Anonymous5: The Iron Cross (German: Eisernes Kreuz) was a military decoration of the Kingdom of Prussia, and later of Germany, which was established by King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia and first awarded on 10 March 1813 in Breslau, during the Napoleonic Wars. The recommissioned Iron Cross was also awarded during the Franco-German War, the First World War, and the Second World War.
The Iron Cross was normally a military decoration only, though there were instances of it being awarded to civilians for performing military functions. Two examples of this were the civilian pilot Hanna Reitsch, who was awarded the Iron Cross First Class for her bravery as a test pilot during the Second World War, and Melitta Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg (also a German female test pilot), who was awarded the Iron Cross Second Class. A third example, and no doubt the most ironic, is the Iron Cross awarded to Joan Pujol Garcia, a Spanish civilian who went by the codename Arabel after getting himself recruited by the Germans to spy on Britain. After the war one of his former German handlers awarded him the Iron Cross. However, in truth, Garcia was a double-agent for the British (codename Garbo), recruited only after he'd personally infiltrated the German spy network and offered his services to England. Throughout WWII, he ran a fictitious spy network that provided misinformation to the Nazis and was also awarded the MBE by the British after D-Day, thus becoming one of the few people to receive such decorations from both sides. Another double-agent to be awarded the Iron Cross was Englishman Eddie Chapman; unlike Garcia, however, Chapman was commissioned into the Wehrmacht as an Oberleutnant.
The Iron Cross was also used as the symbol of the German Army from 1871 to 1918, when it was replaced by a simpler Greek cross. In 1956, the Iron Cross became the symbol of the Bundeswehr, the German armed forces. The traditional design is black and this design is used on armored vehicles and aircraft. A newer design in blue and silver is used as the emblem in other contexts.
The Iron Cross was normally a military decoration only, though there were instances of it being awarded to civilians for performing military functions. Two examples of this were the civilian pilot Hanna Reitsch, who was awarded the Iron Cross First Class for her bravery as a test pilot during the Second World War, and Melitta Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg (also a German female test pilot), who was awarded the Iron Cross Second Class. A third example, and no doubt the most ironic, is the Iron Cross awarded to Joan Pujol Garcia, a Spanish civilian who went by the codename Arabel after getting himself recruited by the Germans to spy on Britain. After the war one of his former German handlers awarded him the Iron Cross. However, in truth, Garcia was a double-agent for the British (codename Garbo), recruited only after he'd personally infiltrated the German spy network and offered his services to England. Throughout WWII, he ran a fictitious spy network that provided misinformation to the Nazis and was also awarded the MBE by the British after D-Day, thus becoming one of the few people to receive such decorations from both sides. Another double-agent to be awarded the Iron Cross was Englishman Eddie Chapman; unlike Garcia, however, Chapman was commissioned into the Wehrmacht as an Oberleutnant.
The Iron Cross was also used as the symbol of the German Army from 1871 to 1918, when it was replaced by a simpler Greek cross. In 1956, the Iron Cross became the symbol of the Bundeswehr, the German armed forces. The traditional design is black and this design is used on armored vehicles and aircraft. A newer design in blue and silver is used as the emblem in other contexts.