#german troops

[cid5]

German and Soviet soldiers meeting in Brest occupied Poland and the review of the two armies This was enough time to show the newly formed alliance between the Soviet Union and Germany to the whole world. The soldiers reviewed. Soviets and Germans in front of the "Victory Platform" which was built for this event and decorated with black swastikas and red stars September 1939.

[boanerges20]

WWII

[catandguitarsnugglingonthecouch]

Family history WWI

I recently remembered that my mother once showed me some very old postcards from my great-grandfather from his service time in WWI. As I have seen them as a child, I only recalled some unknown-to-me men in uniforms and colorful images of exotic cities with people in strange fashion.

I asked her about them, and she wasn't sure what to do with them. So I offered to take them and digitally store them, as they are our last connection to this time.

After deciphering as much of the old German writing as I could, this roughly is the route my great-grandfather and his brother were sent in 1916: from northern Germany they traveled to Constantinople (Istanbul) where at least one of them stayed for over a year, then Aleppo, Beirut, Jerusalem and Cairo.

But not all cards have stamps and written text, they mostly were bought as souvenirs. So the route they took could have been even the other way around, as a lot of troops were sent per ship over the Mediterranean towards Beirut... Cairo puzzled me a bit, I thought it was in British hands. But maybe they stayed there after the armistice, before they were sent back!? Nobody in my family can answer these questions anymore, as they are all dead nowadays. And from what my mother told me, they did not talk about the War even when they were alive.

When I have scanned the postcards, I may upload some of them...

[shorthistory]

A German dog delivers messages on the front during a German offensive in 1918

[chubachus]

“The Kaiser, on horseback, photographed smiling and surrounded by his men during the manoeuvres of 1905. This photograph subsequently became a popular propaganda image, identifying the Kaiser with the common soldier.”

Source: Imperial War Museum.

[klimbims]

German troops of the 6th Army move into the suburbs of Stalingrad, late Sept 1942 by Olga Via Flickr: Солдаты 6-й армии вермахта в пригороде Сталинграда, конец сентября 1942 г.

[chubachus]

Portrait of a group of German soldiers posing with three Allied prisoners of war somewhere in Germany during World War 1. One of the prisoners is identified as Private P. Robertson who served with the Royal Army Medical Corps.

Source: Wellcome Images.