(Heer Fotoalben und Papiere). A fascinating and unique two-volume compilation of photo albums and correspondence to Leutnant Ernst Topeters, a decorated Staff Officer of Aufklärung-Abteilung 106 who was killed in action on 11 December 1941 in Solnechnogorsk (northwest of Moscow), consisting of:
1. A large mixed-use album contained within a heavy card stock binder, the cover bearing with Topeters’ name above an Iron Cross, the interior with a binding consisting of dual metal rings, the interior of the cover pasted with a black-and-white studio portrait of Topeters, wearing a Stahlhelm and with a HJ Honour Badge clearly visible, above a caption indicating that Topeters was born on 17 October 1916 in Hinsfeld, Germany, and was killed in action on 11 December 1941 northwest of Moscow, with its first contents consisting of 18 photo album-style black card stock pages separated by wax paper liners, pasted with 46 black-and-white photos depicting Topeters as a youth and student in the Weimar era, followed by images of him in service and at leisure while a member of the HJ and Reich Labour Service (RAD), and concluded with battlefield images and depictions of leisure time while in combat service on the Eastern Front, each accompanied by a handwritten caption; the album is accompanied by a multi-page typewritten biography and eulogy for Topeters written by his brother, as well as a number of typewritten and handwritten letters of condolence to the Topeter family, including examples from the HJ featuring the handwritten signature of Baldur von Schirach, the RAD, Topeters’ high school, and others, and also includes a death card; the binder measures 250 mm (w) x 320 mm (h), with deterioration and fatigue evident to the shell but no damage to the interior contents, in overall near extremely fine condition.
2. A small mixed-use album contained within a heavy card stock binder, the exterior and interior bearing identical decorations, the contents opening with a copy of Topeters’ death card, followed by a 1937 HJ document indicating that Topeter has been awarded the Golden Merit Badge, followed by a number of documents including a lengthier biography and eulogy written by his brother, a smaller death notice and newspaper extracts of his obituary, as well as letters written to Topeters prior to his family’s notification of his passing and other correspondence, closing with typewritten letters from Topeters himself to his family compiled the summer before his death, the album measuring 285 mm (w) x 300 mm (h), with deterioration and fatigue evident to the shell but no damage to the interior contents, in overall near extremely fine condition.
Footnote: Attached to Infanterie-Divsion 106, Topeters’ unit was embedded with Army Group Centre during Operation Barbarossa, capturing Smolensk during the summer of 1941. It later participated in the Battle of Bryansk before being halted on the road to Moscow. Notably, Topeters was killed on the first day of the Red Army counter-offensive in the Solnechnogorsk sector, which curtailed the Wehrmacht’s attempt to capture the Soviet capital.