Lusitania medallion, First World War

The sinking of the Lusitania passenger liner by a German U-boat submarine in 1915 was hugely controversial, with over 1200 of the ship's 2000 passengers killed. At the time it was portrayed by British propaganda as ruthless targeting of civilians by unrestricted U-boat warfare; Germany asserted this was in response to the British naval blockade of German ports. Karl Goetz, a German medalmaker, created a satirical medallion criticising the British decision to allow passenger services to continue in the middle of a warzone, as it seemed they were more bothered about keeping Cunard in business regardless of civilian risk. On one side of the medallion, the Lusitania is portrayed as sinking, with a dreadnought-like bow and a deck stacked with armaments. The other shows passengers lining to buy tickets from a skeletal figure, marked for death. It was later revealed that the ship had indeed been secretly transporting munitions to Britain from the United States, showing that there was a cynical calculation of using civilian passengers as a 'human shield' or decoy for munitions transport. Without context however, the design could be seen to be a nasty celebration of civilian death. Goetz also had incorrectly dated it, inscribing the 5th rather than 7th of May when the sinking happened. When British Intelligence acquired copies and photographs, about 300,000 replicas were created and misinformation spread about the medallion being a 'celebratory medal' to reinforce the war effort. The incorrect date was also used as evidence of a 'premeditated attack', as though the U-boat had been instructed to sink it on the 5th but had missed their chance. This medallion is one of these British copies, a key clue being that it is inscribed 'May' instead of the German 'Mai' that was used on the original.