The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 is a typical production by the firm C. E. Juncker, Berlin. Blackened iron core and silver frame, reverse stamped “800 L/12”, the suspension ring stamped “800” silver. Complete with original neck ribbon section. Clearly worn with light traces of rust, condition 2-3. Included is the large award document for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross issued to “Oberst Kurt Badinski”, dated “Führerhauptquartier, 11 October 1941”. With original ink signature of the Führer and Reich Chancellor Adolf Hitler. The Knight's Cross presentation case in red leather with gold-embossed national eagle. The document on large double-sheet parchment hand-written, the recipient's name rendered in raised gold. On the lower reverse margin with signature “Frieda Thiersch”. The presentation case is in very good condition, corners only minimally bumped, the red retention strap for the parchment sheet is undamaged. Dimensions 45 x 36 cm. Large medal bar with 10 decorations: Iron Cross 1914 2nd Class. Prussia House Order of Hohenzollern Knight's Cross with Swords. Silver gilt, stamped “825” silver in lower cross arm. Bavaria Military Merit Order 3rd Class with Swords, the medallion in gold. Mecklenburg-Schwerin Military Merit Cross 1914 2nd Class. Saxe-Meiningen Badge of Honor for Merit in War 1915-1918. Hamburg Hanseatic Cross. Honor Cross for Front Combatants 1914-1918. Wehrmacht Long Service Award for XXV Years with 2 (!) attached ribbon eagles. Bulgaria Military Merit Order Knight's Cross. Austria Military Merit Order Cross 3rd Class with War Decoration. Condition 2. Additionally 2 matching ribbon bars. 1939 Clasp to the Iron Cross 1914 1st Class, base metal. World War I Wound Badge in Black and Silesian Eagle 2nd Class. Furthermore, a pair of heavily worn collar tabs as General as well as collar tabs and 1 shoulder board and cap oak leaves as Oberst in Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 16.
Additionally 2 very fine reproduction color photos of General Badinski as well as in photocopy the corps daily order dated 8.1.1941 of Generalkommando L.A.K. and a letter from Generaloberst Blaskowitz to Badinski, dated 16.6.1944.
A fine estate of a brave general.

Curt Badinski entered the Imperial Army as officer cadet on 15 January 1910. At the outbreak of war, Leutnant and platoon leader in Lauenburgisches Jäger-Bataillon Nr. 9.
In summer 1915 he was wounded as battalion adjutant. On 18 August 1916 promotion to Oberleutnant, from autumn 1916 company commander. In spring 1917 he transferred as adjutant to 22. Infanterie-Brigade, until the end of the war in staff service. After 1918 accepted into the Reichswehr.
On 1 August 1933 promotion to Major, on 1 March 1936 to Oberstleutnant, commander of I./Infanterie-Regiment 16 in Oldenburg. On 1 August 1938 promotion to Oberst. From summer 1939 regimental commander Infanterie-Regiment 489. Participation in the Western Campaign 1940 against France. By summer 1941 he led his regiment in the Eastern Campaign during the attack on Northern Russia. On 11 October 1941 he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Early January 1942 he relinquished his command of Infanterie-Regiment 489, transfer to the Führer Reserve. Mid-January 1942 he was tasked with leading the 23. Infanterie-Division. With his promotion to Generalmajor on 1 February 1942, appointment as commander of the 23. Infanterie-Division. On 1 September 1942 appointed commander of the 269. Infanterie-Division, transfer to Norway. On 1 March 1943 promotion to Generalleutnant. End of November 1943 he relinquished his command. He was now appointed commander of the new 276. Infanterie-Division. Deployment at the invasion front in France. In August 1944 he was captured by Allied forces in the Falaise Pocket. Released in summer 1947.
General Badinski died on 27 February 1966 in Oldenburg.

The estate is 100% coherent and original in all parts, nothing was added after 1945. For this we provide our lifetime guarantee of authenticity.

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The Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 – The Estate of Generalleutnant Curt Badinski

This remarkable estate of Generalleutnant Curt Badinski centers on one of the most significant military decorations of the Second World War: the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes). Accompanied by its original award document, a substantial medal bar of ten decorations, uniform insignia, and period documents, this grouping offers a comprehensive window into the career of a German officer whose service spanned both World Wars and encapsulated the transformations of the German military establishment across the twentieth century.

