An Iron Cross and ribbons of the Third Reich. Iron Cross military order, established in 1813 in the Kingdom of Prussia and then awarded in the German Empire and Nazi Germany until 1945. The order was established by Friedrich Wilhelm III in 1813 as an award for military men who distinguished themselves in the war of liberation against the Napoleonic occupation. By the outbreak of World War II, Adolf Hitler reinstated the order, but no longer as a Prussian, but as an all German award. Second World War Nazi German Decorations And Third Reich Military Collectibles. Military medals, Nazi German Historical Collectibles, Third Reich Memorabilia.