✚10184✚ German post WW1 Oldenburg Warrior League Merit First Class post WW2 made

£199.99

Original German post WW1 Oldenburg Warrior League Merit Cross First Class, IN VERY NICE CONDITION - POST WW2 MADE EXAMPLE / MAKER: ST&L (STEINHAUER UND LUECK) - GOOD LATER EXAMPLE WITH OPEN HINGE BLOCK, PERFECTLY WORKING PIN DEVICE, HARD TO FIND - REALLY GOOD AND RARE PIECE

FEW FACTS ABOUT POST WW2 MADE IMPERIAL GERMAN & FOREIGN AWARDS:

After WW2 wear and display of former Nazi decorations were strictly prohibited in Germany. As Germany split apart into East and West Germany, each of these new countries issued directives concerning the status of former awards and decorations of Nazi Germany. Within East Germany, these awards were all abolished with a new era of German Communist decorations created to take their place. However, in West Germany, pre 1933 issued awards were fully accepted to wear & display, therefore these awards (including foreign awards) were continuously produced after the end of the war by major manufacturers, such as Steinhauer & Lück, Deumer or Souval. In 1957 the West German government authorised replacement Iron Crosses with an Oak Leaf Cluster in place of the swastika, similar to the Iron Crosses of 1813, 1870, and 1914, which could be worn by World War II Iron Cross recipients. The 1957 law also authorised de-Nazified versions of most other World War II–era decorations (except those specifically associated with Nazi Party organizations, such as SS Long Service medals, or with the expansion of the German Reich, such as the medals for the annexation of Austria, the Sudetenland, and the Memel region). 

HISTORY OF THE AWARD:

Deutscher Kriegerbund (German Warrior League) was a War Veterans' and reservists' Association in Germany. It was established in April 1873 in Weißenfels. Its origins lie in a Warrior Association established in 1786 by fusiliers of Frederick II of Prussia's army in Wangerin/Pomerania. The original purpose of the War Veterans' Associations was to provide their members and former soldiers with proper burial arrangements. Former soldiers felt the need of commemorative tombs that would preserve the dignity of their former comrades-in-arms and honor them even after their death. This type of association received a considerable boost after Prussia's victorious battles against the Danish (1864), Austrian (1866), and French armies in 1871. A number of these veterans' associations established the "Deutscher Kriegerbund" by joining efforts for a common cause in 1873. In April 1897 the Deutscher Kriegerbund became the "Prussian Country's Warrior League" (Preußischer Landeskriegerverband). Its former name "Deutscher Kriegerbund" was kept, however, for certain economic and social dealings. In this form it was a forerunner of later German military social welfare provisions, like the NSKOV. Since it was initially dominated by groups of soldiers of the former Prussian army, local veterans' associations of Bavaria, Saxony, Württemberg, Hessen and Baden preferred to remain out of its circle. The Deutscher Kriegerbund began the efforts to build a memorial that would honor and represent the German warriors in 1888. This monument, located on top of the 473 m high Kyffhäuser mountain was finally inaugurated on the 16th June 1896. The building of the memorial pleased and inspired the other German war veterans' associations, who had been reticent to join the Deutscher Kriegerbund. As a result of this change of attitude, the steps to form a wider organization were taken in 1900 and the Kyffhäuserbund was formed. This inclusive organization integrated the formerly scattered German war veterans' associations, which had been one of the main aims of the Deutscher Kriegerbund.