Among the military decorations of the Second World War, the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold mit Brillanten (German Cross in Gold with Diamonds) occupies a singular position: it was commissioned, manufactured, and delivered, yet never formally instituted or bestowed. The twenty examples ever produced represent one of the rarest and most historically intriguing orders of National Socialist Germany.
The Institution of the German Cross
The German Cross (officially designated as a War Order, or Kriegsorden) was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 28 September 1941 in two divisions: in Gold for repeated acts of bravery or outstanding military leadership, and in Silver for distinguished non-combat war service. The decoration fulfilled the need for a higher-ranking war decoration, as an increasing number of soldiers had been awarded the two classes of the Iron Cross or the War Merit Cross during World War II, but did not meet the requirements for the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross or the Knight’s Cross of the War Merit Cross with Swords. The German Cross was designed to rank between the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross and the Oak Leaves to the Knight’s Cross.
The Genesis of the Diamond Grade
After the German Cross in Silver and Gold were instituted on 28 September 1941, the increasing severity of the war made it appear necessary to create a further higher grade. In summer 1942, the Orders Chancellery of the Presidential Chancellery (Ordenskanzlei der Präsidialkanzlei) was commissioned to procure 20 German Crosses in Gold with Diamonds. These were manufactured by the Munich firm of P. Rath, a distinguished court jeweler, and delivered to the Presidential Chancellery at a price of 2,800 Reichsmark per piece. The decoration was intended for proven individual fighters, and recipients were to receive a special award certificate similar to the Knight’s Cross folders. However, on Hitler’s explicit orders, no awards were made, as the diamonds were to remain reserved exclusively for the Knight’s Cross. There was no formal institution of this grade, and all twenty examples remained unbestowed.
Physical Description
The German Cross in Gold with Diamonds takes the form of an eight-pointed dark gray star with a silver border, measuring 65 mm in diameter. At its center sits a stylized laurel wreath in gold, with the year 1941 engraved at the bottom, enclosing a black, silver-bordered swastika on a matte silver field. In the diamond variant, the applied laurel wreath is executed in gold and set with 105 diamonds, mostly old-cut brilliants in 8/8 cut. The body is made of silver, and the swastika is black enameled. The reverse features six additionally soldered hollow rivets, and the pin bears the manufacturer’s mark “RATH MÜNCHEN”.
This particular example is complete in its original presentation case of red Morocco leather. The lid is embossed with a gold national eagle (Hoheitsadler). The inner edges and borders feature dotted hand gilding. The interior contains a velvet insert and white artificial silk lining bearing the manufacturer’s mark “RATH – MÜNCHEN”, with the designation “RATH” in gold embossing also present in the bottom of the case.
The End of the War and Subsequent Fate
At the end of the war, all twenty examples were located at Schloss Kleßheim near Salzburg, the last seat of the Presidential Chancellery, where the stocks of the Orders Chancellery had been evacuated. In April 1945, upon occupation of the castle by United States Army troops, the orders stocks were plundered. Of the original twenty crosses, three are today kept in the West Point Museum of the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, though they are not publicly viewable. An additional approximately twelve examples are said to be in collectors’ hands, predominantly in the United States.
Collector Significance
On 16 December 2006, an original example came to auction at a German auction house and was acquired by an unknown bidder for €60,000. This price speaks to the extraordinary rarity and historical importance of this decoration. For context, the standard German Cross in Gold (without diamonds) was awarded approximately 26,000 times, while the German Cross in Silver saw roughly 2,500 awards — underscoring the vast gulf between the widely distributed standard grades and the exclusive, unawarded diamond variant.
The German Cross in Gold with Diamonds embodies a remarkable historical anomaly: a fully manufactured but never bestowed war decoration that reflects both the escalating hierarchy of honors in the Third Reich and the limits that existed even within that system. Each surviving example is a testament to an uncompleted chapter in the history of military decorations and ranks among the most coveted collector items from the Second World War.
