20 Mind-Blowing Facts About Adolf Hitler

17. Hitler Was Awarded The Iron Cross First Class

Iron Cross First Class
Wikimedia Commons, Naval History & Heritage Command

It was during the Great War that Hitler really discovered his love for all things German, even if those concepts had already been formulating in his head for some time. What's more, Hitler was originally awarded the Iron Cross Second Class for military service - but he was then upgraded to receive the First Class in August 1918 on the recommendation of Lieutenant Hugo Gutmann, his Jewish superior.

Hitler was awarded the First Class medal despite being a member of the lowly Gefreiter rank - the second lowest in the German Army - in which it was extremely rare to be commended.

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NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.