102547 | GERMANY & UKRAINE. "Bread" Treaty with Ukraine cast bronze Medal.

102547  |  GERMANY & UKRAINE. "Bread" Treaty with Ukraine cast bronze Medal. Dated 1918. "Friede mit der Ukraine"—on the signing of the peace treaty between the Central Powers and Ukraine (58mm, 65.25 g, 12h). By K. Goetz in München.

 

FRIEDE MIT DER UKRAINE, tree bearing fruits; to right, sword stuck in ground, with a garland wrapped around it and that connects it to the tree; personification of the sun in background to left; BROT (bread) across field // 9 FEBRVAR 1918, German eagle standing facing, head lowered right; to right, dove standing left, with olive branch in beak and wings spread; both stand upon a bushel of wheat; grain ear curling to right. Edge: Plain.

 

Kienast 205. Choice Mint State. Rich red-brown surfaces.

 

The toppling of the czarist government in Russia at the hands of the Bolsheviks provided an opportunity for those in Ukraine seeking independence. While Russia's Entente allies, France and the United Kingdom, did not want to recognize any such Ukrainian independence, the Central Powers welcomed such an invitation, as it provided a buffer between them and Russia. With a pact signed, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, the combined forces of Austria-Hungary and Germany intervened and drove out the Russian Red Army. Following World War I however, this Ukrainian victory was short-lived, as signatories of the treaty on the side of the Central Powers began to fade: Austria-Hungary dissolved following the war, Turkey opted for a pact with the pro-Soviet Ukrainian SSR, and Germany signed on to a deal with Soviet Russia. As such, most of what is modern-day Ukraine, including the Crimean region, would fall back under Soviet command until the dissolution of the Soviet Union's vast empire in 1991. Since that point, Ukraine's very existence his been at the crosshairs of Soviet diehards, including its current de facto "chairman."

 

In this medal, Goetz recognizes Ukraine's role as the "breadbasket" of Europe, even naming this the "bread" (brod) treaty on the obverse. At the time, he understood the benefit of an allegiance between Germany and Ukraine on account of the grain resources which the latter could provide. In real time, we are all observing what a disruption to Europe's breadbasket can bring, among other aspects.

 

Upload: 1 September 2023.