Nail Men


Nail Men or Men of Nails were a form of propaganda and fundraising for members of the armed forces and their dependents in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the German Empire in World War I. They consisted of wooden statues into which nails were driven, either iron, or coloured silver or gold, in exchange for donations of different amounts. Some took different forms, including pillars, shields or local coats of arms and crosses, especially the Iron Cross, and in German there are a variety of alternate names for them, including Wehrmann in Eisen or eiserner Wehrmann, Nagelfigur, Nagelbild or Nagelbrett, Wehrschild and Kriegswahrzeichen. The most famous were the original Wehrmann in Eisen in Vienna and the 'Iron Hindenburg', a statue of Hindenburg adjacent to the Victory Column in Berlin.

Origins and purpose

The idea for the Nail Men came from the Stock im Eisen in Vienna, a tree-trunk which had had nails hammered into it for centuries. The first Nail Man, a medieval knight, was set up in Vienna and was first nailed on 6 March 1915 in a public ceremony attended by many dignitaries, including members of the imperial household and the German and Ottoman ambassadors. They were promoted as a patriotic fund-raising method in German-speaking parts of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and also in the German Empire, including by publications such as Gotthold Riegelmann's Der Stock in Eisen: praktische Ratschläge zur Errichtung einfacher Nagelholzmale mit Ideenskizzen und Kostenberechnungen and Benno Fitzke and Paul Matzdorf's Eiserne Kreuz-Nagelungen zum Besten der Kriegshilfe und zur Schaffung von Kriegswahrzeichen. They have been seen as "fit in much more closely with Protestant celebrations of the Prussian military genius and the grandeur of the Kaiserreich" than with Austrian Catholicism.
Municipalities and charitable organisations, either specially founded associations or the Red Cross, had a statue or other emblem made out of wood, sometimes by well known sculptors, such as the medieval knight Wehrmann in Eisen by Mathieu Molitar on the Naschmarkt in Leipzig. The nails which the donor could use depending on the level of the donation could be iron, or silver- or gold-plated. The placement of the nail also reflected the level of the donation. For example, in the case of the Iron Cross at Heidelberg, a black nail cost 1 mark, a silver nail hammered into the border, 3 marks, a nail in the '1914' inscription, 5 marks, in the 'W' for Kaiser Wilhelm, 10 marks, and in the crown at the top of the cross, 20 marks; in the case of the 'Iron Siegfried' at Wiesbaden, iron nails cost 1 mark, silver-coated, 5-20 marks, and gilded up to 300 marks, with further donations possible; in the case of the Hindenburg statue in Berlin, gold nails cost 100 marks, silver and black cost 5 marks, and grey 1 mark; for donations over 500 marks, a small plaque was nailed to the sword. Donations were often recorded in an 'Iron Book', for example at Heidelberg, and the donor often received a lapel pin, a certificate, or some other token of the donation. Medallions, postcards and other associated merchandise were sold as a further source of funds.
An iron cross was a popular choice of form, perhaps the most popular; it was specifically recommended by Fitzke and Matzdorf, who state that it would require 160-200 nails. Other common shapes were shields and coats of arms, but animals, flowers and ships were also nailed. The figures in human form typically were knights in armour but sometimes depicted modern soldiers or historical and legendary figures. In addition to Hindenburg, Admiral Tirpitz, Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria and General Otto von Emmich were depicted as Nail Men.
Donations were usually collected to assist the wounded or for widows and orphans of the fallen. But in some cases, for example at Schwäbisch Gmünd, they were intended to help supply front soldiers; in the winter of 1916, the need was particularly great. The statues were usually prominently displayed and there was considerable social pressure to show patriotism by buying nails. The first nail was generally ceremonially driven by an important personage at a large patriotic ceremony including hymns and specially written patriotic poems which often evoked the Age of Chivalry; Fitzke and Matzdorf provide a suggested ceremony in 24 parts. Clubs, school classes, and so on performed group nailing; there were even nailings at the front.

Locations

Austria

Vienna

  • Vienna: Wehrmann im Eisen, a medieval knight in full armour.
  • Alsergrund: a hunter, in an inn, donations benefitting the dependents of fallen professional hunters.
  • Innere Stadt: a posthorn, in the Trade Ministry, 20 May 1917.
  • Favoriten: a U-boat, set up by the local branch of the Austrian Fleet Association to raise money for construction of a new U-boat.
  • Floridsdorf: a shield on a station platform, and the armorial oak of Army Chief of the General Staff Count Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf in an inn.
  • *Stammersdorf: a shield.
  • Grinzing: a grapevine, created by Professor F. Barwig of the Vienna School of Applied Arts and his students.
  • Hietzing: a Wehrmann.
  • Kaiserebersdorf: an eagle.
  • Landstraße: a soldier, the 'German master in iron', in the banqueting hall of the Third District, first nailed on 15 August 1915, and a field howitzer designed by the sculptor Alfred Hofmann, in the covered riding school of the 13th Field Howitzer Division's barracks in the Rennweg.
  • Leopoldstadt: a shield and a soldier.
  • Meidling: a shield.
  • *Hetzendorf: an iron cross.
  • Penzing: a Wehrmann.
  • Rodaun: a shield.
  • Roßau: a table in a restaurant, from 12 October 1915.
  • Wieden: one or more shields, with the proceeds divided between the fund for widows and orphans and the children of deceased members of the military from the locality.
  • Vienna : a U-boat donated by Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach. Archduke Franz Salvator drove the first nail on behalf of Emperor Franz Joseph.

