Clasp to the Iron Cross

During the war, over 100,000 clasps were awarded.

Description

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" (Spange) was established to be worn with the original 1914 Iron Cross. It depicted a national eagle clutching an oak leaf wreath surrounding a swastika above a trapezoid bearing the year 1939.

For the Second Class, the clasp was attached to the ribbon of the 1914 Iron Cross, either on a ribbon bar, or when the ribbon was worn through a tunic button hole. 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.

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. 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.