From the Kriegsberichter's Eyes: A study in German Press Photos

[Todd Gylsen]

This stamp has been observed on early SS-Kriegsberichter press photos. Notice also the stamp for the “Das Schwarz Korps” magazine.

[Todd Gylsen]

There are also two other variations of the SS-Kriegsberichter stamps which have been observed on SS-Kriegsberichter press photos. You can observe the variations when compared the first stamp shown. Other styles of stamps may exist. If you have other variations of anything discussed, please share them.

[Todd Gylsen]

Other stamp.

[Todd Gylsen]

The use of the Dienstgebrauch/Pressegebrauch press scripts only lasted for a short period of time. This is the standard script utilized for SS-Kriegsberichter photos. The early versions of these scripts did not contain text numbers (i.e. T3317 in the below photo).

[Todd Gylsen]

Well guys, I hope you may find this information useful. I'm not sure if there is much interest in press photos. There were a few other press photo agencies which you will encounter, such as ACME, World Wide Photos, Keystone, RDV, H. Wolter, Planet News, International News, S&G as well as others.

Next, over time, I will begin to post my press photo collection (along with the translated captions). Please feel free to post your press photos in this thread.

[jmark]

Well guys, I hope you may find this information useful. I'm not sure if there is much interest in press photos. There were a few other press photo agencies which you will encounter, such as ACME, World Wide Photos, Keystone, RDV, H. Wolter, Planet News, International News, S&G as well as others.

Next, over time, I will begin to post my press photo collection (along with the translated captions). Please feel free to post your press photos in this thread.

Hi Todd,

That was very well done and very informative. Thank you. I learned quite a bit. Your explanation of the numbering systems has already proved helpful... for an upcoming book, I'm using photos from various photo libraries, including Bundesarchiv, and many of their photos still carry the original agency number but no other stamps or words. Because of your efforts here, I'm able to determine which agency the photos come from.

This seems like a good place to ask a few questions about the PK guys. Do you know if certain photographers had affiliations with certain agencies? It seems some agencies carried a lot of photos taken by one photographer but very few of another photographer working in the same battle zone.

Another thing I've noticed when viewing Bundesarchiv's contact sheets is this: when press photos were made during the war from a roll of negatives, that roll / contact sheet is now not available in Bundesarchiv. My field of interest is Stalingrad - and that may have an effect on this situation - but if a press photo exists, it's very rare to find that particular photo on a contact sheet. Only in a few cases was I successful. Is it possible that entire rolls of negatives were sent out to press agencies? I guess this leads on to another question: who decided what photos were sent out to press agencies? Did all press agencies receive the same photos? Can you explain more about this process.

Thanks again Todd!
Jason

[Todd Gylsen]

Thanks Jason for the compliments. I am glad that someone has found this information useful.

The photographers did not work for any press agency per se'. All the rolls of photographs taken by the photographers went to the Ministry of Enlightenment and Propaganda. Once the censors approved or censored the photos (such as blanking out license plate numbers, symbols on vehicles, etc.) then they distributed the photos to the various press agencies. It was not unheard of to have the same photo distributed to several different agencies. I have several examples of the same press photo, but with different press agency stamps and captions on the backs of the photos. Also, from what I can tell, the Ministry also kept a copy of all the press photos, most likely with the Pressegebrauch or Dienstgebrauch captions. The reason I say this is because I have several examples where I have a the same photo with a Pressegebrauch or Dienstgebrauch caption and the photo from the press agency itself. The difference is the Pressegebrauch or Dienstgebrauch photos are not censored while the press photos are censored. When I start posting my press photos, you will see some very obvious censorship on the photos, while you won't see any on the Pressegebrauch or Dienstgebrauch photos. You may have already noticed the numbering on the Pressegebrauch or Dienstgebrauch photos is the roll number followed by the negative number of the photo. I really enjoy where I can locate a photo from the same roll or series to a photo I already have int he collection. I doubt that entire rolls of negatives were sent to just one agency. I have noticed that the photos were sent to the various agencies. This was probably done so as not to favor one agency over another. Of course, Hoffmann would be the major exception to this.

[Todd Gylsen]

I forgot to mention....here are some common abbreviations you will see on press photos and what they stand for:

Atl. - Atlantic Press Agency
B-Stellung - Beobachter Stellung
EM - Unknown
HH - Heinrich Hoffmann Press Agency
KG - Unknown
Fr. OKW - Frei gegeben durch OKW
FZ - Frei gegeben durch Zensur
HKBZ - Heeres Kriegsberichter Zug
HKL - Haupt Kampf Linie
KBZ - Kriegsberichter Zug
Lbd - Luftwaffe Bilddienst
LW - Luftwaffe
LWKBK - Luftwaffe Kriegsberichter Kompanie
LWKBZ - Luftwaffe Kriegsberichter Zug
MKBKp - (Kriegs)Marine Kriegsberichter Kompanie
Mot. - Motorized
O.B. - Oberbefehlshaber
OKW - Oberkommando der Wehrmacht
PBZ - Presse Bild Zentrale Press Agency
PK - Propaganda Kompanie
Sch. - Scherl Press Agency
U.B.z. - Unser Bild zeigt
WB - Weltbild Press Agency

[Todd Gylsen]

3291/ The death mask of Dietrich Eckart.
The National Socialist pioneer and freedom writer, Dietrich Eckart, died on 23 December 1923
Hoffmann

[Todd Gylsen]

3295a/ Memorial billboard for Dietrich Eckart in his birth district Neumarkt.
The National Socialist pioneer and freedom writer, Dietrich Eckart, died on 23 December 1923
Hoffmann

[Todd Gylsen]

478a/ Fall exercise of the 3rd Division of the Reichswehr (1928).
The 3rd Division of the Reichswehr participated in the fall maneuvers at Uckermark. Here is a picture from the maneuvers. This is a light field howitzer in cover.
Atlantic

[MLW]

Todd:

Please do not under estimate the worth of your work. It too enjoyed it immensely and learned a lot. It is people like you who keep niche subjects alive and push the boundaries of conventional research. Good job.

Regards, Marc

[Todd Gylsen]

Thanks Marc for the comliments. This is a small niche in which very few people realize what they have in their collections.

If anyone has anything to add to the photos which are going to be posted, please fill us in...such as names of people in the images, places, etc. If you have any press photos in your collection, please post them. I am posting my images in date sequence and will keep on posting as I obtain more in the archives.

Land defense with dummies.
The notorious Versailles Treaty forbids Germany to possess and use heavy artillery and military aircraft. Our Wehrmacht therefore possesses dummies constructed by our soldiers from wood and paper. The tanks are made of cardboard and veneer wood constructed on a small auto chassis.
1932

[Todd Gylsen]

Land defense with dummies.
The tanks are made of cardboard and veneer wood constructed on a small auto chassis.
1932

[Todd Gylsen]

An aircraft made an emergency landing at a barracks in the middle of Berlin.
The well-known pilot Osterkamp was attempting to fly from Kiel to a sports field in Berlin. He made an emergency landing on the field of a former French barracks on Blücher Street. The aircraft was damaged but the pilot was unharmed.
5 May 1932 Atlantic