Opfer - a sacrifice, a victim or a casualty. Kriegsopfer is a person/persons killed in a military conflict - soldier or civilian.
The artwork on Dean's illustrated card seems to blend the idea of the fallen war hero and the last act of Wagner's Ring of the Nibelungen. I believe the painting can be likened to the death of Siegfried, as his body was also consumed by flames. This last bit of the play literally brings life and meaning to the image. 　 "Brünnhilde makes her entrance and takes charge of events (the Immolation Scene). Brünnhilde issues orders for a huge funeral pyre to be assembled by the river. She takes the Ring and tells the Rhinemaidens to claim it from her ashes, once fire has cleansed it of its curse. Lighting the pyre with a firebrand, she sends Wotan's ravens home with "anxiously longed-for tidings"; they fly off. After an apostrophe to the dead hero, Brünnhilde mounts her horse Grane and rides into the flames.
The fire flares up, and the hall of the Gibichungs catches fire and collapses. The Rhine overflows its banks, quenching the fire, and the Rhinemaidens swim in to claim the Ring. Hagen tries to stop them but they drag him into the depths and drown him. As they celebrate the return of the Ring and its gold to the river, a red glow is seen in the sky. As the people watch, deeply moved, the interior of Valhalla is finally seen, with gods and heroes visible as described by Waltraute in Act 1. Flames flare up in the Hall of the Gods, hiding it and them from sight completely. As the gods are consumed in the flames, the curtain falls."
The addition of the national eagle standing as a solemn guard brings Wagner's opera up to date, more than likely the years of the First World War.
Basically that's how I see this card from Dean's fine collection. What's great about art is that everyone is entitled to their own interpretation, there usually is ample room for speculation, as we all see things on different levels. The female figure could also very well represent Germania..?
It'd be great to hear any additional ideas and insights into the meaning of this dramatic, melancholy image.
