Original German WWII Large Luftwaffe Personal “My Service” Photo Album – 195 Pictures Original Items

Original Item: One-Of-A-Kind. This is a wonderful personal photo album with a huge variety of different types of pictures, including post cards, professional shots, as well as personal snapshots, which look to have come from the different areas of Germany. They show both military personnel and civilians during both the winter and warmer months. Many of the soldiers shown are clearly Luftwaffe, with the correct eagle on their caps and uniforms, though there are some photographs of members from other branches, and possibly from NSDAP political organizations.

The cover is lovely black leatherette, with a very interesting embossed pattern, and the lower right corner features a silver embossed Meine Dienſtzeit (My Service), a standard inscription seen on the front of these military photo albums. The album measures approximately 12 1/2″ x 8 3/4″ x 1 1/4″, definitely larger than most we see, and is a bit worn around the edge, so this is not an album that spent its live in a closet. The album is maker marked by Hermann Roloff on the inside of the cover, and is secured together with a tri color cord.

A total of 195 photographs fill this album, making it a treasure-trove of images taken from the viewpoint of a young, patriotic German soldier. These are contained on the first 22 of the 23 total pages, which are not captioned, and most pages are separated by spiderweb pattern “onion skin” separators. All of the photos are held in place with period corner tabs or adhesive, some of which has failed over time.

The album starts with photos of Luftwaffe soldiers in training in their Drillich uniforms, and we assume that the album owner is one of those pictured. The following pages show more in the way of personal photographs, but these are also mixed with events such as a small HJ parade, and even what looks to be a picture of a Matador fighting a bull, next to a Flak 88 Anti-Aircraft cannon. There are pages showing winter scenes, including some aerial shots, as well as many photographs of planes. Following this there are even some pictures taken at sea, in camp, really all over. Definitely a very varied group of photos 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.

The Luftwaffe was the aerial-warfare branch of the German Wehrmacht before and during World War II. Germany’s military air arms during World War I, the Luftstreitkräfte of the Imperial Army and the Marine-Fliegerabteilung of the Imperial Navy, had been disbanded in May 1920 in accordance with the terms of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles which banned Germany from having any air force.

During the interwar period, the German armed forces secretly trained pilots – in violation of the Treaty – at Lipetsk Air Base in the Soviet Union. With the rise of the NSDAP (in power from 1933) and the repudiation of the Versailles Treaty, the Luftwaffe’s existence was publicly acknowledged on 26 February 1935, just over two weeks before open defiance of the Versailles Treaty through the announcement of German rearmament and conscription on 16 March. The Condor Legion, a Luftwaffe detachment sent to aid Nationalist forces in the Spanish Civil War, provided the force with a valuable testing-ground for new tactics and aircraft. Partially as a result of this combat experience, the Luftwaffe had become one of the most sophisticated, technologically advanced, and battle-experienced air forces in the world when World War II broke out in 1939. By the summer of 1939, the Luftwaffe had twenty