The E-Sylum:  Volume 8, Number 50, November 27, 2005, Article 16

GEORGE KUNZ AND THE LUSITANIA

Regarding our earlier discussions of George Kunz of
Tiffany's, Roger Burdette adds: "Please extend my
thanks to Kay O. Freeman for providing corrected
information on Louis Hannweber (not Karl Hanwebber)
of Tiffany's."

Greg Burns (www.LusitaniaMedal.com) writes: "One of
the items in the 11/20/05 issue of The E-Sylum caught
my attention: the name of George F. Kunz (A/K/A Kuntz),
of Tiffany jewelry and mineralogy fame.

One of my passions is the Lusitania medal designed
by Karl Goetz, the Munich medallist. During one of
my forays into the on-line world I found a resource
that had a letter (which I later purchased), signed
by Robert Lansing (at that time Counselor under
Secretary of State William J. Bryan), written to Mr.
Kuntz at his New York City address on Fifth Avenue,
stating that the State Department had received Mr.
Kuntz' letter "...of February 18th, and in reply
informs you that your remarks relative to the use
of the American flag by foreign powers, has received
the attention of the Department."

The significance of the letter to me was the inference
that Mr. Kuntz had been aboard the Lusitania during
its trip from New York to Liverpool early in 1915,
and he had evidently personally witnessed the incident
referred to: the use of the American flag by the captain
of the Lusitania to confuse any enemy submarines that
may have been observing her at the time. This
well-documented incident aroused American protests
and German, too.

The facts of the incident were that the German submarine
U-21 had, on January 30, 1915, sunk three unarmed merchant
vessels in the Irish Sea, close to the port of Liverpool
(Lusitania's home port). The heightened tension caused
Captain Dow of the Lusitania great distress, and
according to President Wilson's emissary, Colonel Edward
House, on board at the time and recording in his journal
the entry for February 6, "This afternoon, as we approached
the Irish coast, the American flag was raised. It created
much excitement and comment and speculation ranged in
every direction."

Mr. Kuntz had apparently indignantly written to the
State Department to complain of this illegal ruse,
perhaps surprising since he had been the recipient of
the safety it would have prompted.

Less than three months after the State Department letter,
the German submarine U-20 loosed a single torpedo which
sunk the Lusitania in 18 minutes killing 1,201 on board.
Only a month after the sinking, Secretary Bryan resigned
his post in protest of Wilson's stance during dialog
with the German government over the incident. So many
titans of politics and government - so much drama!

I don't know why I'm writing this to you, except perhaps
to note that as Frigyes Karinthy proposed in his 1929
short story, "Chains", we are all connected by six degrees
of separation. Other writers to E-Sylum mention George F.
Kuntz, and when I see his name what sparks in my mind
is his relation to the Lusitania and his role as a minor
player in the unfolding of that momentous event. And
this is what I love about numismatics. Go figure..."

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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