High quality color & exceptional B/W photographs. German side

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Germanisches Christentum and the position of the churches after 1933

One of the many church bells still in existence.

 

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Georg Wolz aus Sachsenhausen, der am 26. Januar 1945 in russische Kriegsgefangenschaft geraten war, kehrte erst am 15. Dezember 1949 in seine Heimatgemeinde zurück. Das Bild zeigt Georg Phillip Wolz mit seinem Sohn Georg Wolz 1944 in Bad Kissingen.
Quelle: Fränkische Nachrichten

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US Military Police interrogate two very young Wehrmacht soldiers after the surrender of the German 19th Army in Austria, May 1945

 

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Monte Casino, 18. May 1944, photo taken by the Polish Corps

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Obersalzberg

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Dramatic scene aboard the "Admiral Hipper", after the destruction of the "Glowworm" Norway, April 1940

Photos: Bayerisches Armeemuseum

Ship's bell in the Marineehrenmal Laboe

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Then and now

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Heinrich Graf von Einsiedel, great grandson of Reichskanzler Otto von Bismarck, served with J.G.2 Richthofen in France 1942, achieving 35 victories, later with J.G.3 in Russia, after a forced landing in Russia he was captured. He joined the N.K.F.D.
Nationalkommittee Freies Deutschland and Bund Deutscher Offiziere and collaborated with his captors, making broadcasts to the German troops appealing to them to stop the war and overthrow Hitler.
He settled in the Soviet Zone after the war and was arrested by the Americans in West Berlin while visiting his mother, in 1948, he returned to the East Zone, but had become an embarrassment to the Soviets and he then fled to the West. He became a journalist, translator, filmscript writer and politician, joining the SPD. He was married to actress Barbara Rütting and in second marriage 1972 to Helga Lechtape. After the fall of the Iron Curtain, he left the SPD and joined the PDS, which had emerged from the SED. He was politically active till his death in 2007.

Leutnant Graf v. Einsiedel, J.G.2 and later J.G.3

As a prisoner of war in Russia

An NKFD meeting in Moskau, 2 from left, Graf v. Einsiedel, centre, Walther von Seydlitz-Kurzbach

v. Einsiedel with fellow officers of the NKFD

v. Einsiedel and Barbara Rütting

v. Einsiedel with Gregor Gysi (PDS)

 

Further notes:
Georg Graf v. Einsiedel, of 3 (F)/123, a relativ, was posted missing on a flight over the Atlantic - von einer Fernaufklaerungs Gruppe Über dem Nordatlantik nicht zurückgekehrt, 22.5.1942, Georg Graf von Einsiedel ruht auf der Kriegsgräberstätte in Champigny-St. Andre (Frankreich) .
Endgrablage: Block 14 Reihe 28 Grab 1624
Further information is given as: Graf von Einsiedel Vorname:Georg Dienstgrad:Leutnant Geburtsdatum:23.03.1907, Geburtsort:Berlin-Wilmersdorf Todes-/Vermisstendatum:22.05.1942 Todes-/Vermisstenort: Paris, erschossen
and
Hans von Einsiedel-KIA-11.6.40-Oblt-Panzerjaeger Abtl.
Hildebrandt von Einsiedel - Bruder d. vorg.-KIA-16-7-44-Reiter Reg.
Alexander v. E. , KIA-17.9.43-Sturmgeschütz-Abtl.
Detlev v. E. -19.10.1939-Warschau

A book lists all nobility KIA/MIA including active duty soldiers, civilians, women, children, adults.

Worth further research.

http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/archive/index.php?t-18724.html

and

https://www.spiegel.de/geschichte/widerstand-gegen-hitler-das-dilemma-des-genossen-graf-a-948201.html

 

 

 

 

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Heldengedenktag

Heldengedenktag in Enger, 1934

Raesfeld, 1940

Raesfeld, 1939

1940

Raesfeld, Autumn 1939

1942

1937

1940

1942

 

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Polish Major Henryk Sucharski, pictured after the surrender of Westerplatte with his sabre, which he was permitted to keep as a mark of respect by the German officer who accepted the surrender

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Photo taken by Eva Braun

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German troops under fire in Lille in June 1940

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Wormhoudt, some time after 28. May 1940

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A motorcycle detachment from an SS reconnaissance battalion skirting a shell hole in a street on the outskirts of Aire.

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Pioneer Battalion 51's crossing of the Albert Canal on the 10th May. This is from German film assault on Eben-Emael"

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Leichter Ladungsträger Sd Kfz. 302, known as Goliath

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St.Valérie-en-Caux, Juni 1940

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France, 1940, a staged photograph?

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Joseph Ratzinger, geb. in Marktl am Inn.  Am 1.9.1943, 14-jähriger HJ Flakhelfer in München. Er überlebte einen Angriff auf seine Batterie in Gilching. 1946 Theologie studiert. Papst geworden.
 

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German soldiers with the Russian SVT-40 (Samozaryadnaya Vintovka Tokareva, Obrazets 1940 goda), basically Tokareva self loading rifle model of 1940. In the 1930's the Russians wanted to replace the Mosin Nagant 91/30 rifle with a semi-automatic rifle, much like the US had with the M1 Garand, the SVT 38 was the first model made with about 150,000 produced. However this model did not hold up well in the winter war with Finland and some issues needed to be fixed, resulting in the SVT 40. There were quite a few of the SVT 40's on hand when the Germans invaded, but many were captured. The Russian army had to replace many soldiers and equipment and simpler weapons such as the PPSH 41 were easier for soldiers to learn to use and simpler to make. in 1942 priority was given to produce the Mosin Nagant 91/30 rifles and the SVT 40 got put on the back burner. The Germans made good use of the captured SVT's as they did not have many self loading rifles at the time and it helped with their logistics as well. Since Russian weapons typically had lower tolerances than their German counterparts, and performed better in the harsh environment, they were in high demand. Below are some images of German troops with the SVT 40. 

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German Soldiers with the Russian PPSh-41 or Shpagin's machine-pistol-41. This was a sub machine gun that fired the 7.62×25mm Tokarev pistol round, and was made from stamped steel parts. It could accept a drum or box magazine, although German captured ones were modified to accept 9mm  MP-40 magazines as well. It saw widespread use in WW2 (with over 6 million made) and is still in use , with it being reported used in the Russian-Ukraine conflict. 

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The British Expeditionary Force that deployed to France between September 1939 and April 1940 was the first fully mechanised army to go to war and not rely on horse drawn transport. They took a staggering 68,618 vehicles of all types to France and what's even more staggering is 63,879 of them were either destroyed, disabled or captured by the time the British Army had left France in June 1940.

The last British and French soldiers at Dunkirk surrender under the white flag at Fort Mardyck. 4th June 1940.

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1940 - British POW’s in the hands of troops from the SS-VT Division somewhere in France.