Original Item: One-of-a-kind. Here we have a fantastic period painting showing German Soldiers on the Eastern Front, beautifully done by known WW2 Artist Obergefreiter Helmut Georg. We believe this to be a painting of the Battle of Stalingrad, and it shows soldiers in the trenches outside the city, watching the battle from afar. Georg was one of many artists in the employ of the German military during WWII, however his works are especially noteworthy, and examples are held in both the Imperial War Museum and U.S. Army Museum. In the frame it measures 28 3/4″ x 21″, with the exposed canvas measuring 26″ x 18″. The lower left of the painting is signed:
Georg 42
The framing looks to have done relatively recently, and is definitely not WWII vintage, however it was well done, and shows the information tag affixed to the back of the painting beautifully. This reads clearly at the top Auf der Rückseite des Bildes links unten zu befestigen! (To be fixed on the back of the picture on the bottom left!) with Die Zettel sind in Übereinstimmung mit der Anmeldeliste zu nummerieren und auszufüllen. (The slips are to be numbered and filled out in accordance with the registration list.) at the bottom. There is a field for Titel des Werkes (Title of the Work), which looks to read “Im Ogliffer? graben”, however we are not able to decipher the word in the center. “Graben” refers to a “dig” or “trench”, and based on the painting it is definitely of soldiers in the trenches.
The left of the tag indicates the title of the series and which district it was being sold by:
LUFTGAUKOMMANDO VI
„KUNST DER FRONT 1942“
The Luftgau-Kommando VI was a branch of the Luftwaffe that operated from October 12th, 1937 until April 2nd, 1945. In 1937, The Luftwaffe was organized into separate Luftgaue, or air districts, that held dominion over different military districts. Within these districts, the Luftgau were responsible for maintaining the stability, including administration, maintenance, recruitment, training, air defense, personnel, and signals. This Luftgau-Kommando was established in Münster, Germany.
“Kunst der front 1942” (Art of the Front 1942) was a series of artwork sold by this branch of the Luftwaffe, we would assume to raise funds or at least to raise support for the war effort. The information tag on the back gives information on the artist Helmut Georg, as well as his address and field post address.
Definitely an interesting and unique piece of WWII Memorabilia! Ready to research and display!