World Unity or Oblivion

Research has not revealed the purpose of Berthold Nebel's medal design, but the sculptor was one of many in Europe and the United States who created artworks memorializing the tragedy of the Second World War. On the obverse, an American soldier offers water to a wounded comrade. On the reverse, a mushroom cloud explodes over the abstracted bodies of thousands of war dead, signaling a new and terrifying threat that accompanied the end of the global conflict.

Credit: Gift of the heirs of Albert Laessle: Mrs. Albertine de Bempt Laessle, Mr. Albert M. Laessle and Mr. Paul Laessle