A Jewish man recommended Adolf Hitler for the Iron Cross award.

For his service in World War I, Hitler was initially decorated with the Iron Cross, Second Class in 1914. Four years later, however, he was recommended for the advanced version of the award, the Iron Cross, First Class. The future dictator and notorious anti-Semite was recommended for this distinction by Hugo Gutman, a Jewish assistant to one of Hitler’s senior officers. This award was rarely ever given to a Gefreiter, which is the German equivalent to “private” in the U.S. military.