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The Knights Cross of the Iron Cross is presented as a large iron cross supported by a band that is in the tricolor of the German Empire (Red, White and black). The cross itself has a large swastika in the middle of it with the year 1939 on the bottom arm, while the backside is vacant of any markings.
For continuous bravery before the enemy or excellence in commanding troops after being awarded all preceding classes of the Knight's Cross/Iron Cross 890 (882 German, 8 Axis allies) Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes: 1 September 1939 – 8 May 1945 Awarded for outstanding bravery in the face of the enemy and for ...
Ritterkreuz – "knight's cross", usual abbreviated name for the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes (see next entry) Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes – Knight's Cross (of the Iron Cross); award for valorous service for those who had already received the Iron Cross. Highest award class for bravery under fire or military leadership. 7318 of these ...
The Swords to the Knight's Cross were awarded 160 times according to the AKCR, among them the posthumous presentation to the Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, 13 of which cannot be supported by the German Federal Archives. The Diamonds to the Knight's Cross were awarded 27 times, all of which are verifiable in the German Federal Archives.
The original German Knight's Cross was then divided into two separate classes, creating the following series of degrees. German Knight's Cross (2nd Class) – black ribbon with clasp; German Knight's Cross (1st Class) – tunic medal; Silver Breast Star of the German Knight's Cross – star medal on tunic pocket
The medal is a larger version of the Knight's Cross, [17] measuring 63 mm (2.5 in) wide as opposed to about 44 mm (1.7 in) for the Iron Cross and 48.5 mm (1.9 in) for the Knight's Cross. It was originally intended to have outer edges lined in gold, but this was changed to silver before the award was presented.
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grades were based on four separate enactments. The first enactment, Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 1573 of 1 September 1939 instituted the Iron Cross (Eisernes Kreuz), the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross (Großkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes).
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (German language: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) and its variants were the highest military awards in Nazi Germany.During or shortly after World War II, 457 German servicemen of the Waffen-SS, including volunteers from Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, France, Hungary, Latvia, Netherlands, and Norway, received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.