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Description: | obverse design : eagle, perched upon the back of a kneeling, naked man, whose head is bent forward to touch the ground.
The man holds a bag in his extended right hand. The eagle is attacking the man's right elbow with its beak and right talon
obverse text : "BEKAEMPFUNG DES WUCHERS" & "SUUM CUIC"
reverse design : spider, enormous, bearing an elaborate crown motif upon its abdomen, sucking blood from the side of a naked woman who lies
trapped, at the base of design, in the creature's large web
reverse text : "BLUTSAUGERIMWELTKRIEGE"
German First World War medal by Martin Götze. It is likely that the complex imagery of the piece represents the
artist's response to the realities of severe economic hardship (a consequence of the Allied economic blockade and the fiscal demands of
total war) experienced by citizens on the German Home Front by 1917. Specifically, the medal condemns the actions of extortionate money-
lenders, who are categorized as war profiteers of the worst kind for preying on the most vulnerable elements of wartime society. The
obverse text is translated as 'Combating the usurers' and 'Everyone his own'. The reverse text is translated as 'Blood suckers in the world
war'. | Publisher: | http://www.iwm.org.uk | Subjects: | satirical German Home Front (?) & Economic Hardship Campaign against High Interest Rates (?) & 1917 First World War | Source: | Imperial War Museum | Creator: | Götze, Martin | Identifier: | http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/o... | Go to resource |
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