Help with Cloth German Cross!

Ken812

My grandad traded a box of cigarettes for this German Cross and Iron Cross 1st class back in Hamburg 1946. It was in his possession from then up until two years ago when he gave it to me as a gift. I always struggled to find pictures of similar looking cloth medals online, so could never find much information about it.

Only yesterday did I find out from a guy on reddit that it used to have a swastika in the middle that would have been removed due to post war de-nazification, and then replaced with the now installed Iron Cross 2nd class ribbon. I looked a bit closer after realising the ribbon was a secondary edition, and noticed the original swastika is still underneath the ribbon.

The ribbon is only pushed underneath the edges of the metal wreath so can be removed easily. Should I remove it??

danpatjoe

Hello,
Although I am not very well informed on these cloth DKiG's, yours looks like a good one on Panzer black backing.

Personally, as it is easy to remove without causing any damage, I would be inclined to remove the EK2 ribbon (although keep it with the cross and be sure to take good detailed photographs before you remove it).

The EK2 ribbon is a post-war addition and although it still is part of the history of the piece, removing it is in my opinion, not ruining but 'restoring' an interesting historic item.

Regards - Dan

P.S. Can we please see the EK1?

Dr Strange

I agree with danpatjoe, it would be easy to remove the ribbon and if I owned it I would restore it to its original state.

Ken812

thanks lads, I took your advice and carefully removed the ribbon. looks great!

danpatjoe

Ken812 wrote: »

thanks lads, I took your advice and carefully removed the ribbon. looks great!

Any chance of some photos?

Ken812

Enjoy

danpatjoe

Ken812 wrote: »

Enjoy

Thank you, it looks good!

You got lucky there. Most of the items I have seen 'de-nazified' after the war were very crudely done with swastikas literally ripped, ground or chopped off, so to see that this was undamaged is a pleasant change from the norm.

BTW, has the Souval EK1 cross or case any markings?
I see the white liner has come away from the base of the case and looks to be caught in the lid, can that be replaced in the base without causing any damage?

Regards - Dan

Ken812

danpatjoe wrote: »

Thank you, it looks good!

You got lucky there. Most of the items I have seen 'de-nazified' after the war were very crudely done with swastikas literally ripped, ground or chopped off, so to see that this was undamaged is a pleasant change from the norm.

BTW, has the Souval EK1 cross or case any markings?
I see the white liner has come away from the base of the case and looks to be caught in the lid, can that be replaced in the base without causing any damage?

Regards - Dan

These are the only markings on the case, and there's no markings on the ek.

The top part in the picture is the base where the ek1 was.

danpatjoe

Ah, I think see it now.

It looks like at some stage the inserts got mixed up.
The yellowish fabric insert that holds the cross should sit surrounded by that white card like strip in the base of the case (the part with the push button), and the white silk insert should be in the lid.

Like this one:

Dr Strange

A lovely set Ken812!

ollaetta

Got my tongue hanging out here. Fantastic set and even better to have the provenance. Well done.

Ken812

ollaetta wrote: »

Got my tongue hanging out here. Fantastic set and even better to have the provenance. Well done.

Cheers! Its a pity they're not in a bit better condition, which is due to my mom and her siblings apparently playing with them when they were kids (I shudder at the thought of this), can't complain though, absolutely delighted to own a piece like this!

Jagdtiger

Nice German Cross and history!

I much prefer the cloth examples to the original award pieces, very few of which would have been worn into action.

Not to mention that the construction of the cloth version is Beautifully done!