Carl Ebbinghaus. 1917. ("Germania"). LEBE DROBEN O VATERLAND UND ZAEHLE NICHT DIE TOTEN / DIR IST•LIEBES･NICHT EINER ZUVIEL GEFALLEN • (Live on high, O Fatherland and do not count the dead / For you, dear one, not one too many has fallen. - see below). Cast iron, blackened, 71.6 mm, 86.1 g. Gussfrisch (as cast). Rare.
Obverse: head and neck profile young woman ("Germania") to left in
Stahlhelm and ornamental collar, stylized straight hair cascading beneath helmet; two-line title legend within double bordered bands encircling image; artist's initials C • E lower center outer band; additional lined border within raised rim.
Reverse: vertical sword center, point embedded in ground-line; inscribed year date 19 — 17 divided by blade; legend DEN • GEFALLENEN • ZUM • GEDÄCHTNIS • (in memory of the fallen); artist's initials C. E. inscribed below ground-line; lined border within raised rim.
Cf: Schottmüller, Frieda. 1917. "Kleinbronzen von Carl Ebbinghaus" in
Die Kunst für Alle, 32. Jahrgang 1916 / 1917, Heft 11 / 12, März 1917, pp. 216 - 225 ( also as online resource:
https://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/kfa1916_1917/0239/scroll). Although the present medal is neither described nor illustrated, p. 221 shows a selection of medals, including one of smaller format depicting a woman's profile head in wreathed
Stahlhelm labeled GERMANIA, from which it can be inferred that the present medal is another treatment of the same subject. P. 222 also illustrates a three-dimensional iron head of Germania in
Stahlhelm.
Title legend from last stanza of Friedrich Hölderlin's ode
Der Tod fürs Vaterland (Death for the Fatherland), 1796:
"Und Siegesboten kommen herab: Die Schlacht
Ist unser! Lebe droben, o Vaterland,
Und zähle nicht die Toten! Dir ist,
Liebes! nicht Einer zu viel gefallen."
(And heralds of victory descend: The battle is ours! Live on high, O Fatherland,and do not count the dead! For you,dear one! not one too many has fallen.)
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