The War Merit Cross was introduced by Hitler in 1939, to recognize outstanding performance, not on the battlefield, by both civilians and members of the military; the military version included crossed swords, the civilian omitted them.
The War Merit Cross was awarded for factory work that exceeded production quotas, for military supply and support, for propaganda work, etc., in short, for superior performance in any of the non-combat activities needed to support the total war effort of a Twentieth Century industrial state.Then, like the Iron Cross, there were several grades of the War Merit Cross: Second Class, First Class, Knights Cross.
And there was one more variation: the War Merit Medal, essentially a "Third class" civilian award. Fairly early in WWII, the War Merit Second Class was being awarded to large numbers of civilians. To preserve the prestige of that award, the specifically civilian War Merit Medal was created in 1940.
War Merit Crosses - Civilian
- War Merit Cross, Knight's Cross
- War Merit Cross, 1st Class
- War Merit Cross, 2nd Class
- War Merit Medal
War Merit Crosses - Military
- War Merit Cross, Knight's Cross
- War Merit Cross, 1st Class
- War Merit Cross, 2nd Class
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