    Other locations in modern Austria

  • Amstetten: a Wehrmann.
  • Bad Hall: Tassilo.
  • Bad Ischl: a shield.
  • Berndorf. a bear with a sword in its mouth.
  • Dorfgastein: a shield.
  • Enns: an Edelweiss, by the sculptor Adolph Johannes Fischer, first nailed on 21 November 1915 by a regiment.
  • Ernstbrunn: a shield.
  • Feldbach: a soldier.
  • Feldkirch: a shield.
  • Gmunden: a Wehrmann.
  • Graz: a Wehrmann.
  • Gröbming: a shield.
  • Hall in Tirol: a shield.
  • Innsbruck: a soldier, called the eisener Blumenteufel, designed by Albin Egger-Lienz.
  • Jägerndorf: an eagle.
  • Kaumberg: a shield.
  • Klosterneuburg: a shield.
  • *Kritzendorf, Klosterneuburg
  • Königstetten: a shield.
  • Krems an der Donau: the coat of arms of the locality.
  • Kufstein: a soldier.
  • Leoben: a shield.
  • Linz: a Wehrmann by the sculptor Adolph Wagner.
  • Marchtrenk: a table, made by a Russian prisoner of war and decorated with carvings by a corporal from Trieste.
  • Mauerkirchen: a shield.
  • Mödling: a wooden replica of a Škodamortar, unveiled on 22 August 1915 by Archduke Franz Salvator and his wife the Archduchess Blanka.
  • Mürzzuschlag: a shield.
  • Ober-Grafendorf: a shield.
  • Poysdorf: a shield.
  • Reutte: a Wehrmann.
  • Ried im Innkreis: an iron cross.
  • Salzburg: Charlemagne.
  • Sankt Pölten: a Wehrmann.
  • Steyregg: a shield.
  • Stockerau: an oak trunk with warlike emblems and topped by a cavalry helmet, set up by the Reserve Officers' School.
  • Ternitz: a hand grenade, set up by the local men's chorale on 20 August 1916.
  • Vöcklabruck: a Wehrmann.
  • Vornbach am Inn: a shield.
  • Wels: Emperor Maximilian.
  • Wiener Neustadt
  • Wieselburg: a Wehrmann in the form of a soldier with gun.
  • Unknown location

    Former Austro-Hungarian territories

now in Croatia
  • Curzola, Dalmatia: a ship.
  • Škrip : oval plaque with anchor, in the Skrip Museum
  • Pula: a lighthouse.
  • Dubrovnik: "zeljezni domobran", Museum of Contemporary History
    now in the Czech Republic
  • Asch, now Aš: a Wehrmann.
  • Brünn, now Brno, Moravia: a Wehrmann.
  • Budweis, now České Budějovice, Bohemia: St. Barbara.
  • Eger, now Cheb, Bohemia: a Wehrmann.
  • Hof, now Dvorce u Bruntálu, Moravia: a shield.
  • Prague: a Wehrmann.
  • Prerau, now Přerov, Moravia: a Wehrmann.
  • Qualisch, now Chvaleč: a shield.
  • Saaz, now Žatec, Bohemia: an obelisk.
  • Trebisch, now Třebíč, Moravia: a shield.
  • Troppau, now Opava, Silesia: a shield.
    Hungary
  • Budapest: a mounted knight of the period of King Matthias I in the Deák tér, by Ferenc Sidló.
  • Stuhlweißenburg : a Wehrmann.
  • Szeged: a Wehrmann.
    now in Poland
  • Kraków: an iron cross.
    now in Romania
  • Hermannstadt or Sibiu: a Wehrmann.
  • Klausenburg or Cluj-Napoca: a Wehrmann.
    South Tyrol, now in Italy
  • Meran: St. Michael.
  • Schlanders: a Vinschgau eagle.
  • Sterzing: a Wehrmann.
  • St. Ulrich in Gröden: a crusader knight.
    now in Ukraine
  • Czernowitz: an imperial eagle, set up in memory of liberation from Russian occupation, and based on the eagle on the town hall roof, which the Russians had removed.
  • Drohobycz: a Wehrmann.
  • Lemberg : a Wehrmann.

    Germany

Berlin

  • Charlottenburg: a shield.
  • Lichtenberg: a 'German sword' on a street corner.
  • Neukölln: Roland.
  • Schöneberg-Wilmersdorf: a door.
  • Spandau: an iron gate at the barracks of the 5th Guard Regiment.
  • Tiergarten: Iron Hindenburg, next to the Victory Column in the Königsplatz, designed by Georg Marschall and inaugurated on 4 September 1915; Princess August Wilhelm drove the first nail into Hindenburg's name on the plinth. 1.15 million marks were raised. After the war the statue was sold for firewood.
File:StadtmuseumErfurt Nagelkreuz1914.JPG|thumb|Iron Cross in the museum in Erfurt
File:Braunschweig Heinrich der Loewe 1915.jpg|thumb|Iron Henry the Lion in Brunswick