StuG in the Acropolis Athens

Sturmgeschütz III StuG 40 moving in the streets of Athens, Greece, against the backdrop of the famous Acropolis hill, and the Parthenon temple that stands above it. This photo was taken in 1943 - when Greece was still occupied by the German troops - and was first published in the SIGNAL magazine in the early 1944 issue. However, this one StuG did not belong to the Sturmartillerie unit of the Heer (Army) or Waffen-SS, but belonged to the Luftwaffe (Air Force), precisely V.Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung / Panzer-Artillerie-Regiment / Panzer-Division "Hermann Göring". In 1943, this Luftwaffe's sole armored unit was operating in the Mediterranean region, primarily in North Africa, Sicily and mainland Italy.

Source :
https://sturgeonshouse.ipbhost.com/topic/11-stug-iii-thread-and-also-other-german-vehicles-i-guess/page/4/

Dresden Neues Rathaus (New Townhall)

View of the entrance doors of the Dresden Neues Rathaus (New Townhall). Built in 1904-1910 to a design of K.Roth, with tower 98m high culminating in the golden man statue of Hercules by Richard Guhr, with the adjacent yellow coloured Gewandhaus or robing house, of 1768-70. The latter building was designed by JG Schmidt, but reformed in the 1920s into the Stadtbank. In the bombing in February 1945, the building was heavily damaged and needed extensive reconstruction in a simplified form. After wartime destruction, it was recreated and in the mid 1960s turned into an hotel. The picture was taken by Kriegsberichter Otto Kaiser in 1942-1944.

Source :
https://www.bild.bundesarchiv.de/dba/de/search/?topicid=dcx-thes_fotograf_779xk33w21d1iarjt6kc&page=17#
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dresden_Neues_Rathaus,_with_unknown_Sculpture._March_1994_(4197813061).jpg
https://www.flickr.com/photos/129231073@N06/26556568905

German Soldiers Set Up Film Camera in Krakow

Two German soldiers set up an Askania model R 35mm, a very expensive film camera, while a few more soldiers and passers-by observe what is happening. They are most likely from propaganda unit of the Wehrmacht. The picture was taken in Krakow, Poland, during the Nazi occupation, 1940. In the background we can see the headquarters of Commerzbank in the main square.

Source :
https://digit.wdr.de/entries/75882
https://www.facebook.com/krakow.ciekawostki.tajemnice.stare.zdjecia/posts/2639386526326076/
https://niemieckikrakowblog.wordpress.com/2017/04/05/dlaczego-krakow-jest-niemiecki-wedlug-mieszkanca-generalnego-gubernatorstwa/

German Victory Parade in Paris

German victory parade at Place de la Concorde, Paris, June 14, 1940. Front row from left to right: General der Kavallerie Georg Stumme (Kommandierender General XXXX. Panzerkorps), General der Artillerie Georg von Küchler (Oberbefehlshaber 18. Armee), and Generaloberst Fedor von Bock (Oberbefehlshaber Heeresgruppe B). Far left is Generalmajor Erich Marcks (Chef des Generalstabes 18.Armee), while closest to the camera is Generalleutnant Hans von Salmuth (Chef des Generalstabes Heeresgruppe B). Photo by Hugo Jaeger.

Source :
http://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2010/10/koleksi-ratusan-foto-berwarna-dari-life.html

City Gate of Ville de Mouzon

 

France, Ville de Mouzon.- Historic city gate (La porte de Bourgogne).- Sign reading "La mendicite est rigoureusement interdite dans La Ville de Mouzon" (prohibition of begging); approximately June-July 1940.

Source :
Bundesarchiv B 206 Bild-GD-82

German Soldiers in Front of Brandenburg Gate

 

The Ost-West-Achse (East-West-Axis) in Berlin, site of a massive rally and military demonstration in celebration of Adolf Hitler’s 50th birthday, 20 April 1939. The display was intended in part as a warning to the Western powers. The parade, which lasted for more than four hours, included 12 companies of the Luftwaffe, 12 companies of the army, and 12 companies of the navy and units of the Schutzstaffel (SS). In total, 40,000 to 50,000 German troops took part. 162 warplanes flew over Berlin. The grandstand comprised 20,000 official guests, and the parade was watched by several hundred thousand spectators. Features of the parade were large long-range air-defence artillery guns, emphasis on motorized artillery and development of air-defence units. Joseph Goebbels declared in a broadcast address to the German people. The picture was taken by Hugo Jaeger.

