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World Unity or Oblivion
1945
by Berthold Nebel
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Golden bronze with tan patina
Description

The medal's obverse bears an American soldier giving water to a wounded comrade. In exergue, (circled BN) / ©. The reverse bears a mushroom cloud of a nuclear explosion over avast plane of corpses. To left and right, WORLD UNITY - OR OBLIVION.

In his "Message from the Artist" Nebel wrote:

"Modern warfare has developed to such a degree that civilization may vanish from the earth unless there is to be an understanding among nations, and this medal was designed to help impress that thought which, I believe, is uppermost in our minds."

It is fascinating to see this medal in the context of its predecessor (For Conquer We Must). The prior medal is soul-stirring and up-lifting in its depiction of courageous soldiers at one of the iconic moments of war. Only half a year later, the war has been won, and soldiers are depicted wounded or dead. The price of victory and the question of "What now?" has arrived very prominently.

This medal was chosen as the 32nd issue of the prestigious Society of Medalists series. It measures 73mm in diameter. The Medallic Art Company of New York reportedly struck 839 medals in bronze and 60 (out of 700 authorized) in silver.

References:   MACo 1930-001-032, Marqusee 294, SoM 32

Variant Details

This section contains a table of detailed variant information. Currently, I am only aware of 3 variants of this medal. Please notify me if you come across any others or if you find incorrect or missing information.

materialBronze
patinaGolden bronze with tan patina
edge6MEDALLIC ART CO.N.Y. BRONZE
edge12THE SOCIETY OF MEDALISTS 32ND ISSUE 1945-BERTHOLD NEBEL, SCULPTOR
diameter73mm
mintage839 reported (for all Bronze variants)
materialBronze
patinaSmooth golden "polished" bronze
edge6MEDALLIC ART CO.N.Y. BRONZE
edge12THE SOCIETY OF MEDALISTS 32ND ISSUE 1945-BERTHOLD NEBEL, SCULPTOR
diameter73mm
mintage839 reported (for all Bronze variants)
materialSilver
edge6
edge12THE SOCIETY OF MEDALISTS 32ND ISSUE 1945-BERTHOLD NEBEL, SCULPTOR
diameter73mm
mintage60 reported, 700 authorized
Last modified: Oct 26, 2017 17:02
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