(Verdienstorden vom Deutschen Adler)

Date Instituted

1 May 1937

Requirements

No clear requirements.

It was an honorary award given to non-Germans who were considered deserving.
A few exemptions were made including Constantin von Neurath who was awarded a Special Degree of the Order of the German Eagle on 20 April 1939 and Joachim von Ribbentrop who was awarded it when he became Foreign Minister.

Number awarded

?
The Grand Cross of the Order of the German Eagle in Gold was awarded 8 times.

Award documents

Grand Cross - General Don Jose Lopez Pinto y Berizo (Spain)

Recipients

Holders of the Grand Cross of the Order of the German Eagle in Gold:
Marshal Ion Antonescu (Romania)
King Boris III (Bulgaria)
Foreign Minister Count Galeazzo Ciano di Cortellazzo (Italy)
Minister of State Roberto Farinacci (Italy) (8 May 1938)
Generalissimo Francisco Franco (Spain)
Reichsminister Dr. Wilhelm Frick
Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler
Admiral Nikolaus Horthy (Hungary)
Field Marshal Carl Gustav Mannerheim (Finland)
Reich Foreign Minister Constantin Freiherr von Neurath (Meritorious Order)
Ambassador Hiroshi Oshima (Japan)
Reich Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop (Meritorious Order)
President Risto Ryti (Finland)

Other notable recipients:
A special Grand Cross of the Order of the German Eagle in Gold with Diamonds (Grosskreuz des Deutschen Adlerordens in Gold und Brillanten) was awarded to Benito Mussolini 25 September 1937.
Henry Ford was awarded the Grand Cross of the German Eagle on his 75th birthday, 30 July 1938.
General Olof Thörnell, commander-in-chief of the Swedish armed forces, was awarded the Grand Cross of the German Eagle 7 October 1940.
Charles Lindbergh was awarded the Order of the German Eagle with Star 19 October 1938.
James Mooney, General Motor's chief executive for overseas operations, was awarded Order of the German Eagle 1st Class.
Thomas John Watson, founder of IBM, was granted the 2nd class badge and star in June 1937 at the International Chamber of Commerce Conference in Berlin. He returned it to Hitler in 1940.

Estimated price (2009)

Grand Cross of the Order of the German Eagle in Gold - €25.000/€20.000 (cross/breast star)
Grand Cross of the Order of the German Eagle - €10.000/€6.500
Order of the German Eagle 1st Class - €7.000/€5.000
Order of the German Eagle 2nd Class - €2.000/€3.500
Order of the German Eagle 3rd Class - €2.000
Order of the German Eagle 4th Class - €1.300
Order of the German Eagle 5th Class - €700
Silver Medal of Merit - €600
Bronze Medal of Merit - €400

Hermann Göring, Count Galeazzo Ciano di Cortellazzo and Konstantin Freiherr von Neurath

(Courtesy of Shawn Bohannon)

Japanese Fleet Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto

(Courtesy of Charles)

Spanish volunteer taking the oath in 1941

(Courtesy of Die Deutsche Wochenschau/Ivan)

Comments

Several different classes existed, the following were used 1937-1943:
Grand Cross of the Order of the German Eagle
(Grosskreuz des Deutschen Adlerordens)
Order of the German Eagle with Star
(Deutsche Adlerorden mit Stern)
Order of the German Eagle 1st Class
(Deutsche Adlerorden, Erste Stufe)
Order of the German Eagle 2nd Class
(Deutsche Adlerorden, Zweite Stufe)
Order of the German Eagle 3rd Class
(Deutsche Adlerorden, Dritte Stufe)
German Medal of Merit
(Deutsche Verdienst Medaille)

The classes were reorganised 27 December 1943:
Grand Cross of the Order of the German Eagle in Gold
(Goldenes Grosskreuz des Deutschen Adlerordens)
Grand Cross of the Order of the German Eagle
(Grosskreuz des Deutschen Adlerordens)
Order of the German Eagle 1st Class
(Deutsche Adlerorden, Erste Stufe)
Order of the German Eagle 2nd Class


(Deutsche Adlerorden, Zweite Stufe)
Order of the German Eagle 3rd Class
(Deutsche Adlerorden, Dritte Stufe)
Order of the German Eagle 4th Class
(Deutsche Adlerorden, Vierte Stufe)
Order of the German Eagle 5th Class
(Deutsche Adlerorden, Fünfte Stufe)


Silver Medal of Merit
(Silberne Verdienstmedaille)


Bronze Medal of Merit
(Bronzene Verdienstmedaille)


It was awarded with sword to military personnel and without swords to civilians.

Also known as the Meritorious Order of the German Eagle.

Photo courtesy of Rusfront, Nick Mackay, & Pablo Braquehais

Sources used

Christopher Ailsby - World War 2 German medals and political awards
John R. Angolia - For Führer and Fatherland: Political & Civil awards of the Third Reich
David Littlejohn - Orders, decorations, medals and badges of the Third Reich
Kevin Maney - The Maverick and His Machine: Thomas Watson, Sr. and the Making of IBM
Detlev Niemann - Price Guide Germany 1871-1945 (2009)