Bidspirit auction | German WWI Hindenburg Medal

German WWI Hindenburg Medal - German WWI Cross of Honor (Ehrenkreuz), 1914-1918, on Original Ribbon This cross-pattée medal features a central wreath surrounding the dates ”1914 1918” on its face, with the maker mark ”F.M.” stamped on the reverse. It retains its original black-white-red striped ribbon in the combatant pattern. The Ehrenkreuz was instituted in 1934 by order of President Paul von Hindenburg as a retrospective decoration for German veterans of the First World War, with distinct ribbon variants for combatants, non-combatants, and next of kin of the fallen. Millions were issued through the mid-to-late 1930s to surviving veterans and bereaved families, making surviving examples with clear maker marks and original ribbons a staple of Imperial German and Weimar-era militaria collecting. The Ehrenkreuz des Weltkrieges, commonly called the Hindenburg Cross, was established by presidential decree of Paul von Hindenburg in 1934 to honor those who had served or died in the First World War, some sixteen years after the conflict's end. The combatant version, with its distinctive black-white-red striped ribbon featuring flame-like edges, was awarded to front-line veterans, while separate variants marked non-combatant service or were issued to the next of kin of soldiers killed in action. Distribution was overseen through Wehrmacht and civil channels into the late 1930s, making it one of the most widely produced German commemorative awards of the interwar period.