Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939. The Knight's Cross with blackened iron core and silver frame, a typical production of the firm Steinhauer & Lück. Reverse stamped “800” silver, the suspension ring not stamped. Worn on original worn neck ribbon. Joecks denazified the piece during imprisonment or after 1945 and continued to wear it. Included is the preliminary award certificate for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross issued to “Hauptmann Joecks Commander Staff/light Art. Btl. 426 (mot)”, dated “HQ u OKH, 16 May 1944”. With original ink signature “Burgdorf” Generalleutnant. 2 newspaper clippings “Knight's Cross for Two Pomeranians - The Knight's Cross for Hauptmann Joecks - Proven in the Battle for Kovel” and “Knight's Cross to Four Professional Comrades”. Also a small portrait photo for the Soldbuch, already as Major with Knight's Cross and ribbon bar.
German Cross in Gold, lightweight version by Zimmermann, Pforzheim, with 4 hollow rivets, inside on the pin with maker “20”. Worn, condition 2. Included is the preliminary award certificate, issued 2 May 1944.
Iron Cross 1939 1st Class. Production by Klein & Quenzer, reverse on the pin with maker “65”, complete in matching presentation case. Worn, condition 2.
Iron Cross 1939 2nd Class. Unworn, in the presentation packet with maker “Rudolf Souval Wien 62/VII”. Included is the worn ribbon, detached from the field tunic.
General Assault Badge, solid zinc die-struck, without maker, worn. 2 of his ribbon bars with 3 decorations: Iron Cross 1939 2nd Class, Medal for the Winter Campaign in the East, Honor Cross for Front Fighters 1914-18 (!). The ribbon bar is clearly visible in the photo. Medal for the Winter Campaign in the East, unworn in the presentation packet, maker Hermann Wernstein Jena. Furthermore the Honor Cross for Front Fighters 1914-18.

Complete set of insignia from his last field tunic as Major of Artillery: collar tabs, shoulder boards and breast eagle, worn.
Extract from Soldbuch No. 4..., multi-page sheet on DIN A5, issued at war's end May 1945, with all promotions and decorations, stamped “Oberkommando de Heeres Heereswaffenamt Munitionsabteilung”.
Also included is a participant badge from 1987 “Knight's Cross Recipients Meeting in Kufstein - 20.5.-31.5.87”.

Martin Joecks, born 2.11.1900, died 23.11.1989. Joecks was still a soldier in World War I, but received no further decorations except the Honor Cross for Front Fighters. The Knight's Cross was awarded to him as Hauptmann and Commander of light Artillery Battalion (RSO) 426 on 14 May 1944 for the defense of Fortress Kovel.

The estate comes directly from family ownership and is still in Mr. Joecks' cigar box.

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The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 – Historical Context of a Significant Estate

The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) stands as one of the most recognized and extensively studied military decorations of the Second World War. It was instituted on 1 September 1939 by decree of Adolf Hitler, coinciding with the German invasion of Poland. The award was created to replace the many older merit and bravery neck decorations of the German Empire, establishing a single, supreme tier of recognition for extraordinary battlefield performance.

Manufacture and Physical Characteristics

The most common Knight's Crosses were produced by the firm Steinhauer & Lück in Lüdenscheid, which also manufactured the prototype in 1939. As the war progressed, additional manufacturing firms were contracted, each assigned a specific code number to identify their production.

The Knight's Cross takes the form of a cross pattée – a cross with arms that are narrow at the center and broaden toward the perimeter – featuring a black core set within a silver beaded frame. It is a three-piece construction: a core made of iron, zinc, or brass is placed between two outer silver frames and delicately hand-soldered together. Steinhauer & Lück crosses bear the stamp “800,” indicating 800-grade silver. The two-part frame was die-struck from silver, while the centerpiece consists of malleable sheet iron with a black finish and a magnetic core.

A Steinhauer & Lück Knight's Cross measures 48.19 millimeters in width and 54.12 millimeters in height, weighing 28.79 grams without the band clip. The obverse features the date 1939 on the lower arm and a national emblem in relief on the upper arm. The reverse bears the date 1813 on the lower arm, referencing the founding year of the Iron Cross order. A substantial oval or round suspension loop is silver-soldered to the frame apex. The decoration is worn on a broad neck ribbon in the classic Iron Cross pattern – black with white edges and a red center stripe, approximately 45 mm wide.

Award Criteria and Graded System

To qualify for the Knight's Cross, a soldier generally had to already hold the 1939 Iron Cross First Class, though in some cases both awards were bestowed concurrently. The Knight's Cross was awarded for a wide range of reasons and across all ranks – from a senior commander recognized for skilled leadership of his troops in battle to a low-ranking soldier honored for a single act of extraordinary military valor. The central criterion was always exceptional battlefield bravery or leadership that exceeded the standards required for the Iron Cross First Class.

Higher grades were introduced as the war continued. In 1940, the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross were instituted. In 1941, two further grades appeared: 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 ultimate grade was created – the Knight's Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds, awarded only once, to Hans-Ulrich Rudel on 29 December 1944. German Federal Archives document 863 Oak Leaves, 147 Swords, and 27 Diamonds awards.

The Battle of Kovel – Historical Context of the Award

This estate is directly connected to the defense of the fortress of Kovel in the spring of 1944. Kovel, a key city in what is now western Ukraine (then part of Poland), was declared a Festung (fortress) by the German command and was encircled by Soviet units on 18 March 1944 during the Polesskoe offensive. In March and April 1944, Kovel became the site of fierce fighting between the 5th SS Panzer Division “Wiking” and the Red Army.

The Heeres-Artillerie-Abteilung 426 was a motorized Eastern Front artillery unit equipped with RSO tractor-towed howitzers. This unit stood at the center of the awards issued during the height of the Battle of the Kovel Pocket in April and May 1944. The present grouping reflects the intense combat environment in which its owner served and the significance attached to the defense of this critical strongpoint.

Post-War History

After the war, German law prohibited the wearing of swastika-bearing insignia. On 26 July 1957, the West German government authorized replacement Knight's Crosses in which the swastika was substituted with an oak leaf cluster. These denazified awards were issued to German veterans who had received the original decoration during the Third Reich. Production of these replacement pieces ceased in 1986.

Beyond the Knight's Cross itself, this estate encompasses a remarkable array of decorations and documents, including the German Cross in Gold, the Iron Cross First and Second Class, the General Assault Badge, the Eastern Front Medal (Winterschlacht im Osten), and the Honor Cross for Front Combatants 1914–18 – the latter indicating service during the First World War. Complete uniform insignia from the recipient's final field tunic as a Major of Artillery, together with documentation and newspaper clippings, round out a comprehensive ensemble preserved directly by the family of the original recipient.