Original German WWII Heer Army Eastern Front Personal Photo Album with Picture of Comrade Artyom Monument in Bakhmut, Ukraine - 98 Photos
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Original Item: One-of-a-kind-set. Here we have a wonderful personal Heer Army photo album from the Eastern front of WWII, with what looks to be mostly personal photographs they took themselves, with some picture postcards attached to the opening pages. It is covered with a lovely textured orange cloth cover, which has some gold and black paint "criss-cross" ornamentation. There is no information identifying what unit the owner was from, and the album measures approximately 10 5/8” x 7 1/2”.
A total of 98 photographs fill this album, making it a treasure-trove of images taken from the viewpoint of a young, patriotic German soldier. These are contained on 22 pages, which are not captioned, and are separated by "spiderweb" pattern "onion skin" separators. All of the photos and postcards are glued directly to the pages, though it does look like they did not wait quite long enough for the glue to dry, resulting in some tearing of the onion skin, in some cases removing almost the entire separator.
The photos open with photo postcards, one of which is signed, showing Heer Army soldiers in a variety of scenes. The album then shifts to personal photos, many of them taken in winter, showing soldiers in winter clothing such as fur coats and winter parkas. These look to be from training prior to the invasion, and when the photos return to pictures of warmer days, we see what looks to be a small Eastern Orthodox church, as well as other Soviet eras.
One page has an extremely important historical photo, a personal photograph of the large monument in Bakhmut of Bolshevik leader Comrade Artyom (Fyodor Sergeyev), a famous 1924 cubist statue by Ukrainian sculptor Ivan Kavaleridze. This statue would be destroyed during the war and occupation before the Eastern front collapsed, and proves that the soldier was definitely one of those part of the initial invasion. The area would later make a new statue, which was subsequently removed in 2015 during the post soviet period. The remainder of the pages mainly show photos of soldiers at ease in camp, along with some photos of war damaged areas.
This is an extensive personal photographic record of a German soldier’s experiences on the Eastern Front, containing 98 images across 22 pages. The mixture of winter training scenes, camp life, military personnel, damaged locations, and views of Soviet-era architecture gives the album considerable historical and research interest. Particularly noteworthy is the personal photograph of the Comrade Artyom monument at Bakhmut, a wartime view of a landmark that was later destroyed. Although the original owner and unit remain unidentified, the album offers a compelling visual account of one soldier’s movements and daily surroundings during the campaign in the Soviet Union.
Historical records like this album have become priceless time capsules that provide an incomparable level of insight into the individual experience of the Second
World War, now that almost eighty years have passed.
The older albums such as these usually withstand the ravages of time. The leather or fabric covers may wear, but the pages stay well intact. The black paper albums of the early 20th century are more fragile, while the glue from magnetic albums can damage photographs. And, as with all old photographs, keep albums in a safe, climate controlled environment
- This product is available for international shipping. Shipping not available to: Australia, France, or Germany
- Not eligible for payment with Paypal or Amazon
- Due to legal restrictions this item cannot be shipped to Australia, France or Germany. This is not a comprehensive list and other countries may be added in the future.
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