Description
Product Description: This Luftwaffe Honor Roll Clasp is made of a single piece of die-struck Tombak. The clasp is fire-gilded gold with polished high relief. Most of the original finish is remaining. The clasp is mounted to a piece of Iron Cross 2nd Class ribbon with four reverse prongs, with no repairs or damage. The case of is covered with a black leatherette, which has a few scattered light marks. The interior is lined with a dark-blue rayon lid, and dark-blue flocked insert. The lid of the case opens with a metal hinge. Overall, this is a very nice cased example of the Luftwaffe Honor Roll Clasp, which, even though a lesser grade of Iron Cross than the Knights Cross or German Cross, far fewer were awarded, making them a fairly rare award to find.
Historical Description: The Honor Roll Clasp was first instituted on January 1st, 1944 by Adolf Hitler for members of the Heer and SS. This was soon followed by the institution of the Kriegsmarine Honor Roll Clasp on May 13, 1944, and finally, the Luftwaffe Honor Roll Clasp on August 5th, 1944. The award criteria for the Honor Roll Clasp was for an individual who performed an outstanding act, but one which did not merit recommendation for the Knights Cross or German Cross. This was, in effect, to protect the prestige of the higher grade awards such as the Knights Cross or German Cross. However, even due to the fact that the Honor Roll Clasp being a lower grade of the Iron Cross than that of the German Crosses or Knights Crosses, it is estimated only 4,566 awards were made to members of the Heer and SS, roughly 60 awards to members of the Kriegsmarine, and an unknown amount to members of the Luftwaffe. When the Luftwaffe Honor Roll Clasp was created in 1944 by Reichsmarshall Hermann Goring, the Ehrenliste of the Luftwaffe, and the Ehrenblatt of the Luftwaffe merged. After this point, all the holders of the Luftwaffe Honor Goblet received the Luftwaffe Honor Roll Clasp automatically. The Honor Roll Clasp was presented in a black leatherette covered box, and was mounted to an Iron Cross Second Class ribbon by means of four prongs. The Heer version was made out of Tombak (Brass) and consisted of two separate die-stuck pieces; the wreath and the swastika. The Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe version were also produced of Tombak (Brass), but consisted of a single die-struck piece.
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