Wilhelm Keitel, Giuseppe Bastianini and Dino Alfieri

From left to right: Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel (Chef der Oberkommando der Wehrmacht), Giuseppe Bastianini (Undersecretary at the Italian Foreign Ministry), and Dino Alfieri (Italian ambassador to Berlin). The picture was taken by Walter Frentz in Schloss Klesheim in Salzburg, 8-9 April 1943.

Source :
https://www.walter-frentz-collection.de/fotoarchiv/personenarchiv-a-z/personen-a-b/#&gid=1&pid=23

Luftwaffe Officer among Italian Comrades

Major Alfred Matthes (standing in the middle), a battalion commander of the Flieger Nachschub Kolonnen Abteilung (motorisiert) II/200, poses for a commemorative photo with his Italian comrades. Around 1942. The second photo is a close-up of the two in the front row.

Source :
Akira Takiguchi photo collection
https://twitter.com/atakiguchi/status/1735851786341384652/photo/1

German Gebirgsjäger and Italian Bersaglieri

NCOs of the 1st German Mountain Division (1. Gebirgs-Division) with Italian soldiers of the "Celere" Division in Stalino (nowadays Donetsk), Ukraine, October 1941.

Source :
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-events-second-world-war-wwii-russia-1941-ncos-of-the-1st-german-mountain-24443135.html
https://www.reddit.com/r/GermanWW2photos/comments/13z4tc0/german_mountain_troops_and_italian_bersaglieri_in/

German Bf 110 and Italian Macchi C.200

German fighter-bomber Messerschmitt Bf 110 and an Italian Macchi C.200 Saetta flying over a (southern?) Italian city, somewhere in 1942. Photographer: Artur Grimm. At least three Bf.110 C-3 supplied by Luftwaffe to Italian Regia Aeronautica for night fighter units. After training and familiarization of Italian crews with the German twin engine in Germany, the planes was transferred in Italy in July and August 1942 and assigned to Nucleo Addestramento Intercettori, an unit for interceptor’s training operating inside of 235th Squadriglia transferred from Treviso to Lonate Pozzolo, near Varese, in Lombardy. Role of this unit was train the Italian pilots to new methods of night fighting against the Allied strategic bombers. In this color photo the commander of 235th Squadriglia, captain Aramis Ammannato, and his dog, standing in front of a Bf.110 of the unit at Lonate Pozzolo.

Source :
https://id.pinterest.com/pin/386887424240669388/
http://losgrandesfotografos.blogspot.com/2018/02/arthur-grimm-1908-1990.html

Mussolini in the Cover of Nazi Propaganda Magazine

The cover of "Die Woche" magazine, 9 October 1940: Italian dictator Benito Mussolini with German Ambassador in Rome behind him, Hans Georg von Mackensen. Mackensen was a very committed supporter of the Nazi regime, and as ambassador in Rome he worked tirelessly to strengthen the Axis. Mussolini had appointed his son-in-law Ciano Foreign Minister in 1936 to order to overcome the reluctance of the professional diplomats of the Palazzo Chigi towards closer ties with Germany, thus providing a bond with Ciano who was also keen to strengthen the Axis alliance.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Georg_von_Mackensen
https://www.reddit.com/r/HistoryMemes/comments/pnguk2/mussolini_at_the_march_on_rome/

Mussolini Inspecting Italian Troops

This picture was taken on 18 July 1944 at Grafenwöhr, Bavaria, and it shows Benito Mussolini (leader of the Italian Social Republic or Repubblica Sociale Italiana, RSI) reviews Italian troops from 3ª Divisione fanteria di marina "San Marco" (3rd Marine Infantry Division "San Marco"), trained by the Germans. Two Wehrmacht generals at right is, from left to right: Generalmajor Konrad von Alberti (Leiter des deutschen Verbindungskommandos 182 bei der italienischen 3. Marineinfanteriedivision "San Marco") and Generaloberst Friedrich Fromm (Chef der Heeresrüstung und Befehlshaber des Ersatzheeres). The Italian officer in the middle is Generale di Brigata Aldo Princivalle (Commander of 3rd Marine Infantry Division "San Marco"), and behind him - almost invisible - is Marshal of Italy Rodolfo Graziani (Minister of National Defence of RSI). The officer behind Mussolini is a tenente colonnello, likely the commander of the unit being inspected. He is wearing artillery insignia without a divisional mostrine. The men aren't wearing mostrine nor the M41 guibba that was worn by the sailors of the San marco, so not one the marine regiments. If this is the artillery regiment of the 3º d. «San Marco», that officer is either ten. col. Alfredo Possenti or Giuseppe De Martis.

