WW1 German medal

[DirtyHansen]

HI all.

Can someone see if this is real? It is magnetic and small dot’s of rust so I guess it’s made out of iron. I think it is given out to families after fallen soldier during WW1 in the beginning of the 1930’s.

[Chopperman]

It looks OK to me.

[Raul]

It’s original, it looks like a next of kin example. Raul

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You beat me to it

[DirtyHansen]

It’s original, it looks like a next of kin example. Raul

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You beat me to it

That’s good to hear it’s original
I’m not super good in all English words, but what do you mean with a next of kin example?

[BrodieBartfast]

It was awarded to the next of kin of the veteran if he had died in combat, or if he had passed away in the intervening years between 1918 and 1934. There were three variants in all, as follows. Examples from my own collection.

Cross with swords, for combat veterans:



Cross without swords, for non-combat veterans:



Cross without swords, black coloration, for deceased veterans:



Regards, B.B.

[tompress]

Hi,

good original with matching ribbon. Manufacturer of this cross is Wilhelm Schwahn, Hanau. "Schwan" means "swan", and there is a stylized swan before WS monogram.

About awarding: only widows or parents were entitled to receive the cross (not brother, sister or other family members), and only one cross was awarded for one fallen or deceased combatant ( i.e. first the father was entitled to apply for the cross, mother could receive them only if the father was already dead).

regards
Tomasz

[HPL2008]

Allow me to elaborate a little, as I find this subject interesting:

One next-of-kin cross each could be awarded to the widow and the parents of soldiers who were KIA, had died of wounds or illnesses suffered in the war, had died in captivity or were MIA and had been declared dead.

In the case of the parents' cross, the father had to submit a combined application both for himself as well as for the mother. As long as the father was alive, only he was permitted to wear the cross; after his death, authorization automatically passed to the mother.

Fathers who had served in the war themselves could choose to apply either for their personal (combatants' or non-combatants') cross or for the parents' cross. If they chose the former, their widow could not wear the parents' cross after their death.

(As said above, the mother could only submit a direct application for herself if the father was already dead.)