Following are a group of World War I medals commonly referenced as the Goetz "satirical medal" series. In truth, this series of medals also contains both commemorative and portrait medals and medallions created during the same time period.
This series is a subset of Goetz' oervre totaling 800+ pieces and has been numbered sequentially from K-131 through K-306 according to Kienast. Please note that the Kienast number should not imply the actual event sequence as some earlier pieces exhibit later Kienast numbers. Kienast attributes this problem to Goetz' poor bookkeeping abilities.
This series can be further broken out into sub-groups as thus:
- K-131 to K-213 WWI
- K-214 to K-260 Revolution
- K-261 to K-301 French Occupation
- K-302 to K-306 Hitler Putsch - Rebuilding
These medals were produced quickly by Goetz in order to retain their topical interest and in doing so, the medals became primarily expressions of emotions rather than a well-planned intellectual effort. Still, an almost continuous stream were produced in the form of reasonably priced castings made in base metals. Innumerable Germans purchased these pieces and carried them in their pockets to show to one another.
Most of the pieces reference German protests against the acts of the 'enemy' while at the same time others were made to applaud the deeds of the German armed forces. Some are of doubtful taste and most are sharp and damaging due to the ethos of war. Goetz exposes his nationalism most with his occupation medals. Far more caustic and bordering on the pornographic , if not today, certainly at the time of their creation, Goetz literally transfers the feelings of the German peoples humiliation and injured national pride directly into the medals.
Unique in the medallic world, this series comprises a nearly complete history of WWI from the German perspective. Granted, many other satirical medals were produced in Germany during this time, but none spanning the entire time frame encompassing the war and its consequences.
The following text descriptions are not considered all inclusive nor were they created to remain static. KarlGoetz.com asks that any additional information pertaining to these medals and/or their descriptions including, but not limited to, additional variety information, history, error corrections, etc., be conveyed to us at karlgoetz com Your assistance will be greatly appreciated.