Source :
https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/hitler-jaeger-file/EgHmP3BzbacCzQ?hl=en
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler%27s_50th_birthday

Sd.Kfz.251 of 3. Panzer-Division Passing the Cathedral in Mglin

 

An original color photograph. Sd.Kfz.251 Ausf.A halftrack from 1.Batterie / I.Abteilung / Panzer-Artillerie-Regiment 75 / 3. Panzer-Division passing the Dormition Cathedral in Mglin, Bryansk Region, August 1941. In the Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, which began on 22 June 1941, the 3. Panzer-Division were part of Panzergruppe 2 "Guderian". Initially it was engaged in the central sector of the advance but was then redirected south to participate in the Battle of Kiev. From there it participated in the Battle of Moscow, advancing towards Tula. With the Soviet counterattacks in the winter of 1941–42 the division acted as a stand-by emergency force and, in March 1942, participated in the defense of Kharkov.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3rd_Panzer_Division_(Wehrmacht)
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=290564653271517&set=gm.2603839409748599
https://pixpast.com/index.php?catalog=12275&ctypes=photo

Donetsk Opera Theatre

Donetsk Opera Theatre in 1941 during the German occupation.

Donetsʹkyy Akademichnyy Derzhavnyy Teatr Opery Ta Baletu Imeni Anatoliya Solov'yanenka (Donetsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre) - named after A. Solovyanenko - was established in 1932 in Lugansk on the basis of fit-up theatre of Right-bank Ukraine. Since 15 March 1932 the theatre was transferred to Donetsk theatre group. The first season opened on September 1, 1932 with opera Prince Igor composed by Alexander Borodin. On April 12, 1941, the Theatre opened the season in the new theater building by premiere of Mikhail Glinka's Ivan Susanin. On August 7, same year, the premiere of the first ballet performance Laurencia by Alexander Crain was held. After the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War part of the company was evacuated to Kirghizia, later, in June 1942, the theater moved to Przhevalsk city, where actors held concerts in hospitals and military units. In January 1944 the theater returned to Stalino and already in September, right after the liberation of the Donets Basin a premiere of Alexander Borodin's Prince Igor took place.

Source :
Bundesarchiv Bild 169-0120
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donetsk_State_Academic_Opera_and_Ballet_Theatre

212. Infanterie-Division Crossing Viaduc de Dinan

German 212. Infanterie-Division stationed in France, 1941. This impressive bridge is Viaduc de Dinan in Brittany. Dinan is without doubt one of the most attractive and best preserved small towns in Brittany. With its 1.8 mile (3km)-long ramparts, half-timbered houses, attractive port and cobbled streets filled with art galleries and craft shops. Wherever you are, you won’t miss the 131ft (40m)-high viaduct. From the estate of Eugen Kastner.

Viaduc de Dinan now

Source :
Akira Takiguchi photo collection
https://www.brittanytourism.com/destinations/the-10-destinations/cap-frehel-saint-malo-mont-saint-michel-bay/dinan/
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10223680712759327&set=gm.1727228047462611

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

Nikko Toscho-gu Shrine in Japan

 

Nikko Toscho-gu, a color slide from a doctor on a eastern Asian trip, 1941

A german doctor enjoyed a trip to eastern Asia (Japan - Korea - China) in 1941. No color photography was available in Japan at the time (except for rare imported Kodak), so thanks to these travelers we can view Japan of the time in the original color. The doctor used Kodachrome instead of Agfacolor. Nikko has long been one of the top sightseeing places in Japan, like Kyoto, Hakone and Karuizawa. This shrine, Tosho-gu, is dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate. It was initially built in 1617, during the Edo period, while Ieyasu's son Hidetada was shōgun. For more information, read on from Wikipedia.

Source :
Akira Takiguchi photo collection
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10222753561341121&set=gm.1642516192600464

Grave of Alois Hitler, Hitler's Father

 

 

Grave of Alois Hitler, Adolf's father in the Leonding cemetery, Austria, 1938. Photos by Hugo Jaeger.

Alois Hitler Sr. (born Alois Schicklgruber; 7 June 1837 - 3 January 1903) was an Austrian civil servant and the father of the dictator of Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler. Alois Hitler was born illegitimately, and his paternity was never established. This led to claims that his wife Klara (Adolf's mother) may have been his cousin. It also meant that Adolf Hitler could not prove who his grandfather was and thus prove his own "Aryan descent". When Alois was promoted in the Customs service, he applied to be legitimised in the name of his stepfather Hiedler, which was entered in the register as 'Hitler', for unknown reasons.

