Germany

On August 23rd 1944, King Michael I of Romania (pictured here with Adolf Hitler at the New Reich Chancellery in Berlin, 1940) staged a coup to overthrow Romania’s head of state and Hitler supporter, Marshal Ion Antonescu. With the tides of the war turning and with the Soviets already inside …

Hermann Goering, Reichsmarschall and Supreme Luftwaffe Commander, with flying ace Adolf Galland, Lieutenant General of the Luftwaffe, reviewing documents. Date and location of the picture are unclear, although the photo was likely taken in 1941. Galland was one of the legendary pilots of WW2. He survived being shot down four …

Field Marshal Erwin Rommel (the “Desert Fox”) with British POW’s at the French port of St Valery-en-Caux during the Dunkirk evacuation (1940). Erwin Rommel was a distinguished officer in World War One and one of the central figures of World War Two. In WW2, Rommel earned a reputation as one …

German aircraft, possibly a Dornier Do 17, crashed into a house during the Battle of Britain in 1940. The Battle of Britain was a large scale aerial assault by the Luftwaffe in an attempt to subdue Britain, so that Germany could force Britain into peace and focus on the Eastern …

A German Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive bomber raiding a British supply depot near Tobruk, Lybia, October 1941, during the North African campaign. The siege of Tobruk was part of the Western Desert Campaign (1940-1943), and lasted for 241 days. With the Allies defeated and forced back on most of …

Wehrmacht soldiers overseeing a transport of Jewish people to a workplace. Warsaw Ghetto, 1941. The Warsaw ghetto was established in late Autumn 1940 by German authorities in order to separate Jewish people from the rest of the population. Jewish people would then be deported to work and concentration camps. The …

Canadian soldier immortalized with a beaten German prisoner of war (Panzergrenadier member of the SS 12 Hitler Youth Panzer Division). Caen, France, August 9th 1944. Book suggestion ⤵️ 📖 Escape from Canada! The Untold Story of German POWs in Canada, 1939-1945 (John Melady, 1981)

The 1945 photo was taken by British forces during the Battle of Weeze, which was part of the Allied operation “Veritable”. The Weeze Town Square, seen in the images, was 87% destroyed during the War. Book suggestion ⤵️ 📖 The Rhineland 1945: The Last Killing Ground in the West (Ken …

German Wehrmacht soldier sitting on top of a disabled Char B1 bis tank in Northern France, 1940. The Char B1 was a French medium tank which was used as a break-through vehicle and as a battle tank. The B1 entered service in 1936. In 1937, a newer version, the Char …

Köln Dome Plateau, 1945 vs 2011. In the historical photograph, taken on April 4th, 1945, we can see a US corporal standing besides an US Army announcement and a wrecked German Panther tank. The announcement reads “Sight seers keep out! Beyond this point you draw fire on our fighting men. …