West German War Order of The German Cross in Silver(1957 pattern)

German Federal Republic War Order of The German Cross in Silver (1957 pattern).

The German Cross was introduced in 1957 and authorized for wear by recipients of the award from WWII. The WWII award itself could not be worn without contravening the De-Nazification laws introduced after WWII. This version is almost identical to the WWII issue piece. The only difference is the substitution of a War Merit Cross for the swastika. The German Cross was established in 1941 as an intermediate award ranked between the War Merit Cross 1st Class and the Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross. The Silver grade was awarded honourable military service in the execution of the war effort. Very high quality multi piece construction.