War Merit Cross 1st Class with Swords

E502095

German military award military decoration

The War Merit Cross 1st Class with Swords was a World War II-era German military decoration awarded for exceptional non-combat service performed under conditions of enemy action.

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All labels observed (3)

Label	Occurrences
War Merit Cross	4
War Merit Cross 1st Class with Swords canonical	2
War Merit Cross 1st Class	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T5187943 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: War Merit Cross 1st Class with Swords
Context triple: [German Cross in Silver, higherAwardThan, War Merit Cross 1st Class with Swords]

A. Commander’s Cross with Star
The Commander’s Cross with Star is a high-ranking class of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary, typically awarded to individuals for outstanding service to the nation.
B. Commander's Cross
The Commander's Cross is a high-ranking class of Poland's Virtuti Militari, the country's oldest and most prestigious military decoration for valor in combat.
C. Commander's Cross
The Commander's Cross is a high-ranking class of the Polish state order awarded for outstanding achievements in fields such as education, science, culture, defense, and public service.
D. Commander’s Cross
The Commander’s Cross is a high-ranking state decoration of Hungary awarded to individuals for outstanding civil or military merit.
E. Cross of Merit with Swords
The Cross of Merit with Swords is a Polish state decoration awarded for acts of bravery and merit in combat or under particularly dangerous circumstances.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: War Merit Cross 1st Class with Swords
Target entity description: The War Merit Cross 1st Class with Swords was a World War II-era German military decoration awarded for exceptional non-combat service performed under conditions of enemy action.

A. Commander’s Cross with Star
The Commander’s Cross with Star is a high-ranking class of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary, typically awarded to individuals for outstanding service to the nation.
B. Commander's Cross
The Commander's Cross is a high-ranking class of Poland's Virtuti Militari, the country's oldest and most prestigious military decoration for valor in combat.
C. Commander's Cross
The Commander's Cross is a high-ranking class of the Polish state order awarded for outstanding achievements in fields such as education, science, culture, defense, and public service.
D. Commander’s Cross
The Commander’s Cross is a high-ranking state decoration of Hungary awarded to individuals for outstanding civil or military merit.
E. Cross of Merit with Swords
The Cross of Merit with Swords is a Polish state decoration awarded for acts of bravery and merit in combat or under particularly dangerous circumstances.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (44)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	German military award ⓘ military decoration ⓘ
awardedFor	exceptional non-combat service under enemy action ⓘ meritorious service under conditions of enemy fire ⓘ outstanding leadership in non-combat military roles under enemy threat ⓘ
awardedTo	enlisted personnel ⓘ non-commissioned officers ⓘ officers ⓘ
awardingAuthority	Wehrmacht high command ⓘ linked to: Oberkommando der Wehrmacht other Nazi German military authorities ⓘ
campaign	European theatre of World War II ⓘ
classification	order of merit ⓘ
countryOfOrigin	Nazi Germany ⓘ
discontinuedAfter	1945 ⓘ
distinguishedBy	crossed swords on the obverse ⓘ
distinguishedFrom	War Merit Cross 1st Class without Swords ⓘ
eligibility	foreign military personnel allied with Germany ⓘ military personnel of Nazi Germany ⓘ paramilitary personnel of Nazi Germany ⓘ
GermanName	Kriegsverdienstkreuz 1. Klasse mit Schwertern ⓘ linked to: Knight's Cross of the War Merit Cross
grade	1st Class ⓘ
gradeOf	War Merit Cross ⓘ linked to: War Merit Cross 1st Class with Swords
hasComponent	pin and hinge assembly on reverse ⓘ
hasHigherRank	Knight's Cross of the War Merit Cross with Swords ⓘ linked to: Knight's Cross of the War Merit Cross
hasLowerRank	War Merit Cross 2nd Class with Swords ⓘ
hasVariant	War Merit Cross 1st Class without Swords ⓘ
historicalPeriod	Third Reich ⓘ
institutedBy	Adolf Hitler ⓘ
institutionDate	1939-10-18 ⓘ
languageOfName	German ⓘ
material	silvered metal ⓘ
notAwardedFor	front-line combat bravery ⓘ
obverseDesign	Maltese cross with central medallion and swastika ⓘ
partOf	War Merit Cross ⓘ linked to: War Merit Cross 1st Class with Swords
relatedAward	Knight's Cross of the War Merit Cross without Swords ⓘ linked to: Knight's Cross of the War Merit Cross War Merit Medal ⓘ
replacedBy	no direct successor in post-war Germany ⓘ
reverseDesign	plain reverse with pin fitting ⓘ
shape	Maltese cross ⓘ
status	obsolete decoration ⓘ
symbolizes	war merit under enemy action ⓘ
usedInConflict	World War II ⓘ
wearMethod	pin-back mounting ⓘ
wornOn	left breast pocket ⓘ

How these facts were elicited