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Clasp to the Iron Cross
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<h2 id="description">Description</h2> <p>A holder of the 1914 Iron Cross could qualify for the same grade of the 1939 Iron Cross. To permit the two awards to be worn together, a "1939 Clasp" (<i>Spange</i>) was established to be worn with the original 1914 Iron Cross.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> It depicted a national eagle clutching an oak leaf wreath surrounding a <a href="/facts/Swastika/621c40UU">swastika</a> above a <a href="/facts/Trapezoid/nCBKsauz">trapezoid</a> bearing the year <i>1939</i>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> </p><p>For the Second Class, the clasp was attached to the <a href="/facts/Medal_ribbon/y91S2GtA">ribbon</a> of the 1914 Iron Cross, either on a ribbon bar, or when the ribbon was worn through a tunic button hole.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> For the First Class, a larger differently proportioned clasp was pinned directly on the upper breast pocket above the Iron Cross 1st class (1914) of the wearer. This pin-back clasp was usually awarded in a presentation case.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> </p> <p>While Nazi era awards were initially banned by the Federal Republic of Germany, in 1957 many World War II military decorations, including the Iron Cross, were re-authorised for wear by qualifying veterans.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> With display of the swastika banned, the clasp to the Iron Cross was re-designed as a silver rectangular bar bearing the date '1939', with a miniature Iron Cross in the centre of the bar.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="notes">Notes</h2> <ul><li>Angolia, John (1987). <i>For Führer and Fatherland: Military Awards of the Third Reich</i>. R. James Bender Publishing. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 0912138149.</li> <li>Littlejohn, David; Dodkins, Colonel C. M. (1968). <i>Orders, Decorations, Medals and Badges of the Third Reich</i>. R. James Bender Publishing, California. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0854200801.</li> <li>Williamson, Gordon (1984). <i>The Iron Cross: A History, 1813-1957</i>. London: Blandford Press. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 9780713714609.</li> <li>German Federal law (1957). <a href="http://bundesrecht.juris.de/ordeng/BJNR008440957.html"><i>Bundesministerium der Justiz: Gesetz über Titel, Orden und Ehrenzeichen, 26.7.1957. Bundesgesetzblatt Teil III, Gliederungsnummer 1132-1</i></a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="further-reading">Further reading</h2> <ul><li>Maerz/Stimson, Dietrich/George (2010). <i>The Iron Cross 1. Class</i>. Richmond, MI: B&D Publishing LLC. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-9797969-7-5.</li> <li>Maerz, Dietrich (2020). <i>The Spange for the Iron Cross 2. Class</i>. Richmond, MI: B&D Publishing LLC. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-1-7923-3210-4.</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Angolia 1987, p. 341. - Angolia, John (1987). For Führer and Fatherland: Military Awards of the Third Reich. R. James Bender Publishing. ISBN 0912138149. <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Littlejohn & Dodkins 1968, p. 120. - Littlejohn, David; Dodkins, Colonel C. M. (1968). Orders, Decorations, Medals and Badges of the Third Reich. R. James Bender Publishing, California. ISBN 978-0854200801. <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Angolia 1987, p. 341. - Angolia, John (1987). For Führer and Fatherland: Military Awards of the Third Reich. R. James Bender Publishing. ISBN 0912138149. <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Angolia 1987, p. 341. - Angolia, John (1987). For Führer and Fatherland: Military Awards of the Third Reich. R. James Bender Publishing. ISBN 0912138149. <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Angolia 1987, p. 341. - Angolia, John (1987). For Führer and Fatherland: Military Awards of the Third Reich. R. James Bender Publishing. ISBN 0912138149. <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Angolia 1987, pp. 345, 346. - Angolia, John (1987). For Führer and Fatherland: Military Awards of the Third Reich. R. James Bender Publishing. ISBN 0912138149. <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>German Federal law 1957, pp. 2–3, zweiter abschnitt. - German Federal law (1957). Bundesministerium der Justiz: Gesetz über Titel, Orden und Ehrenzeichen, 26.7.1957. Bundesgesetzblatt Teil III, Gliederungsnummer 1132-1. <a href="http://bundesrecht.juris.de/ordeng/BJNR008440957.html" target="_blank">http://bundesrecht.juris.de/ordeng/BJNR008440957.html</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Bundesanzeiger Nr. 41: 28 February 1958 <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:EK_57er_Version.jpg" target="_blank">https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:EK_57er_Version.jpg</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Williamson 1984. - Williamson, Gordon (1984). The Iron Cross: A History, 1813-1957. London: Blandford Press. ISBN 9780713714609. <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>