Early in the 19th century, King Frederick William III was the king of Prussia.

And at one time he found himself in a very precarious position.

On the one hand, his nation was involved in a very costly war.

On the other hand, he has embarked on a tremendous economic program for developing his nation to be a great nation.

And in the midst of this incredible situation, they ran out of money.

And in running out of money, he was contemplating one of two things.

One is stop the progress and disappoint all his people, or capitulating to the enemy which is

unthinkable. As he prayed and deliberated, he finally approached the women of Prussia.

Whenever you get into trouble, go and ask the women. They'll help you. He came to the women of his

nation and he asked them if they would sacrifice their gold and silver jewelry, that it may be

melted down and made into money for the good of the country. He told them that for each gold or silver ornament that they will give,

he will give them back one of bronze or iron as a token of his gratitude to their sacrifice.

Each of this decoration of metal and bronze that were given to the

women had the following inscription. I gave gold for iron, 1813. Now the response was incredibly overwhelming. It was so overwhelming and what was even more overwhelming

was these women prized these gifts from their king far more than gold and silver that they used to own.

The reason was very clear.

The bronze and the iron decorations that they received from their king were the mark of their sacrifice for their king.

As a matter of fact, it is a matter of history, and you can check me on this, that it became unfashionable for women in Prussia to wear jewelry.

And thus, the order of the cross of iron was established. And all the members of that order were no ornament except that of an iron cross.

What had happened here?

Here's what happened.

Generosity and sacrifice for the king became their way of life.

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