German Medal For Donating To The Red Cross [WWI]

As I shared earlier, during the Great War German artists/medalists were very active in creating patriotic and propagandist medals.

This example by German artist August Gaul was a reward for donating at least 25 marks to the Red Cross. The obverse shows the heads of the Austrian double-headed eagle atop the head of the German heraldic eagle below a heading of "1914-1915". To the right of the German eagle is "DEUTSCHLAND" ("Germany") and to the left is "UND OESTERREICH UNGARN" ("and Austria-Hungary"), the two central powers.

On the reverse are two naked heroines back-to-back defending themselves and each other with swords, a "mythological" allegory for teamwork. The quote by Goethe "Zusammen haltet euren wert - und euch ist niemand gleich" is roughly translated as "Together you are stronger than others."

Cast iron, 57 mm.

[Attributions: Klose 7.4]



From my collection.

John