World War I Iron Cross medal awarded to a Jewish German veteran
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 2.310 inches (5.867 cm) | Width: 1.750 inches (4.445 cm)
Archival History
The medal was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2015 by Marlyse Levy Kennedy, the daughter of Alfred and Meta Mayer Levy.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Marlyse Levy Kennedy
Scope and Content
World War I Iron Cross medal awarded to Alfred Levy for his service in the German Army during the First World War (1914-1918). The medal was issued to him in Nazi Germany in 1936. Alfred, a judge, his wife Marie, and their children Marie-Louise and Theo moved from the Saar region when it voted to reunify with Germany in 1935. They resettled in Luxembourg which was occupied by Germany in May 1940. Restrictions were placed on the Jewish population to segregate them from other citizens and Marie-Louise, 15, had to leave school. In December 1940, the family was deported to Vichy France, and escaped the internment camps to live in Villefranche-de-Rouergue. In November 1942, after Germany occupied Vichy, a neighbor informed upon the Levy family. In 1943, Alfred was notified by the French resistance that he was in danger of arrest. He went into hiding, and was arrested while visiting his family, and then released with the help of a French police office. The entire family went into hiding until the region was liberated in fall 1944. In 1946, they returned to Saar.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Blackened iron medal in the form of a cross pattee with concave arms with a silver colored, reeded line border. The front has an embossed vertical design: at the top of the central arm is a crown, then the letters FW, a sprig of 3 oak leaves and 2 acorns, and, at the bottom, the date 1813. On the reverse descending from the top of the central arm is a crown, in the center a W, and, at the bottom, the date 1914. A bail with suspension ring is attached at the top.
Subjects
- World War, 1914-1918--Military personnel--German--Personal narratives.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--France--Personal narratives.
- Jewish refugees--France--Biography.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Luxembourg--Personal narratives.
- Jews--Persecutions--France--Biography.
- World War, 1939-1945--Refugees--France--Personal narratives, Jewish.
- World War, 1914-1918--Participation, Jewish.
Genre
- Awards
- Object