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Description: | piece : obverse design : motorcar, stylised, occupied by military representatives of Russia, Germany, Austria-Hungary,
Bulgaria and Turkey. The car bears on its side the name "BREST-LITOWSK"
piece : obverse text : "22.DEZEMBER 1917" (upper edge)
piece : exergue : "BEGINN D.FRIEDENS VERHANDLVNG"
piece : reverse design : arms piled, bayonets attached, to enclose a small fir tree which has four lighted candles on its branches. Above
the tree a shining winter sun
piece : reverse text : "WAFFEN STILL-STAND IM OSTEN" & "17.12.1917"
In this medal Goetz celebrates the opening of peace negotiations between the Central powers and a defeated Russia at
Brest-Litovsk on 22 December 1917. The representatives depicted in the car in the obverse may be identified as Adolfe Iffe (leader of the
Russian delegation), the German Foreign Minister Kühlmann, Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister Czernin, the Bulgarian Premier Radoslavov and
the Turkish grand vizier, Talaat. Some authorities identify the fur-hatted Russian delegate as Trotsky, but as Leon Trotsky did not take
charge of the Russian delegation until 4 January 1918, this is a matter of debate. The exergue text is translated as 'Commencement of peace
negotiations'. The reverse text is translated as 'Armistice in the East'. After delaying tactics and protracted negotiations the Russians
formally accepted the punitive German terms on 23 February 1918 and the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed on 3 March. This resulted in
huge territorial gains for Germany, which deprived Russia of near 30 per cent of her Imperial population. | Publisher: | http://www.iwm.org.uk | Subjects: | satirical Opening of Peace Negotiations at & 22/12/1917 Eastern Front & Brest-Litovsk | Source: | Imperial War Museum | Creator: | Goetz, Karl | Identifier: | http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/o... | Go to resource |
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