In February 1895, Alois Hitler purchased a house on a 3.6-hectare (9-acre) plot in Hafeld near Lambach, approximately 50 kilometres (30 mi) southwest of Linz. The farm was called the Rauscher Gut. He moved his family to the farm and retired on 25 June 1895 at the age of 58, after 40 years in the customs service. He found farming difficult; he lost money, and the value of the property declined.

On the morning of 3 January 1903, Alois went to the Gasthaus Wiesinger (no. 1 Michaelsbergstrasse, Leonding) as usual to drink his morning glass of wine. He was offered the newspaper and promptly collapsed. He was taken to an adjoining room and a doctor was summoned, but he died at the inn, probably from a pleural hemorrhage. Adolf Hitler, who was 13 when his father died, wrote in Mein Kampf that he died of a "stroke of apoplexy". In his book, The Young Hitler I Knew, Hitler's childhood friend August Kubizek recalled, "When the fourteen-year-old son saw his dead father he burst out into uncontrollable weeping."

On 28 March 2012, by the account of Kurt Pittertschatscher, the pastor of the parish, the tombstone marking Alois Hitler's grave and that of his wife Klara, in Town Cemetery in Leonding, was removed by a descendant. The descendant is said to be an elderly female relative of Alois Hitler's first wife, Anna, who has also given up any rights to the rented burial plot. The plot was covered in white gravel and a tree which has since been removed. It is not known whether the remains of Adolf Hitler's parents are still interred there.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alois_Hitler?fbclid=IwAR1N_77NDrlQcUmdbhaU-Rkf7mY--krsa6D3rSOTTjA73UwlHRBjhqm2jwc
https://www.facebook.com/groups/237076659811098/permalink/1636903149828435/?__cft__[0]=AZU5q1b3O7oRHekJaIminlikQ6YJGb5IrYgRf9Uw-Hm9dPwhhc8eB5FCshZjIT7AelUXxp62dnsdtkAXMiXzvHV9zehH56-8nVcMvPzZLzcfflaR0c8RhsBiaIVbvc228Jt67CsBLo_5HXYS6g3qKaG9yRZLQRc-30LNcisWAWc8CmbrOf12BPiYNq6R9p_q2mI&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R

Tannenberg Memorial

 

The Tannenberg Memorial, in East Prussia (now Poland) in 1939. Photo by Hugo Jäger.

The Tannenberg Memorial (German: Tannenberg-Nationaldenkmal, from 1935: Reichsehrenmal-Tannenberg) was a monument to the German soldiers of the Battle of Tannenberg (1914), the First Battle of the Masurian Lakes and the medieval Battle of Tannenberg (1410). The victorious German commander, Generalfeldmarschall Paul von Hindenburg, became a national hero and was later interred at the site. Dedicated by Hindenburg on the 10th anniversary of the Battle of Tannenberg in 1924 near Hohenstein (Ostpreußen) (now Olsztynek, Poland), the structure, which was financed by donations, was built by the architects Johannes and Walter Krüger of Berlin and completed in 1927. The octagonal layout with eight towers, each 20 metres high, was influenced by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II's Castel del Monte and Stonehenge. When Reichspräsident Hindenburg died in 1934, his coffin and that of his wife, who had died in 1921, were placed there despite his wishes to be buried at his family plot in Hanover. Adolf Hitler ordered the monument to be redesigned and renamed "Reichsehrenmal Tannenberg". As the Red Army approached in 1945, German troops removed Hindenburg's remains and partly demolished key structures. In 1949, Polish authorities razed the site, leaving few traces.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tannenberg_Memorial?fbclid=IwAR0S9oJ-cGCE7aGXUEeUW2OZ7129JqEsuAlfl45ypVJBTHdAFfVtcXl1EjY
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=406894100579420&set=gm.1634933626692054

The Destruction of Catherine Palace

 

The destruction of Catherine Palace in winter 1941/1942.

The Catherine Palace (Russian: Екатерининский дворец, Yekaterininskiy dvorets) is a Rococo palace located in the town of Tsarskoye Selo (Pushkin), 30 km south of St. Petersburg, Russia. It was the summer residence of the Russian Tsars. A member of ZKO (Zentra Kraft Ost, see HERE) made a trip in the Heeresgruppe Nord area and took these photographs. The Catherine Palace was bombarded by the Russians to harass the Germans who had captured the old and beautiful palace (and stole a lot of treasures off it, including the famous amber room). At this time, the outside of the palace appears still more or less intact, but internally some serious damage, as shown in the photo.

