102498 | GERMANY & the ENTENTE. Conditions of Armistice cast bronze Medal.

102498  |  GERMANY & the ENTENTE. Conditions of Armistice cast bronze Medal. Dated 1918. "Waffenstillstandsbedingungen"—on the signing of the armistice effective 11am on 11 November 1918 (58mm, 60.49 g, 12h). By K. Goetz in München.

 

WAFFENSTILL-STANDSBEDINGUNG / 11 NOVEMBER 1918, Uncle Sam (United States) binds together the feet of the Deutscher Michel (Germany) while John Bull (Great Britain) holds him back, and Marshal Foch (of France) strangles him with his rifle; in two lines in exergue, FOCH HAT DAS / WORT (Foch has the word) // EIN 70 MILLIONEN VOLK / LEIDET / ABER STIRB NICHT (a nation of 70 millions suffers, but does not die), numerous hands raised in clenched fists. Edge: Plain.

 

Kienast 215. Choice Mint State. Tan-brown surfaces, with a delightful matte nature.

 

Ex Dr. van Osch "Pax in Nummis" Collection.

 

Here, Goetz alludes to the conditions of surrender which he viewed as rather harsh for his fellow compatriots. The United States and the United Kingdom (through allegories of Uncle Sam and John Bull) are depicted as typing up and restraining Michel (an allegory indicative of the German populace), all while Ferdinand Foch, the marshal of France, attempts to strangle him with his rifle. The sentiment of rising up, as presented on the reverse, would get further stoked throughout the ensuing decade and the occupation of the Rhineland—aspects that played into the hands of those seeking to start another global conflict just two decades later.

 

Upload: 1 September 2023.

 

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