The ribbon of the War Merit Cross was in red-white-black-white-red; the red and black colors being reversed from the ribbon of the World War II version of the Iron Cross. The ribbon for the War Merit Medal was similar, but with a narrow vertical red strip in the center of the black field. Soldiers who earned the War Merit Cross 2nd Class with Swords wore a small crossed-swords device on the ribbon. The War Merit Cross 1st Class was a pin-backed medal worn on the pocket of the tunic (like the Iron Cross 1st Class). The ribbon of the War Merit Cross 2nd Class could be worn like the ribbon of the Iron Cross 2nd Class (through the
second buttonhole). Nonetheless, combat soldiers tended to hold the War Merit Cross in low regard, referring to its wearers as being in 'Iron Cross Training'. The Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross was a
neck order and worn the same way as the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross. There was one extra grade of the War Merit Cross, which was created at the suggestion of
Albert Speer:
The Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross in Gold (). However, this was never officially placed on the list of national awards, as it came about in late 1944, and there was no time to officially promulgate the award before the war ended. The Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross in Gold (without swords) was awarded "on paper" to two recipients on 20 April 1945:
Franz Hahne and
Karl-Otto Saur. The Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross was considered to be ranked higher than the
German Cross in silver, but below the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross. A total of 118 awards of the Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross with swords, and 137 awards without swords were awarded. Considering the relative rarity of the award compared with the grades of the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross, it took on "extra meaning" it did not necessarily deserve, as it ranked below the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross. For example,
Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring made a concerted effort to get Hitler to award him this order, much to Hitler's annoyance. In response, Hitler outlined a series of criteria governing the awarding of this decoration and the philosophy of such awards, and directed that "prominent party comrades" were not to be awarded with the Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross (or similar decorations), and withdrew the proposed awards of this order to Gauleiter
Erich Koch and
Herbert Backe. Directing his comments at Göring personally, Hitler ordered that such attempts to gain this award be stopped. Also, six persons received two Knights Crosses of the War Merit Cross (each one with and without Swords):
Walter Brugmann,
Julius Dorpmüller,
Karl-Otto Saur, ,
Walter Schreiber, and
Walter Rohlandt. Closely related to the War Merit Cross was the War Merit Medal (), designated on 19 August 1940 for civilians to recognize outstanding service in the war effort. It was usually awarded to those workers in factories who significantly exceeded work quotas. The War Merit Medal was awarded to Germans and non-Germans, to men and women. An estimated 4.9 million medals were awarded by the end of the war in Europe. ==Notable recipients==
Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross •
Gottlob Berger •
Heinrich Böhmcker (posthumous) •
Wernher von Braun •
Walter Brugmann (2-time Knights Cross) •
Kurt Daluege •
Walter Dornberger •
Julius Dorpmüller (2-time Knights Cross) •
Franz Xaver Dorsch •
Franz Ritter von Epp •
Karl Hermann Frank •
Hans-Georg von Friedeburg •
Albert Ganzenmüller •
Karl Gebhardt •
Edmund Glaise-Horstenau •
Franz Hayler •
Wolf-Heinrich Graf von Helldorff •
Hans Jüttner •
Ernst Kaltenbrunner •
Hans Kammler •
Wilhelm Kube (posthumous) •
Willy Messerschmitt •
Theo Morell •
Heinrich Müller •
Wilhelm Murr •
Franz Neuhausen •
Wilhelm Ohnesorge •
Franz von Papen •
Paul Pleiger •
Oswald Pohl •
Ferdinand Porsche •
Fritz Reinhardt •
Georg Rickhey •
Karl-Otto Saur (2-time Knights Cross & Knights Cross in Gold) •
Ferdinand Sauerbruch •
Gerhard Schach •
Walter Schreiber (2-time Knights Cross) •
Otto Stapf •
Edmund Veesenmayer •
Walter Warlimont •
Otto Winkelmann War Merit Cross •
Heinrich Bennecke (1st class) •
Alfred Ingemar Berndt (1st class) •
Josef Blösche (2nd class, with Swords) •
Franz Bock (1st class, with Swords) •
Karl Böhm (2nd class) •
Andreas Bolek (1st class, with Swords) •
Philipp Bouhler (1st class) •
Hermann Brauneck (2nd class) •
Friedrich Buchardt (1st class, with Swords) •
Günther Burstyn (1st class, with Swords) •
Hans Busch (2nd class) •
Adolf Butenandt (1st class) •
Karlfried Graf Dürckheim (2nd class) •
Karl von Eberstein (1st class, with Swords) •
Adolf Eichmann (1st class, with Swords) •
Alfred Frauenfeld (1st class, with Swords) •
Reinhard Gehlen (1st class, with Swords) •
Paul Giesler (1st class, with Swords) •
Ernst Girzick (2nd class) •
Ludwig Grauert (1st class, with Swords) •
Josef Grohé (1st class, with Swords) •
Eugen Hadamovsky (1st class) •
Karl Hanke (1st class) •
Arthur Hess (1st class) •
Adolf Heusinger (1st class, with Swords) •
Reinhard Heydrich (Posthumous: 1st class, with Swords) •
Friedrich Hildebrandt (1st class, with Swords) •
Richard Hildebrandt (1st class, with Swords) •
Albert Hoffmann (1st class, with Swords) •
Franz Josef Huber (1st class, with Swords) •
Friedrich Jeckeln (1st class, with Swords) •
Josias, Hereditary Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont (2nd class, with Swords) •
William Joyce (1st class) •
Hartmann Lauterbacher (1st class, with Swords) •
Josef Mengele (2nd class, with Swords) •
Wilhelm Mohnke (2nd class, with Swords) •
Arthur Nebe (1st class, with Swords) •
Egon von Neindorff (1st class, with Swords) •
Hans Pfundtner (1st class) •
Philipp, Landgrave of Hesse (1st class) •
Hans-Adolf Prutzmann (1st class, with Swords) •
Wilhelm Reinhard (1st class) •
Gustav Adolf Scheel (1st class, with Swords) •
Walter Schellenberg (1st class, with Swords) •
Kurt Schmidt (1st class, with Swords) •
Karl Eberhard Schöngarth (1st class, with Swords) •
Franz Xaver Schwarz (1st class, with Swords) •
Hermann Senkowsky (1st class) •
Josef Spacil (1st class, with Swords) •
Rudolf Toussaint (1st class, with Swords) •
Siegfried Uiberreither (1st class) •
Udo von Woyrsch (1st class, with Swords) •
Paul Zimmermann (1st class, with Swords) ==Notes==