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A nice grouping to Unteroffizier Heinrich Müller serving with Infanterie-Regiment/Grenadier-Regiment 312. German Cross in Gold winner on 14.2.1943.
Certificate to German Cross in Gold. Small type. Issued on 14.2.1943. Facsimile signature by Wilhelm Keitel.
Certificate to 1939 Iron Cross 1st Class. Issued on 23.9.1941. Signed by Generalleutnant Hugo Höfl, Knight's Cross winner.
Certificate to 1939 Iron Cross 2nd Class. Issued on 28.7.1941. Signed by Generalleutnant Hugo Höfl, Knight's Cross winner.
Certificates to East Medal, Infantry Assault Badge in Silver, and Wound Badge in Black.
Heer photo album consisting of 139 photos. It documents his service on the Eastern Front. Photos of the front, Russian POWs, destroyed buildings, 1939 Iron Cross 2nd Class award ceremony, winter camo clothing, and the daily life of soldiers. Among them is a beautiful photo showing him together with an officer. Both are wearing the German Cross in Gold. The photo looks like it was taken after the award ceremony. His German Cross in Gold (cloth type) is glued on the first page of the photo album. Together with the ribbons to East Medal and 1939 Iron Cross 2nd Class.
Two period time newspaper cuttings, one map "Europäisches Russland" (European Russia) and one Wehrmacht dictionary German - Russian/Ukrainian/Georgian.
Signs of use.
Condition
2/2-
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.
.jpg "German Cross in gold \"20\" - light")
