Instituted in 1938 and referred to colloquially as the Mutterehrenkreuz (Mother’s Cross of Honour) or more commonly, as Mutterkreuz (Mother’s Cross), was a state decoration conferred by the government of the German Reich to honour a Reichsdeutsche, or ‘German mother’ for exceptional merit to the German nation. Eligibility later extended to include Volksdeutsche (ethnic German) mothers from, for example, Austria and Sudetenland, that had earlier been incorporated into the German Reich.
The Mothers Cross was awarded ion three grades or classes, with qualifying award criteria determined by the number of children borne by the mother, as under:
– 1st class, Gold Cross: eligible mothers with eight or more children
– 2nd class, Silver Cross: eligible mothers with six or seven children
– 3rd class, Bronze Cross: eligible mothers with four or five children
The cross retaining its original long length of silk neck riband.
