Original Items: Only One Available. This is a very nice example of a German WWII “German Cross” in Gold award, issued as a cloth embroidered badge for use on the uniform. The award was introduced on September 28th 1941, a few months after the start of operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. The German forces were achieving significant progress in the Eastern front. The assault on Moscow (Operation Typhoon) started two days after the German Cross on Gold award was instated. Plenty of soldiers would have the opportunity to prove themselves in the face of adverse conditions in years to come.
The award itself was given for bravery, much like the Iron cross, and level of bravery and service would have to be above that required by the Iron Cross First Class but less than that required by the Knights Cross. The awards were issued in several versions, both all metal and part cloth, and all had a multi-layer construction. The embroidered badges were colored differently on the border for the Heer (Army), Luftwaffe (Air Force), and Kriegsmarine (Navy), so that the background would match their uniform.
This example is quite nice, with just a bit of moth nipping on the Field Gray wool fabric background. Like all German Cross awards, it is marked with the date 1941, the day the award started being awarded. Really a high quality and hard to find award, sure to appreciate in value for years to come.