Description
The painting of “The Last Man” (Der Leßte Mann) was very popular in Germany during WW I. It was painted by Professor Hans Bohrdt. It shows a defiant German sailor thrusting a kriegsflagge in the air as he stands on what appears to be the deck of a German ship. Several ships in the background are steaming towards the man. The painting was done to commemorate the Battle of the Falkland Islands on 8 December 1914, wherein the German squadron commanded by Admiral Maximilian Graf von Spee (1861-1914) was destroyed by an English squadron. Only one of von Spee’s ships escaped the action. The admiral and two of his sons perished in the battle. Ironically, twenty-five years later in December 1939, the pocket battleship Graf Spee was scuttled in the river Plate between Argentina and Uruguay. This was after fighting with another British squadron, and being forced to leave the waters due to the laws of international neutrality. The spirit of this painting was a rallying point for the German Navy and the people of Germany, since this “Last Man” fights on to the end. This postcard depicts a black and white version of “The Last Man,” and a poem that salutes his bravery and spirit. This postcard was mailed in 1915.
