KIA Photo Thread--Graphic Content

[Tim DC]

Also how come there are not many pics of British and US dead from this period of the war? Were photographers banned for censorship/propaganda purposes?

I thought US forces were not allowed to take photos from the own dead. Apart from that, it is not very common to take photos from your own dead, in any army.

As for the Germans who could have taken photos of dead British/US forces, there was a serious lack of material.

[organix]

yeah I see what you mean Tim RE photographing their own dead!

however what do you mean by a serious lack of material on the German side? do you mean in terms of cameras etc?

it seems that even in the early battles eg between the Germans and British in France, or the early battles in North Africa we never see any Allied dead taken by German photographers...do you think there was ever any moral issues with this on the German side? I dunno....just a thought

[Lupo]

I thought US forces were not allowed to take photos from the own dead. Apart from that, it is not very common to take photos from your own dead, in any army.

As for the Germans who could have taken photos of dead British/US forces, there was a serious lack of material.

You are right Tim, from the US national archives FAQ relating to WWII photography;

http://www.archives.gov/publications...roduction.html

I.13 For reasons of privacy and out of respect for families, photos of dead Americans were not released if faces were shown, or if death or injury was too graphically portrayed. (On the other hand, bloody corpses of the enemy warranted no such restrictions.) Photographs that were embarrassing to individuals or to the military, such as those relating to troublemakers or to criminal behavior among servicemen, were restricted. Medical photography was not generally released.

That being said, I've seen some photos of dead U.S soldiers, but hardly any of dead British soldiers (excluding Australians, Indians and Canadians..)

This is a captured German photograph taken of some dead U.S soldiers killed in the ardennes offensive

[PZIV]

I can only guess the poor fate of that German soldier.

It seems like in some instances the Germans had better morals than the "freedom fighters". Something you will not often hear about, but it's obvious.

[organix]

they certainly didn't seem to hold back when showing Russian KIA though, and I seem to remember there being some pretty grizzly photos of the aftermath of the Dieppe raid. I think I maybe saw them on here, not too sure....

[gew98]

I can only guess the poor fate of that German soldier.

It seems like in some instances the Germans had better morals than the "freedom fighters". Something you will not often hear about, but it's obvious.

"It seems" - "HAD BETTER MORALS" you state...... Do you goose step in front of the mirror and sieg heil in private ?... are you that uneducated on history....... what am I missing here ?.

[Karl B]

"It seems" - "HAD BETTER MORALS" you state...... Do you goose step in front of the mirror and sieg heil in private ?... are you that uneducated on history....... what am I missing here ?.

Interesting out of context and an overly harsh comment.

I am sure he is well educated on history and probably shares the view that not all soldiers who fought for the Germans are as your message implies "nasty".

I am sure there are many instances of high and low morale activities on all sides that participated in the conflict.

I think your are missing a lot but that is only my opinion.

Cheers

Karl

[Akira Takiguchi]

Political comments are not allowed here.

[PZIV]

gew,

I would like to clarify. Yes the TR ideological beliefs led them to be a lot more harsh in taking pictures of Russian KIA. The point made that you don't see too many US GI's that were KIA made me think about it. It's true I don't see as many KIA photos of US troops taken by Germans as I see KIA Germans by US troops. As I said "in some instances".

Thank you Karl for backing me up.

Thanks,
Mansal

[Tim DC]

however what do you mean by a serious lack of material on the German side? do you mean in terms of cameras etc?

Starting from 1943, there was a serious lack of photo paper and negatives used to develop the photos. That is why you will see many if not most photo albums ending around that year.

do you think there was ever any moral issues with this on the German side? I dunno....just a thought

Definately not. I've owned and seen many photos from British, French and Belgian KIA's in the 1940 campaign.. even some with a German soldier actually posing with the body. Colonial French soldiers were the most popular. After 1940, Russian KIA photos were even more common.

I think it's just the different time frame which is important. Besides the lack of material, it can't have been a good idea for a German soldier in 1944 to walk into Russian captivity with photos of KIA Russians. Also, after 5 years of death and destruction I bet you would be less interested in taking photos of another enemy KIA.

[PZIV]

Definately not. I've owned and seen many photos from British, French and Belgian KIA's in the 1940 campaign.. even some with a German soldier actually posing with the body. Colonial French soldiers were the most popular. After 1940, Russian KIA photos were even more common.

I think it's just the different time frame which is important. Besides the lack of material, it can't have been a good idea for a German soldier in 1944 to walk into Russian captivity with photos of KIA Russians. Also, after 5 years of death and destruction I bet you would be less interested in taking photos of another enemy KIA.

That is probably about right.

[Marco]

This picture was taken in may 1944 on Hitler Line, Italy, between the town of Aquino and Pontecorvo. The strange of this shot is the helmet close the body...looks like an transitional helmet ...very strange for 1944 in Italy...
Marco

[Marco]

Another german soldier died on Hitler LIne, Italy, may 1944.

[ardennes44]

oh no !

To me it looks more as if his comrades have eaten his brain. Happened more than once, in the Red army...

What a stupid claim - you probably read the wrong books

Дураки !

[Lupo]

This is a pretty famous picture of a dead waffen SS soldier killed in Northern France 1944, he looks like he is about 17 yrs old, I think the playing cards were thrown by U.S soldiers, maybe someone can shed more light on this