Whose the bearded dude?

[Chris Boonzaier]

Best

Chris

[Dave Danner]

I have a picture of him somewhere...

[Chris Boonzaier]

Hmmm... notice he is wearing a Prussian EK, and not a baden medal....

[Chris Boonzaier]

Similar here.....

[speedytop]

Please see here:

http://en.wikipedia....d_Duke_of_Baden

Uwe

[Chris Boonzaier]

So the pic of him wearing the EK2 predates WW1 by about a decade,

I find it very interesting to see pics of higher ups who had loads of medals "dressing down" and just wearing the EK2.

It seems to be a case of them attaching a certain value to it, or wanting to create a certain value for it amongst the public.

best

Chris

[Dave Danner]

One consideration regarding the EK:

We have often said that the EK, while technically a Prussian award, was viewed as a quasi-German award through World War I. This of course reflects Prussia's role in creating Germany and the fact that from 1871 to 1918 the King of Prussia was also the German Emperor.

But I wonder if there is also another psychological factor. Outside of maybe a brief period from its founding in early 1813 to the Battle of the Nations later that year when Napoleon lost his remaining German allies, I don't think there was a period where a German could get the Iron Cross for killing other Germans. This isn't the case for other state awards, of Prussia or any of the other German states, some of which predate 1813 and others which were awarded for the 1848-49 revolutions and the 1866 war, which pitted German against German.

Grand Duke Friedrich I of Baden, especially, might have seen the "simple" Iron Cross as a modest compromise. His father had sided with Prussia against his own people (including my great-grandfather) in 1848-49, and Friedrich I himself sided with Austria against Prussia in 1866, though somewhat reluctantly. At least with the Iron Cross he was only making a statement against the French.

[speedytop]

"At least with the Iron Cross he was only making a statement against the French"

I think, it is a statement for the Prussians.

Both pictures show him as "preußischer Generaloberst im Rang eines Generalfeldmarschall", in a Prussian uniform.

Uwe

Edited February 29, 2012 by speedytop

[Chris Boonzaier]

Hmmm... I am still of the opinion that they may be making a statement about the Iron Cross itself, as opposed to a political staement.

Best

Chris

[Dave Danner]

Here is the statue of Friedrich I at Burg Baden in Badenweiler. It is perhaps noteworthy to Chris's point that they chose to memorialize him in this manner.