Prusko - Medaile červeného kříže

Red Cross Medal
(Rote Kreuz Medaille)


This decoration, intended to reward the merits of medical personnel, was established in three classes on 1 October 1898 by King William II of Prussia and Kaiser of Germany. Although all classes are called medals, the classical circular medal forms the decoration of the 2nd and 3rd classes, the decoration of the 1st class is made up of a clip-on cross.


Red Cross Medal of the 1st Class
Rote Kreuz Medaille 1. Klasse


The 1st Class Medal was awarded to high-ranking individuals either for their highly meritorious work or financial support of the Red Cross.
All officially awarded crosses were produced by the Berlin Mint. However, there are also crosses made by Godet Berlin, but in this case they were privately acquired by the recipients after World War I, for example to replace a lost or damaged original award.
Data on the total number of specimens awarded vary in different sources:
Elke Bannincke, in his article in Numismatisches Heft 3/1996, states that between 1898 and 1921, 260 first-class decorations were produced and subsequently awarded at the Berlin mint.
In the magazine of the veterans' organisation Kyffhäuser No. 12/1937, the total number of decorations awarded was 161.
According to an article by Peter Sauerwald in Orden und Ehrenzeichen 26/2003, a study of contemporary sources revealed 114 cases of the awarding of first-class decorations.
It is assumed that the difference between the number of pieces produced and the number awarded (officially recorded) is due to the spontaneous awarding of crosses by Kaiser Wilhelm II during the First World War, which were often not listed in official records. The numbers of decorations produced and awarded up to 1914 coincide. We find a difference in the war years, when official records speak of only 40 pieces awarded, although the Berlin mint produced about 190 of them between 1914-21 in batches of 10 to 50 pieces.


The decoration consisted of a silver or gold-plated Geneva Cross, with the inner surface enamelled in red and all arms surmounted by royal crowns. The back plain side was provided with a vertical pin. The crosses produced by the Berlin mint were not marked with the maker's mark; those produced by Godet were marked Godet 938 on the reverse.
The decoration was awarded in a red-coated wooden case together with the award decree and worn on the left side of the chest.


Sources used:
gmic.co.uk

Red Cross Medal 2nd Class
(Rote Kreuz Medaille 2. Klasse)


Unlike the 1st class, the 2nd class was already made up of the classic circular medal. It could be awarded no earlier than five years after the award of Class 3. This rule was not always followed towards the end of the war and one can see large order clasps with only the 2nd class medal itself.
There were 695 medals awarded up to January 1913, about 60 from January 1913 to 1914 and 8,399 during and shortly after the end of the First World War.
During the war the base material was changed from silver to silver-plated tombak.


Shape:
Circular medal with a diameter of 33 mm and a thickness of 2 mm.


Obverse:
The obverse side with raised edge bears the 1st class decoration motif with a red enamelled area of the Geneva Cross. Between the arms of the cross are the initials of the royal couple W/R/A/V (Wilhelmus / Rex / Auguste / Victoria).


Reverse:
The reverse, with a raised border, bears an oak branch near the left side and the four-line inscription FUER VERDIENSTE UM DAS ROTHE KREUZ (To the Merit of the Red Cross) in its area. The medals were created before the spelling rules were modified in the late 1890s and the inscription on the reverse was not modernized (the words FUER and ROTHE).


Hinge:
Cross wire loop with hanging ring.


Ribbon:
Red 30mm wide, 3mm from both edges there are 5mm black and white stripes.


Method of wear:
On field uniforms, the decoration was replaced by a small order pin (Kleine Feldspange) in the form of a ribbon worn over the left pocket of the uniform. For ceremonial occasions, the full medal was worn attached to a large order clasp (Große Feldspange) or suspended from a triangular ribbon. Women wore their decorations on bow ties.
There were several types of miniature for wearing on civilian clothing, such as a 16mm miniature for attaching to a chain, a miniature for women on a bow tie or a ribbon miniature for wearing in the lapel of a jacket.


Etue:
Red coated wood measuring 55 x 67 x 25 mm. Etues were supplied from the manufacturer in a cardboard sleeve labelled with the name of the decoration.


Sources used:
gmic.co.uk
gmic.co.uk

Just to complete the perfect processing of the Prussian Red Cross problem, I would like to insert a silver medal on a typical triangular ribbon, and another bronze medal again on a typical German clasp.The silver medal is after MUDr.Nowak, who was a doctor in the Pardubice Military Hospital (Karantena). He received this medal for treating German soldiers and Turkish fighters. He received, among other things, the Iron Crescent.
The 3rd class, i.e. the last degree, could also be awarded only for financial support in favour of the Prussian Red Cross.

Red Cross Medal 3rd Class
Rote Kreuz Medaille 3. Klasse


Like the 2nd class decoration, the 3rd class decoration consists of a classic circular medal.
In total, approximately 115,000 pieces of the 3rd class medal were awarded. Originally the medal was made of bronze, which was replaced by iron and zinc during the war.


Shape:
Circular medal with a diameter of 33 mm and a thickness of 2 mm.


Obverse:
The obverse side with raised rim bears the 1st class decoration motif with a vertically hatched area of the Geneva Cross (as opposed to the 2nd class enamel). Between the arms of the cross are the initials of the royal couple W / R / A / V (Wilhelmus / Rex / Auguste / Victoria).


Reverse:
The reverse, with a raised border, bears an oak branch near the left side and the four-line inscription FUER VERDIENSTE UM DAS ROTHE KREUZ (To the Merit of the Red Cross) in its area. The medals were created before the spelling rules were modified in the late 1890s and the inscription on the reverse was not modernized (the words FUER and ROTHE).

Hinge:
On bronze medals, a transverse wire loop with a hanging ring. Zinc and iron medals have holes in the slight elevation and a smaller transverse and larger longitudinal hanging ring.


Ribbon:
Red 30mm wide, 3mm from both edges are 5mm black and white stripes.


Method of wear:
On field uniforms, the decoration was replaced by a small order pin (Kleine Feldspange) in the form of a ribbon worn over the left pocket of the uniform. For ceremonial occasions, the full medal was worn attached to a large order clasp (Große Feldspange) or suspended from a triangular ribbon. Women wore their decorations on bow ties.
There were several types of miniature for wearing on civilian clothing, such as a 16mm miniature for attaching to a chain, a miniature for women on a bow tie or a ribbon miniature for wearing in the lapel of a jacket.


Etue:
Red coated wood measuring 55 x 67 x 25 mm. Etues were supplied from the manufacturer in a cardboard sleeve labelled with the name of the decoration.


Sources used:
gmic.co.uk
gmic.co.uk
Author's collection