Item Description
Original Items: One-of-a-kind Set. This is a lovely variety of German WWII photo albums, purchased at a recent military show. This is a treasure trove of historical and research material for the motivated collector.
The grouping consists of
- One German WWII Custom Made Personal Photo Album. This features a total of 38 photographs, many of which are rather large, and also many that have captions either on the album page, or on the back of the photo itself. There are Luftwaffe, Heer Army, Kriegsmarine, RAD Labor Corps, and other units depicted, making this a very interesting album. Many of the photos have broken free from their corner reinforcements. Measures approximately 6 3/4" x 9 1/2".
- One German WWII RAD Labor Corps Photo Album. This has what looks to be a picture of the owner, but no name, and it has his RAD unit information stamped on the paper the photograph is attached to. To the right of this is the phrase Erinnerungen an den Arbeitsdienst ("Memories of Labor Service"). The album has 39 photos total, some of which do appear to show the owner. Measures 7 1/2" x 10 1/2".
- One Page which looks to be torn out from a larger photo album. This shows pictures of German Luftwaffe Soldiers both BEFORE and AFTER the invasion of France, which occurred May 10, 1940 – Jun 25, 1940. There is a photo of the soldier with his unit in April 1940, and with his family from May 1940. Then there are pictures from Paris 1940, and more from 1941. There is even one photo titled erster Urlaub aus FranKreich, which translates roughly to "First Vacation from France". The page measures about 8 3/4" by 11".
- One EMPTY photo album, with the German Reichskriegsflagge Battle standard on the front, with Wehrdienst-Ehrendienst ("Military Service & Honorary Service") over Erinnerungen an meine Dienstzeit ("memories of my service). These are common phrases used on German military photo albums. The album has a fabric cover, and it looks like there may have been something glued to the front at one point. There are only a few photo pages and separators inside, so we suspect the pages with photos were removed, or the album was used as "spare parts". Measures about 8 3/4" x 12" with a 1 1/4" spine.
Overall a fantastic German WWII photo album grouping, showing the war from many different viewpoints. Really some really fantastic research potential!
Context is everything when preserving old photo albums. The order in which an album was put together meant something to the creator and may give you clues about the
photographs if they’re not identified. If at all possible, keep old albums in their original order. It’s okay to remove loose photos, but make a note of where they came from.
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
- 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.
- Not eligible for payment with Paypal or Amazon
