Original German WWII Heer Army “Meine Dienstzeit” Personal Photo Album with Metal Helmet Insignia – 155 Photos Original Items

Original Item: One-of-a-kind-set. Here we have a wonderful personal photo album, with what looks to be all photographs they took themselves, without any professional shots. It is covered with a lovely textured and embossed leatherette cover, and there is a love nickel plated Wehrmacht Heer Army “Stahlhelm” steel helmet in the upper left corner. This has the correct “closed wing” Wehrmachtadler eagle decal as used on Army Helmets. The lower right is embossed in silver with Meine Dienstzeit (My Service). The album measures approximately 10 1/2” x 7 5/8”.

A total of 155 photographs fill the pages of this album, making it a treasure-trove of images taken from the viewpoint of a young, patriotic German soldier. These are contained on 21 pages, which are not captioned, and most pages are separated by “spiderweb” pattern “onion skin” separators. Some are glued directly to the pages, while others use corner tabs. The photos show mostly Army uniforms (both summer white and field gray), as well as artillery pieces, and some casual photos. There are some battle scenes, and it looks like this soldier may have been in North Africa for part of their service.

Historical records like this album have become priceless time capsules that provide an incomparable level of insight into the individual experience of the Second World War, now that almost eighty years have passed.

The older albums such as these usually withstand the ravages of time. The leather or fabric covers may wear, but the pages stay well intact. The black paper albums of the early 20th century are more fragile, while the glue from magnetic albums can damage photographs. And, as with all old photographs, keep albums in a safe, climate controlled environment.