History of the Iron Cross  
   The Iron cross is one of the most famous military decorations in history. It was first established by the king Frederick William  
III of Prussia in order to congratulate the generals and soldiers that participated in the Napoleonic Wars (It may be surprising to know that the war is mainly about the rest of Europe fighting against Napoleon's French empire), which Prussia gained success. Later it was used in WWI and WWII, and even now the design can be found on armored vehicles, tanks and ships. 
  
   The first edition of the Iron Cross contains patterns of oak leaves, a crown, the letter "W" and the date 1813.  And there were originally  
three classes of it: Second and First , being awarded to solders without distinction to their rankings in their military service, and Grand. The kinds of metal that makes up the Iron Cross were the same, while the the method of wearing them differs. The Grand Cross and the Second Class Iron Cross was hung on ribbons while the First Class was attached with a pin or screw points on the back. The Second and First Class Iron Cross was awarded to solders without consideration of rank, while the Grand Iron Cross was only awarded to the senior generals. An even higher decoration- the Grand Star Iron Cross was only awarded twice in history. One to general Gebhard von Blücher in 1813 and one to Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg in 1918. A third one was planned by the Nazis, but since Germany lost in WWII, it was never given out. An important rule was also established at this stage that one can only gain one class of the Iron Cross if he or she had gained the lower class Cross before.  
  
The second time that the Iron Cross was widely and officially awarded is during WWI, when Wilhelm II was in charge. At this period in history Welheim made no change (except for the date) to the Iron Cross, and about 4 million Second Class Crosses, 145000 First Class Crosses and five Grand Crosses were awarded. Among the 145000 receivers of the First Class Cross was Adolf Hilter. WWI was also the first defeat that the Iron Cross experienced. The Iron Cross at this stage was also the easiest to purchase, as a lot has been brought back to America. 
  
Another time that the Iron Cross was widely used is during WWII. Hilter was a great fan of establishing a great German Empire  
(Grosse Deutschland) and was keen to promote the traditions of old Prussia. However, Hitler changed the letter "W" in the middle to the  
symbol of the Nazi party, the color of the ribbon was changed to red and black and the date was also changed to 1939. In addition, a new class-the Knight Cross was established between the First Class Iron Cross and the Grand Cross. The Knight Cross also contains its own classes: the Knight Cross, the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords , Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds and Knight's Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds( good names ). The separation of these classes of the Iron Cross is the different kinds of decorations placed on top of the decoration.  During WWII a massive amount of Iron Crosses was given out. Especially in 1945 the Berlin Wars, where Hilter gave it as a method of motivation to his soldiers. In the total course of WWII, Hilter gave out more than four and  
a half million Second Class Iron Crosses and 300,000 of the First Class was given out as well. Another famous Iron Cross given at that time was the Grand Iron Cross. It was given to the Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring for the role played by his air force during the battle of Denmark.  
  
After WWII the wearing of the Iron Cross is banned of a while. Later in 1957 the German government instituted the replacement of the Iron Cross in WWII with a replacement that does not contain the Nazi symbol. Nowadays the Iron Cross has became a symbol of the German military and the glorious past of Prussia it represents will be remembered as well.