Original German WWII Heer Army “Meine Dienstzeit” Personal Photo Album with Metal Helmet Insignia – 119 Photos Original Items

Original Item: One-of-a-kind-set. Here we have a wonderful personal photo album, with what looks to be a combination of personal photographs and professional portrait photographs. It is covered with a lovely textured and embossed black leatherette cover, and there is a love silver painted 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 3/8” x 7 3/8”, and has a tag on the inner back cover indicating it was made by GUSTAV MÜLLER / JSERLOHN.

A total of 119 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 17 pages, which are not captioned, and most pages are separated by “onion skin” separators. Most are glued directly to the pages, while others use corner tabs. The photos show soldiers in Heer Army field gray uniforms, and a lot of the photos show motorcycle troopers, as well as a fair number of photos with winter snow on the ground. They show various locations in Europe, and a few photos actually do have captions, though they look to have been added after the war by the owner.

There are interestingly some photos of soldiers with older weapons, such as an MG 08 Maxim in Anti-Aircraft configuration, complete with a belt drum mounted to the right side. A later photo on the last page shows some Heer soldiers examining what looks to be a Krag–Jørgensen system rifle. Definitely some great research potential in this album!

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.