Description

WW2 German mothers cross in gold with presentation case. Enameled translucent-blue arms with a slim opaque-white border, resting on the scuffed centre is a metal roundel decorated with the words” DER DEUTSCHEN MUTTER” (To the German mother) around an enameled black straight centred swastika symbol, infilled white enamel. Inscribed on the reverse side of the cross is the date of the decoration decree 16. Dezember 1938 (16th December 1938 – anniversary of Hitler’s mother’s birthday). Directly beneath is the inscribed signature of Adolf Hitler, with original ribbon and safety pin atatchment. Medal comes with the mounted miniature, small enamel missing section left and right arm, stamped L/15 (Otto Schickle, Pforzheim). Leatherette medal box is maker marked to Franz Schuerle, Schwab, Gmünd.

History: This award was instituted on 16 December 1938 as part of Hitler’s initiative to encourage Aryan population growth. Only women of German origin qualified for such awards, though women from absorbed Germanic countries and areas (such as Austria, the Sudetenland and Danzig) were also eligible. A mother could be awarded a bronze, silver, or gold cross depending on the number of children she had borne. Eight or more would entitle the woman to a gold cross, six or seven for silver, and four or five for bronze.

The medal was not a permanent award, as mothers stood to be stripped of the Mother’s Cross if they proved themselves unworthy through neglect of their children, marital infidelity, or any other social offense.

The crosses were awarded annually on the second Sunday in May (Mothering Sunday), so despite its institution in 1938, the first awards were given in May 1939. The last awards were presented in 1944.

The first woman to receive the Cross of Honor of the German Mother was Magda Goebbels, the wife of Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels. The couple had six children, and Magda was awarded the Silver Medal.