History

The Cross of Honour of the German Red Cross was originally instituted on April 18, 1922, and it was conferred for acts of merit rendered in the service of the Red Cross. The decoration consisted of two grades, I Class Cross and the II Class Cross. The grade was conferred based upon a recipient's level of merit.

On January 30th, 1934, the decoration underwent a design change and the red cross on the obverse of the medal was replaced with a German eagle. The number of grades was increased from two to five. On April 6th, 1936, the decoration was revised again and a swastika in a gilt wreath was added to the chest of the German eagle. The number of the grades was increased from five to seven.

In 1939, the Decoration was replaced by the German Social Welfare Decoration.