Institution and Significance of the Knight’s Cross

The Knight’s Cross was instituted on 1 September 1939 by Adolf Hitler through Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 1573, the ordinance re-establishing the Iron Cross. It was designed to replace the Prussian Pour le Mérite and other high merit decorations of the German Empire, deliberately bridging the class divide by making the highest military award accessible to soldiers of all ranks. This continued the tradition of the Prussian Iron Cross dating to 1813.

The decoration was awarded for extreme battlefield bravery or outstanding military leadership to members of the Wehrmacht (Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine), the Waffen-SS, the Reichsarbeitsdienst, the Volkssturm, and allies of the Third Reich. Prior possession of the Iron Cross 1st Class 1939 was a prerequisite, though both decorations were sometimes awarded concurrently. Functionally, the Knight’s Cross represented the highest decoration available to German soldiers, since the Grand Cross was awarded only once – to Hermann Göring in July 1940. Specific criteria evolved during the war, including benchmarks such as sinking 100,000 tons for U-boat commanders or achieving 20 aerial victories for fighter pilots, though these thresholds were later relaxed.

Over the course of the war, five grades were established: the Knight’s Cross itself (1 September 1939); the Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves (3 June 1940); the Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (15 July 1941); the Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds (15 July 1941); and the Knight’s Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds (29 December 1944), the last awarded only once to Hans-Ulrich Rudel. The Oak Leaves were awarded to 882–890 recipients, the Swords to 160, and the Diamonds to 27.

Manufacture by C.E. Juncker, Berlin

The Knight’s Cross in this estate is a production of C.E. Juncker of Berlin, one of several authorized manufacturers. Founded in 1851, Juncker became the official supplier to the Präsidialkanzlei (Presidential Chancellery) from 1939 onward. The firm’s factory was destroyed by Allied air raids in 1944. Within the Präsidialkanzlei marking system, Juncker pieces bore the code “L/12”.

The Knight’s Cross takes the form of a cross pattée – a cross with arms narrow at the center and broader at the perimeter – worn suspended from a neck ribbon in black-white-red colors, 30 mm in width. It is constructed from a blackened iron core set within a silver frame of 800/1000 purity (80% silver), indicated by the “800” hallmark. The obverse displays a central swastika and the date “1939” on the lower arm, while the reverse bears the date “1813”, linking it to the original Iron Cross tradition. Juncker crosses are characterized by a distinctive “picket fence effect” pattern at the inner frame corners and their particular numeral embossing style.

The Award Document

The large-format award certificate is dated 11 October 1941 and issued to “Oberst Kurt Badinski.” Knight’s Cross certificates were prepared as hand-calligraphed parchments housed in red leather folders embossed with the national eagle in gold. The design of the folders was by Frieda Thiersch, whose signature appears on this document, while the calligraphy was executed by Franziska Kobell. Each certificate bore the original ink signature of Adolf Hitler. In the early war years, presentations were made by Hitler personally at locations including the Reich Chancellery, the Berghof, and various Führerhauptquartier locations such as the Wolfsschanze and Werwolf. Following the assassination attempt of 20 July 1944, presentations were increasingly made by senior commanders rather than by Hitler himself.

Generalleutnant Curt Badinski

Badinski entered the Imperial Army as a Fahnenjunker (officer cadet) on 15 January 1910. His ten-decoration medal bar attests to distinguished First World War service, including the Prussian House Order of Hohenzollern Knight’s Cross with Swords, the Bavarian Military Merit Order 3rd Class with Swords, and the Hamburg Hanseatic Cross, among others. The Knight’s Cross was awarded on 11 October 1941 when Badinski, then an Oberst, commanded Infanterie-Regiment 489 during operations at Krasnogwardeisk in Operation Barbarossa. By August 1944, commanding the 276. Infanterie-Division on the Normandy invasion front, he was captured in the Falaise Pocket. He was released from Allied captivity in the summer of 1947.

Post-War Legacy

After the war, the Federal Republic of Germany prohibited the wearing of decorations bearing Nazi insignia. In 1957, a denazified replacement version was authorized, substituting an oak leaf cluster for the swastika, allowing veterans to wear their awards. The Association of Knight’s Cross Recipients (Ordensgemeinschaft der Ritterkreuzträger, OdR) was founded in 1955 in Cologne. In 1999, German Defense Minister Rudolf Scharping banned Bundeswehr contacts with the association, citing neo-Nazi connections.

As a coherent, authenticated grouping documenting one officer’s trajectory from the Kaiser’s army through the Reichswehr and Wehrmacht to Allied captivity, this estate represents a significant primary source for the study of German military history in the first half of the twentieth century.