Ehrenkreuz der Deutschen Mutter
| Cross of Honour of the German Mother Ehrenkreuz der Deutschen Mutter |
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|---|---|
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| Awarded by Deutsches Reich | |
| Type | Civil state decoration. |
| Eligibility | Reichsdeutsche mothers. Eligibility later extended to include Volksdeutsche mothers. |
| Awarded for | “…for exceptional merit to the German nation.” (to Reichsdeutsche and Volksdeutsche mothers who exhibited probity, exemplary motherhood, and who conceived and raised four or more children in the role of a parent). |
| Status | Inactive. |
| Statistics | |
| Established | 16 December 1938 |
| First awarded | 21 May 1939 |
| Last awarded | up until 8 May 1945 (cessation date) |
| Precedence | |
| Next (higher) | None |
| Next (lower) | None |
| Related | None |
The Cross of Honour of the German Mother (German: Ehrenkreuz der Deutschen Mutter), referred to colloquially as the Mutterehrenkreuz (Mother’s Cross of Honour) or simply Mutterkreuz (Mother’s Cross), was a state decoration conferred by the government of the German Reich to honour a Reichsdeutsche 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 decoration was conferred from 1939 until 1945 in three classes: bronze, silver, and gold, to Reichsdeutsche mothers who exhibited probity, exemplary motherhood, and who conceived and raised at least four or more children in the role of a parent. A similar practice, that continues to this present day, was already established in France since 1920, by conferring the Médaille de la Famille française (Medal of the French Family), a tribute to the French mother who raised several children in an appropriate way.
In recognition of the substantial importance a woman’s role and motherhood was in support of a strong Germany, the Cross of Honour of the German Mother was introduced by decree in Berlin on 16 December 1938 by Führer und Reichskanzler (leader and chancellor) Adolf Hitler. The preamble of the statutory decree declared:
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