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Description: | obverse design: Christ crucified on the cross. Immediately behind the cross are two massive ears of corn and the curved
blade of a sickle. A German pickelhaube helmet rests at the foot of the cross. In the background a landscape of fields and gently rolling
hills.
obverse text: 'AVF DEM FELDE EHRE'
reverse design: the German eagle, facing left, a laurel branch in its beak. In the left background a tall stone tablet standing in a rock-
strewn landscape. The upper portion of the tablet is embossed with an outline of the Iron Cross.
reverse text: 'HEL DEN GE DENKEN' (text spaced between the tablet and eagle's wings).
In this early war medal Goetz commemorates the sacrifices of the German Army in 1914 by reference to its heroic
military traditions and the institution of the award of the Iron Cross. The image of the crucified Christ is linked both to the sacrifices
of German manhood and, via the symbols of the 'harvest', to the abundant generosity of a benign nature yielding its fruits to maintain the
lives of the virtuous German stewards of the land. The text is translated as (obverse) 'On the field of honour', and (reverse) 'Memorial to
our heroes'. | Publisher: | http://www.iwm.org.uk | Subjects: | Death First World War & 1914 christ German Army commemorative | Source: | Imperial War Museum | Creator: | Goetz, Karl | Identifier: | http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/o... | Go to resource |
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