Source :
Akira Takiguchi photo collection
https://www.facebook.com/groups/237076659811098/permalink/1576760329176051/?__cft__[0]=AZWgPbA1u64Ibm10g0LwBW7Z6C4mapsoPyOIAo4HIoZK20oMKZpm8l1fC9iNoAmcHDyYDxJXixlWKQvDxz0rGiMJr309HaDNRoCiiOMtvUALDoj56SJdXdPyCD_cizd5_4rl0CWwZvmwzah2PnMqPQlF&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R

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/

Pałac Prezydencki (Presidential Palace) in Warsaw

Pałac Prezydencki (Presidential Palace) in Warsaw, 1940. It is the elegant classicist latest version of a building that has stood on the Krakowskie Przedmieście site since 1643. Over the years, it has been rebuilt and remodeled many times. For its first 175 years, the palace was the private property of several aristocratic families. In 1791 it hosted the authors and advocates of the Constitution of May 3, 1791. It was in 1818 that the palace began its ongoing career as a governmental structure, when it became the seat of the Viceroy of the Polish (Congress) Kingdom under Russian occupation (Namiestnik of the Kingdom of Poland). Following Poland's resurrection after World War I, in 1918, the building was taken over by the newly reconstituted Polish authorities and became the seat of the Council of Ministers. During World War II, it served the country's German occupiers as a Deutsches Haus and survived intact the 1944 Warsaw Uprising. After the war, it resumed its function as seat of the Polish Council of Ministers. This picture depict Warsaw some time after the invasion in 1939, while the buildings in the background are heavily damaged the streets have been cleared and life appears to be continuing as normal. It is part of the photo series that was taken by the German photographer Robert Bothner during the Second World War, and depict Smolensk, Warsaw and Ghent under occupation by Nazi Germany. As time goes on it seems there are more and more sets of original colour photographs turning up, and while the quality on some is not brilliant, they truly help the Second World War come alive. It were scanned from Afgacolor slides. Unfortunately the photographs are undated.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_Palace,_Warsaw
http://ww2incolour.blogspot.com/2013/05/occupied-warsaw-smolensk-and-ghent-in.html#more

A View of the Town of Kamianiec in Belarus

A view of the town of Kamianiec in Belarus. The round tower in the background is the Bielaya Vieža (Tower of Kamianiec). The white towers in the background belong to the Orthodox church of St. Simyaon. This photograph is part of the series that was taken by the German photographer Robert Bothner during the Second World War, and depict Smolensk, Warsaw and Ghent under occupation by Nazi Germany. As time goes on it seems there are more and more sets of original colour photographs turning up, and while the quality on some is not brilliant, they truly help the Second World War come alive. It were scanned from Afgacolor slides. Unfortunately the photographs are undated, but the Smolensk series look likely to have been taken in 1941, as the damage to the city is still fresh, and there are discarded ammunition boxes in one of the photographs.

Source :
http://ww2incolour.blogspot.com/2013/05/occupied-warsaw-smolensk-and-ghent-in.html

Assumption Cathedral in Smolensk 1941

These photos depict Smolensk (Russia) some time after the Battle of Smolensk that occurred in July 1941. Preceding the battle, on 28th June the city was heavily bombarded, the effects of which are still clearly visible. The large white building in the photo is Assumption Cathedral, the construction of which was completed in 1772. These photographs is part of the series that was taken by the German photographer Robert Bothner during the Second World War, and depict Smolensk, Warsaw and Ghent under occupation by Nazi Germany. As time goes on it seems there are more and more sets of original colour photographs turning up, and while the quality on some is not brilliant, they truly help the Second World War come alive. It were scanned from Afgacolor slides. Unfortunately the photographs are undated, but the Smolensk series look likely to have been taken in 1941, as the damage to the city is still fresh, and there are discarded ammunition boxes in one of the photographs.

Source :
http://ww2incolour.blogspot.com/2013/05/occupied-warsaw-smolensk-and-ghent-in.html#more

German Soldiers March To The Front In Fall Blau

German soldiers from 25.Infanterie-Division/LIII.Armeekorps/2.Panzerarmee/Heeresgruppe Mitte marching to the front in the peak of "Fall Blau" (Case Blau), August 1942. In the background we can see the building of Savior Transfiguration Cathedral (Spaso-Preobragenskij Cathedral), built in 1841-51 to a design by one of Konstantin Thon's disciples

Source:
http://www.ww2incolor.com/german/troops_retreat.jpg.html