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Iron Crosses awarded for mineclearing in Norway, 1945

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    Iron Crosses awarded for mineclearing in Norway, 1945

    I think most of you know that after the end of the war in Norway, iron crosses were awarded to some soldiers carrying out the extremely dangerous job of mine clearing. A couple of weeks ago i was doing some research at the Norwegian national archives and came across two thick folders concerning these awards, which must have been some of if not the last awards of the EK. One can discuss the legitimacy of these awards but the fact of the matter is they were awarded and are a very real part of the overall story of the iron cross.


    First i should set the scene a little. At the end of the war in Europe, the German troops stationed in Norway were in a slightly different position than their comrades on the continent. To start with, the allies were short of resources and couldn't simply 'invade' Norway to take over after the surrender, the plans drawn up relied heavily on the co-operation of the Germans themselves, as such the Wehrmacht in Norway enjoyed a far greater amount of freedom than many might realise. In essence it meant that the allies gave German high command in Norway orders and the Germans themselves disseminated and carried out those orders. Other than immediate arrest catagories (SS, polizei, suspected war criminals etc.) German troops were ordered to gather in to designated reservations, where they would by and large adminsister themselves and in many cases guard themselves, this also meant that the regular life and bureaucracy of the army carried on, with promotions and awards (mostly those that hadn't finished the paperwork process but also the lappland shield). Their main task was to gather in weapons and equipment and to clear the millions of mines laid over the 5 years of occupation. During the summer of 45 this operation was very much ad-hoc, lacking in specialist equipment it was a highly dangerous job which led to over 350 men killed by august 45.

    In order to recognise the bravery it took to go out day in day out and clear these mines it was decided quite early that these efforts should be recognised. In the archives i found the actual orders from General Franz Böhme, commander of AOK 20 in Norway authorising the award of the EK for mineclearing. The first order is dated 22 May 1945, it basically states that as a rule of thumb the personal removal of 250 mines could qualify a soldier for the EKII, this number wasn't set in stone and could vary according to mine type and other factors such as wounding.
    Attached Files
    Collecting German award documents, other paperwork and photos relating to Norway and Finland.

    #2
    It wasn't just the EKII that could be awarded but also the EKI and both classes of spange. That the spangen could be awarded is new for me and i've yet to see an example of these awards turn up in SB\WP or award docs.


    The following are recommendations for the award of the EKI spange and EKI, they are approved by General der Artillerie Hermann Tittel, commander of the LXX armeekorps
    Attached Files
    Collecting German award documents, other paperwork and photos relating to Norway and Finland.

    Comment


      #3
      These awards weren't simply thrown out like confetii either. Here's an example of a signal sent by Armee Abteilung Narvik requesting a change in the criteria for awarding the EK along with the response from AOK stating that the existing criteria should not be changed so as not to lower the value of the award.
      Attached Files
      Collecting German award documents, other paperwork and photos relating to Norway and Finland.

      Comment


        #4
        It seems that some at least of the earlier awards were awarded by and signed by Böhme himself
        Attached Files
        Collecting German award documents, other paperwork and photos relating to Norway and Finland.

        Comment


          #5
          An example of a double award
          Attached Files
          Collecting German award documents, other paperwork and photos relating to Norway and Finland.

          Comment


            #6
            An example from southern Norway i bought just last week and haven't received yet, however i know the soldiers name and was able to find him in the recommendation lists (Friedrich Loss, third from top)
            Attached Files
            Collecting German award documents, other paperwork and photos relating to Norway and Finland.

            Comment


              #7
              Here's the first and last pages of that particular list. As you can see from the last page, it evens states that the award docs have been filled out and that the medals will follow.
              Attached Files
              Collecting German award documents, other paperwork and photos relating to Norway and Finland.

              Comment


                #8
                Great history

                Simon it is fascinating to see these documents true history !!!!

                Regards Kyle

                Comment


                  #9
                  Great to see

                  Nick

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Great thread, Simon!

                    Kind regards, Peter

                    Comment


                      #11
                      I'd like to mention as well that as far as i know, the actual orders for the awarding of these mine clearing EK's is completely new information to the collecting community.


                      There's also a final footnote to the history of the EK in Norway. At the end of the war the allies ordered the de-nazification of everything......with one exception..the Iron Cross. At least temporarily. Testament that even the allies or at least the British, held the EK in some regard.

                      This is the English translation of the order going out to all commands in Norway regarding de-nazification..note point 3!
                      Attached Files
                      Collecting German award documents, other paperwork and photos relating to Norway and Finland.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        This is great stuff, Simon! Thanks very much!
                        George

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Simon, this is outstanding. Perhaps the International Medal Collector magazine would consider doing a story on this. Thanks for sharing. -Ger

                          Comment


                            #14
                            That's excellent research, and very interesting about the denazification.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Can't argue with period documents. Nice find Simon.
                              pseudo-expert

                              Comment

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