A one-of-a-kind photo album of German Destroyer Georg Thiele. The photo album encompasses 91 photographs, illustrations, and postcards and portrays the military service of sailor Paul Königs onboard the Georg Thiele and on land when on leave. This album has a total of 56 pages, separated by wax paper, with a navy cover embossed with a sideways profile of the ship, “Zerstörer Georg Thiele”, and a metal Kriegsmarine eagle. The album measures 318 mm x 231 mm, and is in overall near extremely fine condition with all ages present and free of major rips or stains. The album depicts an image of Paul Königs on the reverse of the cover page, with illustrations of him and his comrades in a naval academy, at the swearing-in ceremony, onboard the Georg Thiele, on leave, and Georg Thiele sinking.
Footnote: The Georg Thiele was a destroyer built for the Kriegsmarine in the mid 1930’s. During the beginning of the war it was initially deployed to blockade the polish cost, but was then redirected to lay minefields in German waters. The Georg Thiele was severely damaged in the second Battle of Narvik, and had to be beached to allow her crew to abandon ship safely. It later broke in two and capsized, with parts of the bow still remaining visible above the waterline in Rombaksbotten.