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The E-Sylum: Volume 11, Number 10, March 9, 2008, Article 22 GERMANY'S IRON CROSS MEDAL ON AGAIN, OFF AGAIN [In quick order this week, Germany announced that it was reviving the classic Iron Cross medal under a new name, then in face of a storm of protest revoked the decision. -Editor] Germany is to reintroduce the Iron Cross for bravery which Hitler was awarded during WW1 - but it won't call it that. The Fatherland's answer to the Victoria Cross of Britain - awarded for gallantry in the field - dated back to 1813 when Prussia was at war with Napoleon. In recent years, thousands of German graves in the former Soviet Union have been desecrated by looters digging up the corpses of the fallen to rob them of their medals to sell on the black market. They were the last warriors to get them; with defeat in 1945 and the collapse of Nazism, the Iron Cross went into history. Now Secretary of Defence Franz Josef Jung said Germany will bring back a medal for "unusually courageous acts." Nato allies of Germany may be bemused by this: the country refuses to fight in Afghanistan because of political and voter opposition at home and hasn't fired a shot in anger since the Red Army stormed Berlin 63 years ago. Just how the new medal will look hasn't been decided. Nor has the name for the award, as any mention of Iron Cross would be deemed far too emotive. A defence ministry source said: "Hitler won the Iron Cross first class in WW1 and we cannot have accusations that we are bringing back something that was revered by him. He regarded his medal as the high mark of his life before he gained power as dictator of Nazi Germany." German president Horst Koehler had to agree to the new medal which will be struck later this year after a debate that has dragged on for nearly a decade of a way to honour brave servicemen and women. To read the complete article, see: Full Story The German government was yesterday forced to scrap plans to re-introduce the Iron Cross, after opponents said the military medal still carried the "burden" of association with Nazi atrocities. The medal, the equivalent of the Victoria Cross in Britain, was established during the Napoleonic Wars to reward bravery and valour of officers and enlisted men alike. But its reputation was tarnished by the Nazis, who added a swastika to the design, linking it to atrocities in the Second World War. It was abolished in post-Nazi Germany. On Tuesday the Defence Minister, Franz Josef Jung, backed a campaign to re-introduce the cross for valour in combat in flashpoints such as Afghanistan. Currently, there are only medals for service. But within 24 hours the ministry reversed its support after the move led to a public outcry, with critics claiming the Iron Cross was too reminiscent of the Nazi era. "We are not thinking of bringing it back, though we do want to introduce a medal to honour soldiers who show courage," a spokesman said. A source from the ministry suggested a compromise solution could create a new medal, which would, however, resemble the Iron Cross. To read the complete article, see: Full Story Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@coinlibrary.com To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum | |
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