German War Merit Cross 2nd class with swords

War Merit Cross 2nd Class
with swords

Reverse

The German War Merit Cross (Das Kreigsverdienst kruez) was created by Adolf Hitler in 1939. It was to replace the non-combatant Iron Cross. The award came in same grades as the Iron Cross Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross, 1st and 2nd class. Two variants existed. The first with swords given to soldiers who showed execption service in battle above and beyond the call of duty, but were not worthy of the Iron Cross. The second variant came with out swords and was awarded for meritoriuos service behind the lines and could also be given to civilians.
The War Merit Cross was bronze plated and constructed from a wide range of metals including zinc. Later war variants were made with inferior materials and tend to lose their bronze wash over time. The ribbon of the War Merit Cross is red-white-black-white-red, the red and black being the reverse of the ribbon of the WW2 Iron Cross.