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German Cross in gold to Oberfeldwebel Georg Lang. He was awarded the Knight's Cross on 12.12.1944 as an observer with Nahaufklärungsgruppe 15, the Honor Goblet on 30.4.1943, and the German Cross in gold on 16.8.1943 serving with Aufklärungsgruppe 12.
A nicely worn German Cross in gold. Made by C.F. Zimmermann, Pforzheim. "20" maker marked to the pin. So-called "light type" (Cupal). All four original rivets in place. The cross shows excellent gilding to the wreath and was certainly not worn a lot. No damage to the enameled swastika apart from some minor scratches. Multi-piece construction. Lovely patina.
Weight: 45.4 gr.
Including the original black case of issue. It comes with the typical gold line around the top of the case. Black felt inlay and a white silk lining. The spring of the clip is not working correctly anymore. Apart from that, good condition with signs of age.
A nice set in good condition 2.
We also offer his German Cross in gold (cloth type) and the matching certificate in our 37. Contemporary Auction. Please note article number 2000000469072 and 2000000469065.
Condition
2
Historical information
NAME
German Cross in Gold
DATE OF INSTITUTION
28. September 1941 as a military order in two grades. A special grade, the German Cross in Gold with Diamonds was planned and prototypes were made.
AWARD CRITERIA
The golden grade was awarded for multiple exceptional deeds of bravery or leadership and the silver grade for exceptional deeds in troop leadership. The award of the Iron Cross 1. Class, the Spange 1. Class , or the War Merit Cross 1. Class was a pre-requisite for the awarding of the German Cross. The German Cross was located above the Iron Cross 1. Class and War Merit Cross 1. Class but below the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross, respectively the Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross.
MANUFACTURERS
The German Cross was awarded by the decision of the supreme commanders of the three army branches.
The German Cross was produced by five known manufacturers and maybe one or two not yet known companies. The known manufacturers are Deschler & Sohn, who designed the cross, Gebrüder Godet, C.E. Juncker, C.F. Zimmermann, and Otto Klein.
Early crosses are unmarked and from the end of 1942/early 1943 onwards, the crosses were marked with the Präsidialkanzlei numbers of the companies.
Due to the heavy and slightly bulky nature of the award, a cloth version was authorized in June 1942. The cloth version can be found with eight different cloth backing colors: field gray (army), dark blue (navy), blue-gray (LW), black (tank forces), stone gray (assault gun), olive (Africa Heer), light khaki (Africa LW), and white (summer uniform).
AWARD NUMBERS
Accurate numbers are not known but the closest estimation based on surviving documents are 25,964 for the gold grade and 2,471 for the silver grade. A known total of eleven soldiers were awarded both grades.
The crosses were mainly stored and registered at the Präsidalkanzlei and were given out by this office. It is possible that smaller numbers were stored at the personnel offices of the three army branches.
AWARD DOCUMENTS
The Heer issued preliminary award documents in the format A5, followed by a larger (356 mm x 254 mm) formal document. The Luftwaffe and the Kriegsmarine never issued any preliminary documents, only the formal ones in the same size as the formal document of the Heer.
WEARING METHOD
The German Cross was worn at the right side of the uniform on the breast pocket.
