Awarded to those that were arrested during the war as political prisoners, this silver coloured cross was instituted on 13 November 1947 and usually issued with minimum one bar denoting the amount of time spent in captivity. According to the length of imprisonment, the bar has between 1 and 4 stars on it, one star per half year. If the recipient had been held longer, a second bar was added with the appropriate number of stars. If awarded posthumously, the recipient not having survived his/her captivity, a black enamelled bar was put over the other bar(s) and the cross could be worn by the deceased's widow, mother or father (oddly enough - or should one say stupidly - no provisions were made for widowers female recipients seem to have been supposed to be unmarried).