The Cross of Honor of the German Mother, commonly known as the Mother’s Cross, was established by Adolf Hitler on December 16, 1938, through a decree. The design of the honorary cross was created by Franz Berberich. The opening words of the decree read: "As a visible token of gratitude from the German people to mothers with many children, I establish the Cross of Honor of the German Mother." Further procedural regulations were published in the corresponding statute. Popularly, the award was also referred to as the "Rabbit Cross."
 
The classification of the Cross of Honor followed the order statutes of the time and was divided into three levels. A mother could receive:  
- the third level ("Bronze") if she had four or five children,  
- the second level ("Silver") if she had six or seven children,  
- the first level ("Gold") if she had eight or more children.