Memorial sheets for fallen soldiers in the First World War

Distribution and awarding of the memorial sheets
On the occasion of his birthday on 27 January 1915, Kaiser Wilhelm II commissioned the production of an official commemorative sheet. It was intended to express the gratitude of the Fatherland and serve as a memento for the bereaved. The memorial sheet was automatically sent or delivered to the next of kin when a German soldier died. Other German states such as Bavaria, Saxony and Württemberg as well as countries such as France, Great Britain and the USA had similar commemorative sheets.

Design of the imperial commemorative sheet
The graphic artist Emil Doepler designed the imperial commemorative sheet, which the monarch authorised in February 1915. The coloured lithograph, measuring 44 x 32 cm, shows an angel handing an oak branch to a fallen soldier. A quotation from the Bible, a frame for the name, date of death and unit of the fallen soldier as well as an Iron Cross and the Kaiser's facsimile signature round off the design.

Comfort and remembrance for the bereaved
The memorial sheets were not only intended to convey the sympathy and gratitude of the state to the grieving relatives. They also served to heroise the deaths of soldiers and exploit them for propaganda purposes. For many bereaved families, however, the memorial sheets were an important source of comfort and a valuable reminder of their fallen relatives, as they often had few other personal mementos of them.

The state memorial sheets for the victims of the First World War are contemporary testimonies that document how mourning and remembrance were dealt with during the war. They reflect the need to glorify the death of soldiers and to support their relatives in their grief. At the same time, they served as a propaganda tool to promote the willingness to make sacrifices for the fatherland. For historians and collectors, the memorial sheets are valuable objects that remind us of the suffering of war.