Iron Cross Second Class Award Documents

The Iron Cross, (Eisernes Kreuz), is probably the mostly widely recognizedand well known award of Germany. It isalso the most commonly encountered award from WW2. No matter how much of a novice a collector is, he still knows that Germany awarded the Iron Cross in large numbers for bravery. And for that matter, the Iron Cross is usually one of the first medals a new collector acquires. The same is true for award documents. Iron Cross documents are probably in every document collection and are some of the most sought after. It was an award not merely for service but for bravery - a single brave act in combat. The Iron Cross First Class, or EKI, was usually awarded for multiple acts of bravery beyond the Second Class. All branches of service, including Red Cross nurses and Hitler Youth kids were eligible for these awards.

It is estimated that between 5 million (The Iron Cross - A History 1813-1957, by Williamson) and 2,300,000 (For Fuhrer & Fatherland, by Angolia, Auszeichenungen des Deutschen Reichs, by Kleitmnnn) EK2's were awarded. This lends itself not only to the actual medal but also to the award document. However, a soldier could have received more than one copy of a document for the same award. It was not unusual to receive a preliminary award document in the field; often done on a crude form with a field typewriter and at a later date receive an official printed award. The printed formal award was also sometimes mailed to the recipient's home for safe keeping.

The standard size for an Iron Cross award document is 14 cm by 20 cm and vertical in format.The paper varies with the particular award. It is heavier than a sheet of typing paper thought lighter than a postcard, and may be watermarked, but frequently not. Its smooth, almost slick to the touch but is neither a coated nor glossy stock. Documents were most commonly letter press printed although a few were lithographed, none were offset printed. A field made award can be done on almost anything.

All EKII awards included the recipient'srank and name typewritten onto the award. (somewere handwritten) and they usually contain his unit. It seems that the Kriegsmarine did not include a sailor's ship or unit. Also typewritten onto the document was the place and date the award was made. Note that this was not necessarily the place were the soldier earned the award and was basically never the date that he earned it. The paper work was usually months behind. Each award was signed by a commander including his rank and position. It was then rubber stamped in the lower left corner of the document. This stamp corresponds to the commander's position or unit, instead of the recipient's. The posthumous EK2 document is the exception to this. It was a unique award, done in its own style and presented to the recipient's survivors. These are rarely encountered.

The value of EKII award documents depend on several factors. A base price is about $35. That would be for a document to an ''unknown'' soldier, in a common unit, bestowed by a commander who was not a Knight's Cross holder, or famous. Price increases as the unit becomes more interesting. Any Waffen-SS recipient's award should sell for over $100. The same is true for Fallschirmjager. Should the award be to someone who later won the Knight'sCross, the price could be several hundred dollars. The signature of the bestowed can also greatly affect the price, such as an EKII document with Rommel's signature. Also of great interest and value is the posthumous EKII award document - a tough one to find. If you locate one, my advise is... buy it!

Emilie Caldwell Stewart, "Iron Cross Second Class Award Documents", Der Gauleiter, 1989