Cross Of Honor Article Index for
Cross Of
Website Links For
Cross
 

Information About

Cross Of Honor




The Cross of Honor, also known as the '''Honor Cross''' or, popularly, the '''Hindenburg Cross''', was a comemorative medal inaugurated on July 13 , 1934 by Reichspräsident Paul Von Hindenburg for those soldiers of Imperial Germany who fought in World War I . It came in three versions:

  • Honor Cross for Combatants (''Ehrenkreuz für Frontkämpfer'') - for soldiers who fought on the front.

  • Honor Cross for War Participants (''Ehrenkreuz für Kriegsteilnehmer'') - for non-combatant soldiers

  • Honor Cross for Next-of-Kin (''Ehrenkreuz für Hinterbliebene'') - for the next-of-kin of fallen soldiers


The Honor Cross for War Participants differed from the Honor Cross for Combatants by not having the crossed swords. The Honor Cross for Next-of-Kin also lacked swords, was lacquered in black, and had a different ribbon.

After the annexation ( Anschluss ) of Austria in 1938, Austrian veterans of World War I were also eligible for the Cross of Honor.

A total of 6,250,000 crosses were awarded to combatants, 1,200,000 were awarded to non-combatants and 720,000 medals were awarded to next-of-kin.