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:''For the similarly named decoration of the Freikorps, see "German Knight's Cross"'' The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (German language: ''Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes''), or simply the Knight's Cross (''Ritterkreuz'') was a grade of the 1939 version of the Iron Cross (''Eisernes Kreuz''), which had been created in 1813. The Knight's Cross was the highest award made by Nazi Germany to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or outstanding military leadership during World War II. Among the military decorations of Nazi Germany, it was second only to the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross (''Großkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes''), an award that was given only once, to Nazi leader and Hitler's second-in-command Hermann Göring. He was granted it as a result of his services in building up the Luftwaffe (the German air force), and for serving as its commander-in-chief. The Knight's Cross was therefore functionally the highest order that German soldiers of all rank could obtain. The Knight's Cross grade of the Iron Cross was worn at the neck and was slightly larger but similar in appearance to the 1813 Iron Cross. It was legally based on the 1 September 1939 renewal of the Iron Cross. The order could be presented to German soldiers of all ranks and to soldiers from other Axis countries. Its first presentation was made on 30 September 1939, following the German Invasion of Poland, which marked the beginning of World War II in Europe. As the war progressed, some of the recipients distinguished themselves further, and a higher grade, the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), was instituted in 1940. In 1941, two higher grades of the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves were instituted. These were the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords () and the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds (). At the end of 1944 the final grade, the Knight's Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds (''Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit goldenem Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten''), was created. The last legal presentation of the Knight's Cross, in any of its grades, had to be made before 23:01 Central European Time 8 May 1945, the time when the German surrender became effective. A number of presentations were made after this date, the last on 17 June 1945. These late presentations are considered ''de facto'' but not ''de jure'' awards. In post-World War II Germany, the Federal Republic of Germany prohibited the wearing of Nazi insignia. In 1957 the German government authorized a replacement Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, with an oak leaf cluster in place of the swastika, which could be worn by World War II Knight's Cross recipients. In 1986, the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR) acknowledged 7,321 presentations made to the members of the three military branches of the Wehrmacht—the Heer (Army), Kriegsmarine (Navy) and Luftwaffe (Air Force)—as well as the Waffen-SS, the Reichsarbeitsdienst (RAD—Reich Labour Service) and the Volkssturm (German national militia). There were also 43 recipients in the military forces of allies of the Third Reich for a total of 7,364 recipients.〔Fellgiebel 2000, pp. 113–460, 483, 485–487, 492, 494, 498–499, 501, 503, 509.〕 Analysis of the German Federal Archives revealed evidence for 7,161 officially—''de facto'' and ''de jure''—bestowed recipients, including one additional presentation previously unidentified by the AKCR.〔Scherzer 2007, pp. 117–186.〕 The AKCR names 890 recipients of the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross, including the eight recipients who served in the military forces of other Axis countries. The German Federal Archives do not substantiate 27 of these Oak Leaves recipients. The Swords to the Knight's Cross were awarded 160 times according to the AKCR, among them the posthumous presentation to the Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, 13 of which cannot be supported by the German Federal Archives. The Diamonds to the Knight's Cross were awarded 27 times, all of which are verifiable in the German Federal Archives. The final grade, the Golden Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross was verifiably awarded once to Hans-Ulrich Rudel on 29 December 1944. ==Historic background== The Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm III established the Iron Cross (''Eisernes Kreuz'') at the beginning of the ''Befreiungskrieg'' (War of Liberation) as part of the Napoleonic Wars. Karl Friedrich Schinkel received the contract to design a silver-framed cast iron cross on 13 March 1813. The decree was then backdated to 10 March 1813, the birthday of the King's wife, Louise of Prussia, who had died in 1810.〔Potempa 2003, p. 9.〕 Iron was a material which symbolised defiance and reflected the spirit of the age. The Prussian state had mounted a campaign steeped in patriotic rhetoric to rally their citizens to repulse the French occupation. To finance the military opposition against Napoleon I the king implored wealthy Prussians to turn in their jewels in exchange for a men's cast-iron ring or a ladies' brooch, each bearing the legend "Gold I gave for iron" (ドイツ語:''Gold gab ich für Eisen'') or alternatively, "Gold for defence, Iron for honour" (ドイツ語:''Gold zur Wehr, Eisen zur Ehr''). Initially, the Iron Cross award was of a temporary nature and could only be made when the country was in a state of war. A formal renewal procedure was required every time the award was to be presented.〔Schaulen 2003, p. 5.〕 The renewal date, relating to the year of re-institution, therefore appears on the lower obverse arm of the Iron Cross. The Iron Cross was renewed twice after the Napoleonic Wars and prior to World War II. Its first renewal on 19 July 1870 was related to the Franco-Prussian War and its second renewal came on 5 August 1914, with the outbreak of World War I. The 1914 Iron Cross remained a Prussian decoration but could be awarded in the name of the Kaiser (as the King of Prussia) to members of all the German states' armies and of the ''Kaiserliche Marine'' (Imperial Navy). The regulation was extended and from 16 March 1915 the award could also be presented to individuals in the military forces of allies of the German state. During this period the Iron Cross was only awarded in three grades; the Iron Cross 2nd Class (''Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse''), Iron Cross 1st Class (''Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse'') and the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross (''Großkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes'') leaving a large gap between grades. There was no nationwide decoration placed between the Iron Cross 2nd and 1st Class, which could be awarded to soldiers of all ranks, and the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross, which was awarded only to senior commanders for winning a major battle or campaign. This gap was partly filled by awards given from the Empire's member states. Among the best known of these awards are the Prussian Order Pour le Mérite and House Order of Hohenzollern, which could only be awarded to officers. For non-commissioned officers and soldiers the Prussian Golden Military Merit Cross (''Goldenes Militär-Verdienstkreuz'') was the highest achievable decoration. With the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II at the end of World War I the awards granted by the various royal households became obsolete.〔Williamson 2004, p. 3.〕 With the outbreak of World War II on 1 September 1939, Adolf Hitler in his role as commander in chief of the German armed forces (''Oberster Befehlshaber der deutschen Wehrmacht'') decreed the renewal of the Iron Cross of 1939. The decree was also signed by the Chief of the Armed Forces High Command, Wilhelm Keitel, the Minister of the Interior, Dr. Wilhelm Frick and by the State-Minister and Chief of the Presidential Chancellery of the Führer and Reich Chancellor, Otto Meißner.〔Schaulen 2003, p. 6.〕 The renewal of 1939 also filled the gap between the Iron Cross 1st Class and the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross. Rather than using an unrelated award to bridge this gap, a new grade of the Iron Cross series was introduced, the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (''Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes'').〔 The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, without distinction, was awarded to officers and soldiers alike, conforming with the National Socialist political slogan: "One people, one nation, one leader" ().〔Maerz 2007, p. 29.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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