220 Goldenes Kreuz des Deutschen Ordens 2. Stufe
Gilded bronze and enamelled, on the original necklace with sewn fastening loops.
Flawless contemporary original specimen in the finest quality.
The original piece offered here corresponds to the examples awarded to the Gauleiter of Lower Silesia Karl Hanke (12 April 1945), Deputy Gauleiter Karl Holz (16 April 1945) and Reich Youth Leader Arthur Axmann (28 April 1945).
The German Order was originally conceived as a Grand Cross of the Golden Badge of Honour of the NSDAP, which was to be subdivided into several classes. The implementing provisions issued by Adolf Hitler in 1939, according to which the NSDAP party badge was to be divided into different levels similar to an order, were not implemented due to the outbreak of war.
The decree made it clear that the right to wear the party badge was a special honour for every party member and should therefore be regarded as a lower level. Furthermore, the Silver Badge of Honour of the NSDAP was to be awarded in future on the recommendation of Reich and Gau leaders, as was the Gold Badge of Honour for special services to National Socialism and the aspirations of the NSDAP.
The next highest honorary award of the National Socialist German Workers' Party was the NSDAP Gold Medal of Honour on the Rune Star, and the highest award was the Grand Cross of the NSDAP Gold Medal of Honour.
The extent to which the officially unimplemented decree was put into practice has been little researched to date. In fact, the Golden Badge of Honour of the NSDAP was awarded to non-party members such as various high-ranking military officers (Keitel, Raeder, etc.) and famous artists. For example, the sculptor Arno Breker received the Golden Badge of Honour with a certificate of award written entirely in gold in a folder with a gilded imperial eagle, similar to the folders of the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Albert Speer also possessed a similar certificate. The precious design of these award documents proves the high esteem in which the Golden Badge of Honour of the NSDAP was held as an award and the value that Adolf Hitler attached to it.
For the new party order, it was planned to create an order chapter consisting of an order council and an order court (both directly subordinate to the Führer), which were to ensure that no unworthy person could receive the award. The Grand Cross was to be awarded only in a few exceptional cases by special decree of the Führer.
Without these ideas being put into statutory form, the sudden death of Reich Minister Dr. Todt led to the first spontaneous award of the highest class of the order by Adolf Hitler. After the eulogy for Fritz Todt at the state ceremony in the Mosaic Hall of the New Reich Chancellery, Hitler pinned the newly established order to the order cushion on 12 February 1942.
Hitler himself placed the German Order above all other state honours. He had previously stated that there were achievements for which no promotion could be awarded and that the deeds of 200 Knight's Cross bearers did not outweigh a unique achievement such as that of Dr. Todt.
A total of only 10 German Orders were awarded:
1. Dr Fritz Todt, Reich Minister for Armaments and Munitions, posthumously on 12 February 1942.
2. SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich, Deputy Reich Protector in Bohemia and Moravia, Head of the Reich Security Main Office, posthumously on 9 June 1942.
3. Reichsleiter Adolf Hühnlein, Leader of the NSKK, posthumously on 22 June 1942.
4. Viktor Lutze, Chief of Staff of the SA, posthumously on 7 May 1943.
5. Gauleiter and Reich Governor Josef Bürckel, posthumously on 3 October 1944.
6. General of the Infantry Rudolf Schmundt, Chief Adjutant of the Wehrmacht to the Führer, posthumously on 1 October 1944.
7. Reich Leader Konstantin Hierl, Reich Labour Leader and Reich Minister, on 24 February 1945.
8. Gauleiter Karl Hanke, Chief President of Lower Silesia, on 12 April 1945.
9. Deputy Gauleiter Karl Holz, on 16 April 1945.
10. Reich Youth Leader Arthur Axmann, on 28 April 1945.
The award presented to Konstantin Hierl was called ‘The Golden Cross of the German Order with Oak Leaves and Swords’. Hierl was probably the only one to receive an elaborately designed certificate of award, which included elements of oak leaves and sword folders.
The extent to which the decorations actually presented differed from one another cannot be clearly proven based on the current state of research. The names of the order and its classes vary greatly in contemporary publications. Only the decorations awarded to Dr. Todt and Reinhard Heydrich are clearly documented by photographs of the order cushions.
In addition to the examples awarded, a few more were produced for future awards. A letter from Reichsleiter Martin Bormann to Reichsleiter Dr Robert Ley dated 3 May 1944 states that 20 examples of each class of the order were to be produced and, according to the Führer's instructions, kept ready by the adjutant's office.
A significant collector's item of the utmost rarity and one of the very few known original examples worldwide.