Bidspirit auction | German WWII War Merit Cross

German WWII War Merit Cross 2nd Class with Swords (Kriegsverdienstkreuz mit Schwertern) - A German War Merit Cross Second Class with Swords, struck in a bronze-toned metal, featuring a crossed-swords motif overlaying the arms of the cross. One face bears a central roundel with a swastika encircled by a beaded border; the opposite face bears the date 1939 within a matching beaded roundel. The cross is suspended from its ribbon in the red, white, and black national colors. This decoration was instituted in October 1939 to recognize both combat and non-combat wartime contributions, with the Swords variant reserved for those whose service involved direct participation in combat or actions under fire. The War Merit Cross (Kriegsverdienstkreuz) was established by Adolf Hitler on 18 October 1939 as the civilian and non-combatant equivalent to the Iron Cross, intended to recognise wartime service that fell outside direct combat eligibility for other decorations. The Second Class with Swords was awarded to military and civilian personnel—such as medical staff, engineers, or officials—whose duties nonetheless exposed them to enemy action or front-line conditions. It ranked below the War Merit Cross First Class and was one of the most widely distributed German awards of the Second World War, reflecting the regime's effort to acknowledge the broad wartime contribution of those supporting the armed forces without combat command roles.