Source :
http://fondoluce.archivioluce.com/LuceUnesco/ricerca/avanzata/esito.html?persone=Alberti,%20Konrad%20von
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=75&t=238546&p=2434424#p2434424

Hitler and German-Italian Officials during "Day of the German Art"

Adolf Hitler follows the procession on the "Tag der deutschen Kunst" from the VIP stand, which were held in Münich on 16 July 1939. Standing in the podium, from left to right: unknown, Joseph Goebbels, Italian Minister of National Culture Dino Alfieri, Hitler (Führer und Reichskanzler), and Gauleiter Adolf Wagner.

Source :
https://imgbb.com/DG3fKGs

Walter Model with Hungarian General

Generalfeldmarschall Walter Model (Oberbefehlshaber Heeresgruppe Nordukraine) chats with Major General vitéz noble Mihály Ibrányi de Vaja et Ibrány (Commander of Hungarian 25th Infantry Division). The Ritterkreuzträger in the background is Oberst (later Generalmajor) Arthur Finger (Führer 291. Infanterie-Division). There is no information about when and where this picture was taken, but probably in Kovel-Lublin area in the summer of 1944.

Source :
http://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2012/02/album-foto-terbaik-walter-model.html
https://live.warthunder.com/user/Hebime/

Stephen Balakchiev confectionery in Sofia, Bulgaria (1941)

 

Sofia, Bulgaria, during the German conquest of Balkan countries in 1941 (Bulgaria was one of the Axis countries at this time). It's hard to pinpoint the exact location in Sofia because there aren't any good points to use as reference. It is possibly in the corner of Blvd. Slivitnitsa and Ul. Knyaz Boris 1. At that time the city was quite small, so it's safe to say that this should be somewhere around "old centre" of modern Sofia. Some info on the shop: this should be the confectionery of one Stephen Balakchiev, which is one of the founders of sweets industry in post 1900s Bulgaria. Born in 1885, he learned pastry and cooking crafts in Vienna; then came back to Sofia to open his shop in 1910. His shop is one of the first in Bulgaria in which it was possible to taste an ice cream!

Source :
Akira Takiguchi photo collection
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10223018973136250&set=gm.1665293256989424

Kleßheim Palace during the Third Reich Era

Schloss Kleßheim in 1940

Kleßheim Castle is located four kilometers west of the city center of the provincial capital Salzburg in the area of ​​the neighboring municipality of Wals-Siezenheim (locality Kleßheim). It is surrounded by a large castle park and the Mühlbach. There is also a golf course in the historic park of the pleasure palace. The well-known Salzburg Tourism Schools are located below the edge of the terrace behind the castle.

From 1938, Adolf Hitler used the palace for state receptions and work meetings when he was staying on his private estate, the Berghof on Obersalzberg. For this purpose, the fenced-in area was provided with entrance portals in the style of the 1930s. Hitler received Benito Mussolini, Miklós Horthy, Ion Antonescu and others here. An assassination attempt by General Hellmuth Stieff planned there did not materialize. Kleßheim Palace was the scene of gun shows and parades. At the end of the war, the presidential administration stranded here on the way to the Alpine fortress. In 1945 Kleßheim Palace was the scene of the Allies' victory celebrations, then the seat of the American military administration.

These pictures below were taken by Walter Frentz in 1943. Enjoy!

Klessheim Palace near Salzburg, guest house of the Nazi Reich government. Hermann Göring and Dr.med. Karl Brandt in the park, 1943.

Klessheim Palace near Salzburg, guest house of the Nazi Reich government. Adolf Hitler, Hermann Göring and entourage entering the reception room, 1943.

Klessheim Palace near Salzburg, guest house of the Nazi Reich government. Interior view, reception room, 1943.

Kleßheim Palace near Salzburg, guest house of the Nazi Reich government. Interior view, dining room, 1943.

Klessheim Castle near Salzburg, visit from Benito Mussolini. Front row, left to right: Kurt Zeitzler, Benito Mussolini, Hermann Göring, and Adolf Hitler, 2nd row: Alfieri, Bastianini, Karl Otto Schmidt, and Hans-Georg von Mackensen, April 7-10, 1943.

Klessheim Castle near Salzburg, guest house of the Nazi government. Hermann Göring with Hans Jeschonnek, 1943.

Klessheim Castle near Salzburg, Giuseppe Bastianini (center) with Wilhelm Keitel (left) and Dino Alfieri in the reception room, 1943.

Klessheim Castle near Salzburg, guest house of the Nazi government. Albert Bormann (left) With a captain of the Luftwaffe on the terrace, 1943.

