Karl Goetz Medal - Kienast 299: "The Watch at the Ruhr" (Die weiße Schmach)
A powerful and deeply charged political medal, Kienast 299, titled "The Watch at the Ruhr" (Die weiße Schmach — The White Shame), responds to one of the most turbulent and controversial episodes of the early Weimar Republic: the French occupation of the Ruhr. Created as a counterpart to Goetz's earlier "Watch on the Rhine" series (opus 262-264), this medal shifts focus to the harsh and oppressive conditions imposed on the local German population during the 1923-1925 occupation.
Goetz's narrative centers on the extreme cruelty, racial abuses, and civil-rights violations described in German accounts of the French and colonial troops stationed in the Ruhr Valley. He emphasizes the outrage felt in Germany—particularly over the mistreatment of civilians, which came to be called the "White Shame."
A key incident, referenced in the accompanying catalog text, occurred in the small city of Buer, between Recklinghausen and Gelsenkirchen. There, a German blacksmith, repeatedly provoked by occupation troops, retaliated in a moment of fury—an act that escalated into accusations of manslaughter. The French military administration responded with severe reprisals, culminating in what locals called the Hölle von Buer ("The Hell of Buer"). Under near-martial-law conditions, daily life in the city was effectively suffocated.
Goetz captures this repression visually on the medal:
the reverse depicts the strangulation of Buer, a metaphor for the smothering grip of occupation rule. The bottom inscription, "From Paris Journal," underscores the international attention the events attracted—even in foreign reporting.
Cast in 60 mm, this medal demonstrates Goetz's trademark blend of expressive relief, political commentary, and searing social critique. It stands as a stark reminder of the tensions that defined the early postwar years and remains one of his most evocative Ruhr-occupation pieces.
Key Features:
• Artist: Karl Goetz
• Catalog reference: Kienast 299 / Opus 299
• Title: "The Watch at the Ruhr" (Die weiße Schmach)
• Year: circa early 1920s (Ruhr Occupation period)
• Diameter: 60 mm
• Theme: French occupation of the Ruhr, civil oppression, Weimar-era propaganda
A dramatic and historically significant medal, Kienast 299 is essential for collectors of Weimar-period art, Ruhr occupation history, and the socially charged medallic works of Karl Goetz.
