This is a genuine enquiry

[max history]

This is a serious question, not meant to be sarcastic or delivered lightly and I hope it encourages some debate.
I have been a collector and researcher of photos for many years. My main interest is in senior personalities of the SS. What I cannot understand is why so many people are interested in photos of anonymous people, vehicles and what I term as "bombs and bullets" shots. I can understand interest in unusual uniform/insignia images, but I see so many photos of everyday common soldiers which are always obtainable even at local militaria fairs. I am interested in my field because there is identifiable history involved, but what is it that interests people in photos of "Fritz Bloggs" and his mates posing for a photo in a field?
I realise that the saying "each to his own" is applicable and I respect everone's own right to collect whatever he/she likes, but as I say, this is a genuine question and I'm sure some of my fellow collectors have some good reasons.
Max.

[Brad Haner]

Max,

I really like your question.In my case,I have been a collector for 37 years now,man and boy,mostly civil and political cloth and photos.I love to find photos of pieces I have "in wear" no matter how common.Like you I give priority to historical photos.However,that old saw "A picture is worth a thousand words" comes into effect.I have seen photos I would not give a penny for,but another collector may "see" more in it than I do and visa versa.To me all photos are history,some are just more intersting than others.

Brad

[Das Reich]

just to quote a line on your thread: "I am interested in my field because there is identifiable history involved". one of the many definitions that can be found on the dictionary for the word history is, "a narrative of events"

going along with that definition, every "Fritz Bloggs" was part of that narrative of events. without the million of "fritzes", there would not existed an army that pushed to eminence those "significant individuals" that you collect the pictures of. a saying goes, "every individual has his / her history". all of those common soldier pictures gives us an idea of what the every day existance was like for all of those individuals that were part of this moment of history. besides, as a war veteran, i can tell you that all of those individuals might had left a home, parents, maybe even a wife, or a child behind. that sacrifice is the face that bands, parades, and military fanfare do not show. besides....there is no better example than a thread placed today on another section of the forum. this says it better than i ever will:

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...50#post1074650

[W Petz]

Max,

I believe you long time collectors basically have answered your own question....you have been collecting for many years and therefore have refined your tastes to specific areas...SS or the Political side of photo collecting. This can be an expensive venture these days but then again a long time ago pictures were more affordable. Many new collectors today are going through the same process you have already gone through although it is now a bit more expensive. This forum is where everyone can post their latest finds. So I wouldn't be so critical of Joe Snuffy wanting to show off his newly acquired picture of SGT Schultz or Colonel Klink. Collecting photographic history as you know is very interesting and what you collect is up to you. Sharing what you have found can be fun and educational on this forum. I remember my friend Jim Pool posting some photos of a Luftwaffe helferin on a thread and then finding out from a fellow forum member that he had posted some photos of his Mother!!! A similar thing happened to me but it was another members Uncle. My point is you never know what you are going to find out even from some of the most common of photos. Bill

[Jos L C]

I'm not a photo collector...,although I've a few..

I find it very interesting to see those "simple" pictures,'cause simple pics sometimes show very interesting details about a jacket,cap etc..
I've many pictures on file and probably focus on other things than most..
Sometimes "the evidence" can be found in the most simple pics,so,for me..
"carry on"...

Jos.

[R MICHAEL]

I consider myself somewhat a new collecter, having only been collecting photos for 5 years are so, and I can see somewhat you are saying. I have refined my collecting tastes since I started, but am a collecter of vehicles, action shots, etc. The "personalities" other than RKT's hold little facsination for me.
To me the photo is a unique moment in time, no matter what the details are, that will never happen again. That what makes it collectable. Also it allows me to visiualize a time period thus helping me when I read. Mike

[DocumentsGuy]

I would like to echo what R.Michael said. I consider each and every photo a unique piece of history frozen in time for us to examine. No matter how ordinary the subject, it can show a wide variety of interesting things. It doesn't matter at all if the person was famous, infamous or just an average citizen of the Reich. I have been collecting civilian photos for over 30 years and am still thrilled to find a photo of a street scene, a school building, a parade, or just mama and papa sitting at the dining room table enjoying afternoon "kafe und kuchen". Life in the Third Reich is my interest and sometimes it is the simplest of photos that show me what it was like.

[TWP]

I am not interested in shot up tanks, crashed planes, burning buildings. But I am interested in Fritz Blogg and his mates, more than I am of famous personalities, because these guys were the unknown soldiers and deserve my respect. They may seem anonymous to you, but due to this fact, I try to give them the credit which they deserve. I feel it my duty to remember these unknown men. I look at their faces and understand that they had parents, wives, children, friends, brothers and sisters who loved them. To them, they were not anonymous.

[EKman]

Most of you know that I have recently burned out on Iron Crosses, but have discovered that the hunt for photos can be an equal thrill. I really like the candid AH photos just because of the history involved. However, I am also fascinated by the mundae photos, and the ones that really peak my interest are KIA photos. I know they can be somewhat gruesome, but photos of that sort really put the war into perspective for me. Think about it, we talk about the battlefields of Russia in terms of Armored thrusts and the cake-walk German victories in Poland and France, but a photo of a dead French or German soldier shows in glaring detail that for this one man, there were no further victories to talk about. For him, the war had its culmination in the very spot that photo was taken, a very sobering thought for me.

[Tim DC]

I think many good points have already been made.
I do understand that after many years of collecting your interest for these common photos may have become lower, because you have already seen many thousands of them. I must admit that I have also reached the point that I rather save my money to buy a 50$ photo instead of buying 50 photos worth 1$ each.

However, as has been said before, the history of the common soldier is at least as important as the history of those SS personalities. History is not made by a few persons. Hitler would never have had that power if there wasn't the German people feeling so betraid.

I have been collecting photos from the German campaign in Belgium (10th-28th of May 1940) for a while now. I will give you an example:



This photo shows Von Reichenau (RKT and General) along a road in Belgium during the Western campaign looking at some maps. For me, it just shows he was there but nothing really more interesting.



The photo above shows "Sepp bei der Ruhepauze in Belgien, 29 Mai 1940". Although it shows just a normal soldier taking a rest, this photo tells me more than any photo of Reichenau I have. This photo is taken just after the surrender of Belgium and by the look in his eyes you can see that the average combat soldier has been through a lot those last 3 weeks. Most of them lost comrades and friends.

[max history]

Thanks to everyone who has replied.
I must stress that my question was genuine and I was not being critical of any collector or his/her subject. Collecting is in my blood and it has been for as long as I can remember. I have been collecting Third Reich photos and documents for about 30 years and prior to that my interest was in herpetology. My ex-wife was always complaining about cages of snakes around the house. Before that it was stamps. I simply wanted to know what makes other collectors "tick". I have some beautiful studio portraits of SS Generals that send me into raptures every time I look at them, but I know they do absolutely nothing for one of my fellow collector friends whose interest is in battle images. He gets the same feeling when he looks at an image of a shell exploding.
I was expecting some of the replies, but one or two of the others have proved illuminating.
Thank you again.
Max.

[Michael Miller]

Here's a link to some nice "Fritz Bloggs"-type images and information:

http://www.geocities.com/~orion47/WE...uhlenkamp.html


Best wishes,
~ Mike

[Das Reich]

that was extremely interesting reading mike. thanks for sharing.

[Simon O.]

For me it's simply local history. I collect photos strictly from my neck of the woods. I find studio portrait shots, especially of well known figures to be historically sterile unless they show something unique.