Iron Cross tattoos

A Brief History of the Iron Cross The Iron Cross dates back nearly 200 years, worn on the uniforms of German soldiers as a symbol of bravery, courage and triumph during the War of Liberation (1812–1814) against Napoleon, the Franco-German war (19 July 1870—10 May 1871), World War I (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918) and World War II (September 1, 1939 – September 2, 1945). Adolf Hitler introduced the "1939 Iron Cross", this renewed version, which now included the swastika in the center of the cross, was offered in three grades, the lowest being the Iron Cross, the Knight's Cross, and the highest, the Grand Cross. Hitler also introduced the War Merit Cross, which was created as a non combat honors version of the Iron Cross.

The Iron Cross and the Motorcycle Culture The American soldiers, returning from World War II, brought back souvenirs and trophies of their battles and victories, these items of conquest included the Iron cross and the German helmet which were also stenciled with the German swastika. Returning home from the war many of the vets were lacking the excitement and thrills that they had experienced during

their military duty. In march of 1948 group of returning veterans in Fontana, CA formed a motorcycle club, the California Hells Angels, and chose to decorate their vests with the insignias of their fighter and bomber squadrons (this early version of the Hells Angels "Death Head" patch was later replaced with the larger version still used today). The Hells Angel vests were also decorated with the 1939 Iron Cross with its swastika. The German helmet, also collected from dead German soldiers and taken back home was worn as a symbol of triumph as the Angels blazed the highways of California and beyond. This was the fashion statement, as depicted in the Saturday Evening Post, Nov. 20, 1965, that set the stage for our modern day, contemporary use of the 1939 German Iron Cross.

The Surfers Cross The Iron Cross was next transformed by the surf generation of the 1960's into the the Surfers Cross. Taking their que from the Hells Angels of southern California, the surfers started wearing the original Iron Crosses that their

fathers brought back from World War II. The California surfers for multiple reasons for wearing the Iron Cross, some of the reasons were, to bring them good waves, set them apart from the non surf community and to make a statement of their anti-establishment life style. Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, who had a surfer accessories business, began to produce the Surfers Cross and replaced the swastika in the middle of the original Iron Cross with a surfer. After selling over 50,000 Surfer Crosses Ed "Big Daddy" Roth was quoted as saying "that Hitler did a helluva public relations job for me."

West Coast Choppers Jesse James, a southern California bike builder, cleverly used the Iron Cross as a logo for his motorcycle shop "West Coast Choppers". The logo, an Iron Cross with the words "West Coast Choppers " etched into the middle of the cross, has become one of the most recognized icons of the past 15 years. Jesse James turned his Long Beach motorcycle shop into a marketing masterpiece that is now a multi-million dollar enterprise. The "West Coast Choppers" logo, that is a renewed version of the Iron Cross, has been banned from some southern California school districts.

Iron Cross Tattoos

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