Klessheim Castle near Salzburg, guest house of the Nazi government. Nazi Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop (left) with the Croatian dictator Ante Pavelic on the terrace, April 27, 1943.

Klessheim Castle near Salzburg, guest house of the Nazi government. View from the terrace into the park, 1943.

Source :
Cortesy of Tobi Moll at https://www.facebook.com/groups/237076659811098/permalink/1539388529579898/?__cft__[0]=AZXbdnTfB3dCshHo6SsZg2kqpy94axKOl1-5EeW_xGWDhkmJOZ0fzwx-l9sbI_Eg6nxzWSpU-R-XkPMxKrWowk9AXB5wPJvmX_APLXcAJbXmS-uvonvHREnLg5UvnpGwbf1Uewr1ROCDsqZrRKez8dUnxWlXH5Hohk9FbPL5rKhxPmZthIA23_ilg0P7Qt9SSs8&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R
https://www.bildindex.de/document/obj20149809/?medium=fmlac43041
https://www.salzburgcb.com/en/destination-salzburg/regions/wals-siezenheim/

Hitler and Mussolini at Salzburg Train Station

German Chancellor Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) meets with Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini (1883-1945) and Axis officers at Salzburg railway station. This picture was taken by Walter Frentz on 22 April 1944 during the two-day meeting between Hitler and Mussolini at Schloss Kleßheim near Salzburg, Austria. The meeting also attended by Joachim von Ribbentrop, Wilhelm Keitel, Rudolf Rahn and Karl Wolff on the German side and Serafino Mazzolini, Rodolfo Graziani, Filippo Anfuso and general Umberto Morera for the Italians. Mussolini and his delegation presented a list of problems the Italian Social Republic was having which they attributed to the lack of cooperation with German authorities, but the German delegation no longer respected Mussolini who by now resembled a shadow of his former self.

 Adolf Hitler shaking hands with the Italian and German officials. SS-Obergruppenführer Karl Wolff saluting at right.



SS-Obergruppenführer Karl Wolff saluting to Hitler, while at right standing General der Infanterie Rudolf Toussaint

Adolf Hitler ready to shaking hands with SS-Obergruppenführer Karl Wolff, while at far right is General der Infanterie Rudolf Toussaint

Benito Mussolini with German officials in Italy. At far left is General der Infanterie Rudolf Toussaint (Bevollmächtigten General der deutschen Wehrmacht in Italien), followed to the right by Oberst Heinz Heggenreiner (Verbindungsoffizier zum Marschall Graziani in den Stab des Bevollmächtigten General der deutschen Wehrmacht in Italien), and Oberstleutnant i.G. Hans Jandl (Chef des Verbindungsstabes in Bevollmächtigten General der deutschen Wehrmacht in Italien).

 Adolf Hitler shaking hands with Oberstleutnant i.G. Hans Jandl (Chef des Verbindungsstabes in Bevollmächtigten General der deutschen Wehrmacht in Italien).

 Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini walks past through saluting German and Italian officials.

 Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini walks past through saluting German and Italian officials.

Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini saluting each other

Source :
Aboubakre Boukhris photo collection
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_1944#April_22,_1944_(Saturday)
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.1061781580891012&type=3&__cft__[0]=AZXXl8bU6RZ5QWolWF6JhME0vCCDOKSDeuJf3mRmLdbX2Nc9bLW6uLmEmcCIsEE9caha5FBi4D4usQkToh-uvMHkBjYqr1aURMOmOZ7qYSeS147BsUvYJi8vwwO7wpOfMXzSaG8bN2x-JUq1-Lz79P8weT57eF6z-GYHI0Jqp1mvy0QnPnr-OfOn_pinvCGzR2w&__tn__=-UC%2CP-R

Rumanian Heinkel He 111 Abandoned in Bessarabia

Two pictures of Heinkel He 111 H-3 Nr.5 of Aeronautica Regală Română (ARR, or the Royal Rumanian Air Force), taken at an unknown airfield in Bessarabia. The aircraft crashed due to bad weather during a night operation in July 1942 on Popesti-Leordene airfield near Bucharest. Four men were killed, including a Luftwaffe Leutnant. One man was wounded.

