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The Lusitania (German) Medal

Period1915

MediumDiecast Iron

Dimensions0.13 × 1.38 in. (0.3 × 3.5 cm)

SignedThe replica medal includes the artist's initials "K. G." on the reverse at the extreme bottom edge.

ClassificationsThe Robert Hartshorne World War I Collection

Credit LineGift of Mary Minturn Adams in memory of her Hartshorne Ancestors, 2018

Object number2018.10.20.9

DescriptionA circular replica medal of diecast iron. On the obverse, the Cunard liner Lusitania is depicted sinking beneath the waves. Above the ship are the words "KEINE BANNWARE" (No Contraband), while beneath the central image is the inscription "DER GROSSDAMPFER / LUSITANIA / DURCH EIN DEUTCHES / TAUCHBOOT VERSENKT / 5 MAY 1915." On the reverse, a line of figures files towards a ticket booth manned by a skeleton, while at far left, a man holds a newspaper and a second top-hatted man holds up a warning finger. Above the scene are the words "GESCHAFT UBER ALLES" (Business Above All). The ticket booth is identified as "CUNARD LINE," and beneath the booth's counter are the words "FAHRKARTEN AUSGABE" (Ticket Office). The newspaper at left bears the headline "U BOOT GEFAHR" (U Boat Danger). At the bottom of the crowd are the initials "K. G." The medal comes with its original presentation case of maroon cardboard. On the attached lid is a printed paper label with the image of the Lusitania and the inscription "R.M.S. LUSITANIA / Cunard Line 32,000 Tons / Sunk on her return journey / from the United States / By a German submarine / May 7th 1915." On the box underside is stamped "Made in England." The lid lifts to reveal a white felted cotton lining. A printed paper label is glued to the lid underside and reads "The 'Lusitania' (German) Medal / an exact replica of the medal / which was designed in Germany / and distributed to commemorate / the sinking of the 'Lusitania." / This indicates the true feeling the / War Lords endeavour to stimulate, /and is proof positive that such / crimes are not merely regarded / favourably, but are given every en- / couragement in the land of the Kultur. / The 'Lusitania' was sunk by a / German submarine on May 7th, / 1915. She had on board at / the time 1,951 passengers and / crew, of whom 1,198 perished." Accompanying the medal is a separate printed handbill titled "A German Naval Victory."
Curatorial RemarksAt approximately 2 p.m. on 7 May 1915, German U-boat U20 sunk the passenger liner Lusitania off the coast of Ireland. The ship sunk in less than twenty minutes. Over 1,200 men, women and children died, 128 of whom were American citizens. An international uproar ensued. Germany declared that, as the vessel was listed in Britain's Admiralty fleet register as an "armed auxiliary cruiser," she was a fair target for their unrestricted submarine warfare policy. The Lusitania was carrying munitions, including rifle cartridges and shrapnel shell casings. On 1 May, 1915, a notice appeared in New York newspapers next to the Cunard Line's own advertisement for the vessel's departure, warning passengers that ships flying the British flag would be fired upon if they entered the coastal waters off the British Isles. Following the sinking, German medallist Karl Goetz (1875 - 1950) designed a medal marking the event. In fact, at the time of its destruction, the Lusitania was unarmed. On the front, Goetz depicted the Lusitania, bristling with cannon, sinking stern first into raging seas. On the reverse, customers line up at the ticket window of the Cunard Lines, manned by the skeletal figure of Death. At the far left, a man reads a newspaper with the title of German's warning notice, while the top-hatted figure of Count Johann-Heinrich von Bernstorff, German ambassador to the United States, raises a finger in warning. Goetz's message was clear: it was Cunard's fault for the entire incident. By ignoring Germany's "fair warning," the company bore the responsibility for the deaths of its passengers. The date of the sinking, however, was incorrect: Goetz had noted it on his original medal as "5 MAI 1915," when the actual sinking took place two days later. Upon learning of the medal's existence, the British Foreign Office procured copies and asked department store owner Harry Selfridge to create replicas as profound propaganda items. The medals, crudely made of diecast iron, came in presentation cases and sold at a shilling a piece. Funds went to St. Dunstan's Blinded Soldiers and Sailors Hostels and to the Red Cross. The discrepancy in the date of the sinking on the medal caused many to wonder if Germany had in fact planned the sinking of the liner all along. In January of 1917, the Bavarian War Office ordered that all existing Goetz medallions be seized and destroyed, realizing the damage the piece had done. Germany suspended its unrestricted submarine warfare policy in September of 1915, but began it again in early 1917. The sinking of the Lusitania was one of the events that directly led the United States' entry into the War less than a year later, on 6 April 1917.NotesThis medal was collected by Robert Hartshorne during his service in the First World War. Hartshorne joined the American Red Cross in 1916. His association with that organization apparently put him in touch with the American Committee for Devastated France, which intended to introduce modern American farming methods in those battlefield areas heavily damaged near Rheims. Hartshorne arrived in France in May of 1918 and returned to the United States at the end of December the same year. Hartshorne collected numerous medals, uniform insignia, and souvenirs commemorating his time abroad. For a more complete biography of Robert Hartshorne, please see the portrait miniature of Robert Hartshorne (accession number 2018.10.9).

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