Germany, Heer. A Private Wartime Photo Album, with Photo Grouping and Arbeitsbuch, to Josef Schmid

(Heer Foto Konvolut mit Arbeitsbuch). A fascinating private wartime photo album documenting the wartime exploits of Josef Schmid, a Heer soldier serving with Pionier-Bataillon 753 (3rd Panzer Army; Army Group Centre) on the Eastern Front. It is constructed of a heavy card stock binding with a faux marbled brown leather exterior liner. The spine is perforated with dual holes at both the front and book, all reinforced with magnetic metal eyelets, with a drawstring looped through to securely maintain the album’s structure. The cover is decorated with a raised and silvered Stahlhelm, as well as an embossed inscription of “MEINE KRIEGSERINNERUNGEN” (“MY WAR MEMORIES”) in Fraktur script. The interior content consists of 24 brown card stock pages pasted with 155 black-and-white photos. These includes images of Heer soldiers in uniform and with a variety of medals and decorations visible, encampments and field engineer projects (including bridge construction), vehicles (including Panzers and StuGs), destroyed and captured Soviet equipment, cityscapes, field graves and, notably, several photos of soldiers receiving communion from a Catholic chaplain. The album measures 265 mm (w) x 190 mm (h). Several photos have come loose, but remain concealed in the album, which is in an overall extremely fine condition.

It is supplemented by a loose collection of 108 black-and-white photographs depicting scenes of life in the field on the Eastern Front. These include depictions of Heer personnel with various insignia and awards on display, German and Soviet equipment and vehicles (including an unloaded Katyusha rocket launcher), and many images of Soviet civilians and POWs. Some of the photos are duplicates of images contained within the album. Of various sizes and all printed on wartime photo paper, the group is in an overall extremely fine condition.

Also included is Schmid’s Arbeitsbuch (Employment Book), constructed of a light card stock binding with 24 paginated interior pages. Handwritten entries indicate that Schmid was born on 29 December 1921 in the Günzhausen area and was employed as a construction worker and general labourer in Plochingen from 1936 until 1940. It measures 105 mm (w) x 148 mm (h). Also concealed within the book is a small cut-off paper indicating that Schmid was called up for active Wehrmacht service effective 5 February 1941. It measures 146 mm (w) x 53 mm (h). The pair of documents is in an overall extremely fine condition.