Source :
"Luftwaffe im Focus" magazine, edition Nr.1 - 2002

Hermann Göring Wearing his Famous Ruby Ring

Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring with his Luftwaffe and Italian officers. He is wearing a large Ruby Ring produced by top Third Reich jeweler Professor Herbert Zeitner bearing the symbols of Reichsmarschall. It was constructed from 18 carat gold around a large radiant cut ruby measuring approximately 3/4 of an inch wide and 7/8 of an inch long. Each side of the ring shows a raised engraved design, with one side bearing a conjoined "HG" monogram with traditional German-style oak leaf embellishment and the reverse bearing the German Hunter's Association logo, a ribbon marked "DJ" (Deutsche Jäger Verein) beneath the head of a multi-point stag, a radiant swastika positioned between the antlers, an old symbol of Saint Hubertus, patron saint of hunting, one of many symbols repurposed and defaced by the Nazis. The inside bottom of the band is marked with a small "Z" in a circle, a marking attributed to the goldsmith Professor Zeitner. While positive confirmation of a piece of Göring jewelry can be difficult, a number of pictures of Göring wearing a ring that could be this one survived the Nazi era, and many foreign diplomats who interacted with him felt the need to comment on the large red gemstone he was wearing on his finger, above and beyond all the other decorations he would bear into a high profile meeting.

Source :
http://www.rockislandauction.com/viewitem/aid/59/lid/1394

Erwin Rommel and his Italian Allies

General Erwin Rommel speaking with his Italian allies. In the middle is Sonderführer Dr. Ernst Franz, Rommel's interpreter. Franz recalls how, after an elite Bersaglieri position was overrun, their commander tearfully pleaded with Rommel: “Believe me, my men are not cowards.” And Rommel replied, “Who said anything about cowards? It’s your superiors in Rome who are to blame! Sending you into action with such miserable weapons.” (Some units in the Axis defence line were equipped with artillery captured from the Austrians in the First World War: quite useless against modern armor!)

Source:
Book "The Trail of the Fox: Life of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel" by David Irving
Photo collection Akira Takiguchi
http://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/showpost.php?p=6703856&postcount=1715

Benito Mussolini and Wilhelm Keitel

Il Duce Benito Mussolini speaking with Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel (Chef des Oberkommando der Wehrmacht) at Feltre airfield (Northern Italy) before Keitel leaves for Berlin. The picture was made by Walter Frentz in the evening of 19 July 1943. Only a couple of days later (24 July 1943), the Italian dictator would be defeated in the vote at the Grand Council of Fascism, and the King Victor Emmanuel had him arrested the following day. On 12 September 1943, Mussolini was rescued from prison in the Gran Sasso raid by German special forces led by the daring Otto Skorzeny. In late April 1945, with total defeat looming, Mussolini attempted to escape north, only to be quickly captured and summarily executed near Lake Como by Italian partisans. His body was then taken to Milan where it was hung upside down at a service station for public viewing and to provide confirmation of his demise. In this picture Keitel holding his Interimstab (baton), while in his uniform we can see his Italian Grand Cross of the Military Order of Savoy, awarded to him by King Victor Emmanuel on 24 April 1942, along with Großadmiral Erich Raeder

Source:
https://www.ullsteinbild.de/ullstein-webshop/workbench.html?queryWord=walter+frentz&newTitle=ullstein+bild+|+Search%3A+walter+frentz&qwAction=searchQueryWord&viewMode=tile

Hitler and Mussolini During Hitler's 1938 State Visit to Italy

 His face expressionless, Benito Mussolini rides in an open-air car with Adolf Hitler in Florence, 9 May 1938, during Hitler's state visit to Italy. Hitler beamed and strutted like a peacock across his host’s stage, having pulled off his bloodless coup in Austria (Anschluss) earlier in March after Mussolini had abandoned his northern neighbor to the Nazi predator. Although Germany and Italy were allies Hitler didn’t go to Italy that often. He was in Venice for a few days in May 1934. There he met Mussolini. In 1938 Hitler was in Italy for a week. He saw Napoli, Florence and Rome. In Rome he met Mussolini and the king of Italy. He visited the Palazzo del Quirinale, the Palazzo Venezia and the Pantheon. Hitler and Mussolini also met on the Brennerpass, near the border between Italy and Austria, in 1940. In 1943 Hitler was in Italy again for a meeting with Mussolini in Feltre

Source:
http://hitlerpages.com/pagina44.html
http://life.time.com/history/adolf-hitler-benito-mussolini-color-photos-of-chummy-warmongers/#1

Axis Officials at After Lunch Conference in Italy

High-ranking Nazi and Italian Fascist officials, including Hitler and Mussolini, at after lunch conference at Santa Marinella, north of Rome, during Hitler's 1938 state visit to Italy. Picture taken in 8 May 1938 by Hitler personal photographer Hugo Jaeger.. FLTR: Heinrich Himmler, Hans Frank, Rudolf Hess, Adolf Hitler, two unidentified individuals, Benito Mussolini, and Stefano Albertieri

Source:
LIFE