Oskar Thiede. (1918?). EIN FREIES —— NEUES REICH (a free new realm). Single-sided cast iron, blackened, 71.2 mm, 126.06 g. Vorzüglich (extremely fine). Rare.
On a ground line in front of flaming ruins, slender, naked man, en face, legs apart, both hands swinging immense flag displaying heraldic arms of Austrian provinces; title legend center left, center right, separated by flag; artist's signature O･THIEDE in exergue; raised rim.
Cf: Die Medaille der Ostmark. 1938. Wiener Bund für Medaillenkunst, p. 40, no. 62; pl. 70. Listed as premium (bonus) medal of the Medaillenvereinigung der Genossenschaft der bildenden Künstler, Wien (Medal Consortium of the Co-operative of Visual Artists, Vienna).Commemorates the establishment of a republic in Austria (the mostly German-speaking provinces of the Austro-Hungarian Empire) following the military collapse and breakup of the Empire in October 1918. The newly-established state initially sought union with Germany, but this intention was denied by the Allied Powers, and the Treaties of St Germain and Versailles (1919) expressly forbade such a union. Following this failure, the name of the country was changed to the Republik Österreich. Presumably this medal celebrates the hoped-for Deutsch-Österreichische Republik rather than the separate state enforced by the peace treaties.
