On December 16, 1938, Adolf Hitler institutes the Mother’s Cross, to encourage women of "pure" German origin to increase the size of their families and grow the population of the Third Reich. A blue cross decorated with a swastika and Hitler’s engraved signature, the medal was given to women for birthing and raising children in three classes: Bronze (four to five children), Silver (six or seven children) and Gold (eight children or more).
The Nazis started such encouragement early. When members of the League of German Girls (a wing of the Hitler Youth movement) turned 18, they became eligible for a branch called Faith and Beauty, which trained these girls in the art of becoming ideal mothers. One component of that ideal was fecundity.
Using strict eligibility guidelines, officials awarded the Cross of Honor of the German Mother only to women fulfilling Nazi party ideals of racial purity. Requirements included proof of a pure German bloodline, clean health records and a mother’s “worthiness,” such as instilling their children with Nazi principles. Between 1938 and 1944, more than 3 million German mothers were gifted the merit.
