Order of the Cross of Liberty

Order of the Cross of Liberty
The Order of the Cross of Liberty is one of three official state orders in Finland, along with the Order of the White Rose of Finland and the Order of the Lion of Finland.
Organisation
The President of Finland is the Grand Master of the Order of the White Rose of Finland and of the Order of the Lion of Finland, and usually of the Order of the Cross of Liberty as well, Grand Mastership of which is attached to the position of Commander-in-chief. All of these orders are administered by boards consisting of a chancellor, a vice-chancellor and at least four members. The orders of the White Rose of Finland and the Lion of Finland have a joint board.
History
The Order of the Cross of Liberty was founded on March 4, 1918, upon the initiative of Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim. The Finnish artist Akseli Gallen-Kallela was commissioned to design the Order's insignia with the Old-Scandinavian Fylfot.
At its foundation there were seven classes: grand cross, cross of liberty (1st to 4th Class) and the medal of liberty (1st and 2nd Class). The decorations of the Order of the Cross of Liberty were initially conferred only in time of war. A decree was issued on 18 August 1944 enabling the decorations to be awarded in peacetime. Also in 1944, Mannerheim (1867–1951) was designated as Grand Master for life.
Decorations of the order were awarded in great numbers during the World War II, partly due to Marshal Mannerheim having issued an order that wounded soldiers were to be awarded for their sacrifice, and Finland has no separate decoration for wounded. The Cross of Liberty is usually reserved for commissioned officers, with the Medal of Liberty being awarded for soldiers of junior rank and NCOs.
The Cross of Liberty has a red ribbon when it is granted in wartime and a yellow ribbon when it is awarded in peacetime. Associated with the Cross of Liberty is the Mannerheim Cross.
Classes
The classes of the Order of the Cross of Liberty, in descending order, with abbreviations are:
Grand Cross of the Order of the Cross of Liberty (VR SR)
Cross of Liberty, 1st Class with a grand star (neck order) (VR 1. rtk)
Cross of Liberty, 1st Class (neck order) (VR 1)
Cross of Liberty, 2nd Class (VR 2)
Cross of Liberty, 3rd Class (VR 3)
Cross of Liberty, 4th Class (VR 4)
Medal of Liberty, 1st Class (VM 1)
Medal for Merit, 1st Class (VR Am 1)
Medal of Liberty, 2nd Class (VM 2)
Medal for Merit, 2nd Class (VR Am 2)
Other special decorations awarded during the Second World War include:
Medal of Liberty 1st Class on Rosette Ribbon (only awarded once, to Field Marshal Mannerheim)
Gold Medal of Merit; only awarded once, to General Waldemar Erfurth, 13 June 1944
Cross of Mourning (VR sururisti); given to the nearest relative of a soldier killed in action
Medal of Mourning (VM surumitali); given to the nearest relative of a person killed in non-military duty of war industry or national defence.
The awards above are for civilian accomplishments, signaled by the blue color in the 3rd and 4th Classes, and in peacetime, as shown by the yellow ribbon. Awards for military accomplishments in the 3rd and 4th Classes have a dark gray color replacing the blue, and are awarded with a red ribbon in wartime.
In total the order has 55 distinct insignia. Due to the numerous ways of awarding it has been called "the most complex order in Europe".
Notable recipients
Grand Crosses
Martti Ahtisaari
Ion Antonescu
Walther von Brauchitsch
Stephan Burián von Rajecz
Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland
Eduard Dietl
Karl Dönitz
Adolf Ehrnrooth
Hermann Göring
Tarja Halonen
Erik Heinrichs
Kaarlo Heiskanen
Prince Henry of Prussia
Georg von Hertling
Heinrich Himmler
Paul von Hindenburg
Gustav Hägglund
Kyösti Kallio
Juhani Kaskeala
Wilhelm Keitel
Urho Kekkonen
Jan Klenberg
Mauno Koivisto
Erich Ludendorff
Jarl Lundqvist
Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim
Vilho Petter Nenonen
Sauli Niinistö
Karl Lennart Oesch
Juho Kusti Paasikivi
Ari Puheloinen
Erich Raeder
Risto Ryti
Aarne Sihvo
Lauri Sutela
Pehr Evind Svinhufvud
Talaat Pasha
Jaakko Valtanen
Väinö Valve
Rudolf Walden
Wilhelm II, German Emperor
1st Class with a Star
Ernst Busch
Wilhelm Canaris
Rolf Carls
Eduard Dietl
Waldemar Erfurth
Hans Jeschonnek
Timo Kivinen
Günther Korten
Felix Steiner
1st Class
Karl Allmendinger
Hans Baur
Gottlob Berger
Wilhelm Berlin
Karl Bodenschatz
Franz Böhme
Kurt Böhmer
Theodor Burchardi
Leopold Bürkner
Erich Buschenhagen
Hans Bütow
Hans Degen
Karl Maria Demelhuber
Erwin Engelbrecht
Kurt Fricke
William R. Furlong
Herbert Gille
Rüdiger von der Goltz
Władysław Grabski
Wilhelm Hasse
Georg Ritter von Hengl
Adolf Heusinger
Otto Hoffmann von Waldau
Alexander Holle
Alfred Jodl
Ferdinand Jodl
Heinrich Kittel
Philipp Kleffel
Matthias Kleinheisterkamp
August Krakau
Hans Kreysing
Karl von Le Suire
Fanni Luukkonen
Walter Nowotny
Friedrich Paulus
Georg Radziej
Elisabeth Rehn
Herbert Rieckhoff
August Schmidt
Hubert Schmundt
Ferdinand Schörner
Hans-Georg von Seidel
Karl Weisenberger
Albert Wodrig
Kurt Zeitzler
Arthur Zimmermann
2nd Class
Eugen-Heinrich Bleyer
Eckhard Christian
Gerhard Engel
Hans-Karl Freiherr von Esebeck
Nikolaus von Falkenhorst
Hermann Fischer
Bruno Frankewitz
Eberhard Kinzel
Mauno Koivisto
Rolf Nevanlinna
Carl Petersén
Erich Rudorffer
Jorma Sarvanto
Karl Schnörrer
Reiner Stahel
Alois Windisch
3rd Class
Simo Häyhä
Ilmari Juutilainen
Paul Klatt
Einar Lundborg
Carl Petersén
Jorma Sarvanto
Reiner Stahel
Prince Wolfgang of Hesse
Other or unknown classes
Franz Augsberger
Verna Erikson
John F. "Jack" Hasey
Olaf Helset
Harry Järv
Kurt Kuhlmey
Rudolph Lambart, 10th Earl of Cavan
Leonard Mociulschi
Bernhard Paus
Walter Schuck
Hjalmar Siilasvuo
Arne Somersalo
Jerzy Świrski
Institutions
The statutes allow the order to be conferred collectively. The following have been awarded:
City of Vaasa
Guard Jaeger Battalion
Field Artillery Regiment 1
Pori Regiment
Jaeger Battalion 2
University of Helsinki
Cadet School
Reserve Officer School
Mothers of Finland
City of Mikkeli
Naval Academy
National Defence Institute
Air Force Academy
See also
Orders, decorations, and medals of Finland
References
Sources
Further reading
External links
Pictures of decorations
The Office of the President of the Republic of Finland (Decorations)
Finnish military decorations
Cross of Liberty, Order of the
Wound decorations
1918 establishments in Finland
Awards established in 1918