Soldaten

As much as the Nazi regime and parts of the Wehrmacht leadership spoke of fanaticism and willingness to sacrifice in their official correspondence, the way in which medals were awarded rarely conformed to that ideal. In contrast to the highest British military medal, the Victoria Cross,⁷⁵ the Knight’s Cross was handed out posthumously in approximately 7 percent of cases only. Bearers of the Knight’s Cross were not those who had fanatically sacrificed their own lives by throwing themselves in front of tanks. More often, they were soldiers and troop leaders who could boast clearly defined success. The Knight’s Cross was a reward for special performance and not a National Socialist encouragement to make the ultimate sacrifice. Hitler only ever involved himself in the awarding of the highest medals. Division and squadron commanders handed out other accolades. Awards commending the political spirit of a soldier remained very rare.

The Third Reich complemented this complexly calibrated system of awards for bravery with a variety of distinctions, unique to Germany, designating function in battle. The navy had badges for U-boats, E-boats (speedboats), destroyers, the High Seas Fleet, armed merchant cruisers, blockade runners, minesweepers, small battle units, and naval artillery. The same was true for the Luftwaffe, which came up with clasps to show how many air raid missions crew members had flown. The German army created a special Infantry Assault, General Assault, Tank Battle, Antiaircraft, and Tank Destruction badges. The most prestigious of these were doubtlessly the Close-Combat Clasp, commissioned in November 1942, which was given “as a visible acknowledgment to those soldiers who had engaged in hand-to-hand combat.” Soldiers who had absolved fifty days of such fighting, where one could see “the whites of the enemy’s eyes,” were given the Gold Close-Combat Clasp. It was considered the highest decoration in the infantry. But the chance of staying alive long enough to receive one was slim. Only 619 awards were recorded, beginning in late summer 1944, an occasion celebrated by Nazi propaganda.⁷⁶

Policies concerning accolades in the Third Reich primarily rewarded frontline soldiers. Historian Christoph Rass has calculated that within the 253rd Infantry Division 96.3 percent of all Iron Crosses were awarded to combat units.⁷⁷ Noncombat soldiers were only eligible for the far less prestigious War Merit Cross. The result was a gap in status since men who didn’t directly face the enemy had few chances of receiving an accolade, while their comrades on the front line, assuming they could stay alive, could rack up medal upon medal.

Massive numbers, some 2.3 million, of Iron Crosses Second Class, were handed out, but more than 85 percent of members of the Wehrmacht did not receive even the lowest commendation for bravery. Their uniforms remained bare, while the military biographies of seasoned frontline fighters were on display for all the world to see. That brought social prestige and created intentional social pressure. German men knew that they could only prove themselves at the front. As a result, soldiers on home leave often illicitly donned medals to impress their friends and families and to avoid looking like shirkers.⁷⁸ Nonetheless, by rewarding the most dangerous wartime deployments, accolades played an important practical role as an incentive in the Third Reich.

First Lieutenant Alfons Bialetzki wearing the Iron Cross First and Second Class, the Gold Medal for War Wounded, the Parachutist and Infantry Assault Badge, the Gold Close-Combat Clasp, the German Cross (Gold Class), and the Knight’s Cross. On his upper right arm he wears two individual antitank identifications and a Crete armband. (From Florian Berger, Ritterkreuzträger mit Nahkampfspange in Gold, Vienna, 2004)