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K- 293
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THE ENEMY IS ON THE RIGHT
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(Dr Wirth - der Feind steht rechts)
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1922, Cast bronze, Satirical medal, 61.3mm, 66.90g., Rim-punched, "K•GoeTz".
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Obverse: German Chancellor Wirth clutches an SPD balloon cap with his name on it, as he shouts out,"Der Feind steht Rechts" (The enemy stands to the right). Rim inscription, "Also sprach Bismarcks Nachfolger" (Thus spoke Bismarck's successor*). Meaning the real enemy of Germany were the right-wing political groups. Dated June 25, 1922.
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Reverse: Poincaré, as a distasteful armadillo-like creature wearing a French assault helmet, replies, "Nicht Rechts, nicht Links, am Rhein, herr Kanzler" (Not to the right, not to the left, on the Rhine, Mr. Chancellor!). K•G on lower right rim.
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Based on statement made in a speech by Chancellor Dr.Wirth after the assassination of Walther Rathenau by rightist extremists, that the enemies of the republic are the extremist parties of the right. Goetz counters this statement with his own as shown on the reverse, "Not to the right, not to the left, (the enemy is) on the Rhine, Mr. Chancellor! In otherwords, the French.
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*The reference made here by Goetz is not to the actual succession, as Bismarck had died in 1889, but rather to the office Dr.Wirth held, that of Chancellor of the Reich as Bismarck had held during the Imperial Reich.
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