Hanseatic Cross

• Name — Hanseatic Cross (Hanseatenkreuz) • Presenter — Bremen, Hamburg and Lübeck • Type — Single-grade • Eligibility — Military and civilians who aided the war effort • Awarded For — War merit • Campaign — World War I • Status — Obsolete • Description — Red-enameled cross pattée bearing the coat of arms of the awarding city-state on the center medallion • Established — August/September 1915 • Firstawarded — 1915 • Lastawarded — 1918 • Total Awarded — c. 80,000 • Higher — None • Lower — None • Caption2 — Obverse of the Hanseatic Cross from Lübeck (left) and reverse of all three versions, here Bremen (right)

The Hanseatic Cross was jointly instituted by agreement of the senates of the three cities, with the senate of each republic ratifying the award on different days. The Lübeck version was established first, on 21 August 1915. The Hamburg version followed on 10 September and the Bremen version on 14 September. Each republic established its own individualized version of the cross, but the overall design and award criteria were similar for all three.

The cross was awarded for distinguished war service, without regard to rank or social status, and could be awarded to civilians as well as military personnel. According to Section 2 of the founding documents, the award could be conferred upon: • Current or former members of infantry regiments 75 (Bremen), Infanterie-Regiment „Hamburg“ (2. Hanseatisches) Nr. 76 and Infanterie-Regiment „Lübeck“ (3. Hanseatisches) Nr. 162 • Members of other army or navy units that were stationed in the three free states at the outbreak of the war, subsequently transferred there or newly raised there • Crews of the SMS Bremen, SMS Hamburg and SMS Lübeck • Citizens of Hamburg, Bremen or Lübeck who participated in the war in other army or navy units • Persons who served in the voluntary medical services of Bremen, Hamburg, or Lübeck in the war zones When awarded for bravery or combat merit, the Hanseatic Cross was the three cities' equivalent of the Iron Cross of Prussia.

The soldered-on central medallion (17 mm in diameter) bore the coat of arms of the awarding city-state. • Bremen: On a red enameled background, the silver-plated Bremen coat of arms – a diagonally-positioned key. • Hamburg: On a red enameled background, the Hamburg coat of arms – a silver castle with three towers. • Lübeck: On a gold background, the Lübeck coat of arms – a black enameled double-headed eagle with a small breast shield of white and red.

The reverse was identical for all three variants. In the center of the matte silver-plated cross arms, within a round (17 mm) medallion, the inscription "Für Verdienst" (For Merit) was arranged in an arc at the top, with "im Kriege 1914" (in war 1914) arranged in three lines beneath it.

Each cross was suspended from a ribbon, 30 mm wide. The ribbons differed on each variant. • Bremen: five white and four vermilion vertical stripes, each 3.1 mm wide • Hamburg: white vertical center stripe with two vermilion vertical side stripes, each 8 mm wide, and white edging 2 mm wide • Lübeck: divided vertically, half white and half vermilion

There were approximately 50,000 awards of the Hanseatic Cross of Hamburg, the largest Hanseatic city. The Bremen Hanseatic Cross was awarded approximately 20,000 times. Lübeck was the smallest of the Hanseatic cities, and its Hanseatic Cross was awarded approximately 8,000–10,000 times. The roll for the Lübeck Hanseatic Cross have been transcribed by an international team of phaleristic researchers from Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. The complete roll was expected to be available by fall 2008/spring 2009.