is a great, representative example of this extremely striking and rather scarce award. This is often called the “Fire Brigade Service Cross” or “Fire Service Decoration.” The official German designation for this Fire Brigade Cross was the “Feuerlöschwesen Verdienstkreuz.” It’s made of silvered bronze, as is typical for these. The front has white and red enamel, and mounted to this is a separate disk that has a black and white enameled national swas emblem. The text between the arms of the cross reads “Für Verdienste im Feuerlöschwesen.” The reverse is flat and smooth. The original silvering on this Fire Brigade Cross is mostly intact, with some minor wear exposing the base metal, mostly on the back. The enamel is intact, with only minor scratches and some slight bubbling to the red flames.

– Hindenburg Cross with Crossed Swords (for combat): The Honor Cross of the World War 1914/1918 (German: Das Ehrenkreuz des Weltkriegs 1914/1918), commonly, but incorrectly, known as the Hindenburg Cross was established by Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, President of the German Republic, by an order dated 13 July 1934, to commemorate the distinguished deeds of the German people during the First World War. This was Germany’s first official service medal for soldiers of Imperial Germany 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 NSDAP Germany 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 NSDAP Party organization.

A lovely example of a medal bar featuring some rather scarce examples. There is fading and oxidation present on both the medals and ribbons, however they are in lovely condition.

Comes more than ready for further research and display.