Original German WWI Veteran Framed Award Grouping with Award Document from Ohio Consulate, 3 Awards & Photo – 12 3/4″ x 21 1/2″ Original Items

Original Item: One-of-a-kind. This is a very nice Imperial German WWI Award grouping, belong to a German Veteran who looks to have relocated to the United States following the war. It has been mounted on a red background, and set into a 12 3/4″ x 21 1/2″ glazed wooden frame, which we assume is only a few decades old, and not period. The frame contains an award document indicating that Hern Lorenz Merk had been awarded the Ehrenkreuz für Frontkämpfer (Cross of Honor for Front-line Figthters) on 22. Mai 1935. The document was actually sighed in Cleveland, Ohio. on 22. Mai 1935 by Der Deutsche Konsul (the German Consul. This was relatively common during the early days of the NSDAP rule, as they wanted to entice experienced veterans to possibly return to Germany.

Along with the document, the following awards are arranged from left to right under a Black, White, and red ribbon:

– German WWI Honor Cross of the World War 1914/1918 (Hindenburg Cross) Medal with Ribbon
– Imperial German WWI Iron Cross 1914 2nd Class Medal (Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse, or EKII)
– Bavarian Merenti Cross of Military Merit, 3rd Class, 1913 version

Under this is a picture of three soldiers, and we assume that Merk is one of these. This is a lovely framed set with both great research as well as display potential!

Below is an explanation of each medal in detail:

German WWI Prussian Iron Cross 2nd Class with Ribbon:
Established by Frederick William in 1813 for gallantry in action, the Eisernes Kreuz (EK) 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. Originally, the Iron Cross was an award of the Kingdom of Prussia, however given Prussia’s pre-eminent place in the German Empire formed in 1871, it became an award for all of Germany.

The basic design of the WW1 crosses is a central Tatzenkreuz (cross pattée) struck from iron and mounted in a silver frame which has a raised crenulated decorative border. The obverse of the cross bears the date 1914 under a crowned ‘W’ monogram. Reverse bears an oak leaf cluster with the date of the decoration’s institution, 1813 underneath – the crowned initials of Frederick William are in the top arm above the oak leaf cluster. Suspension for second-class types is by means of a ring, and frequently this ring bears a maker’s stamp.

Please examine the edge seam for authentication, which is not present on reproductions. Iron crosses were commonly constructed from an iron core sandwiched in a surrounding two part silver frame, normally the seam of these two silver parts is visible around the edge of the cross as is seen on this fine example. There is a faint maker mark on the hanger ring.

Bavarian Merenti Cross of Military Merit with Swords, 3rd Class 1905.
Order of Military Merit was instituted in 1866 in 5 Classes. In 1905 the Cross of Military Merit was revised initially to 2 Classes and in 1913 to 3 classes. Each class was awarded according to the rank of the recipient and could be issued with or without swords (for peace or war time period) and crown (for a 2nd award). The old non-enameled 2nd Class became the 3rd Class and was changed from silver to bronze. The old 1st Class became the 2nd Class. The new 1st Class was identical to the 2nd Class except that it was gilt rather than silver.

This is the third class award, indicating it was received by a low rank soldier.

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 forbid the continued wearing of German Free Corps awards on any military or paramilitary uniform of a state or NSDAP Party organization.