photo Rosenberg visit

[Alex]

Dear Sirs,

I came accross this picuture, made by latvian photograph in Latvia. Can you identify persons in center ? A.Rosenberg ? Peter Hansen ? what event was it ?

BRGS,
Alex

[randy@treadways]

Alex, that building looks vaguely familiar. Does it still exist?

P.S.- I'm flying to Riga on Wednesday for a two week visit to Latvia. If this building is in Riga and I recognize it, maybe I'll take a then-and-now comparison photo.

[Alex]

It is not in Riga, i guess. As per mark ( stamp) on reverse - photograph is form Cesis. May be Cesis.

[Br. James]

Hi Alex,

The person most prominent receiving the salute doesn't look like Rosenberg to me, though it is unfortunate that he is not wearing collar tabs that might indicate more in identification. The person wearing the PL uniform w/o tabs appears to have been a decorated WWI veteran and Rosenberg was not a vet.

Nice photo, though; hope we find out more information!

Br. James

[goofy]

It is definitely not Alfred Rosenbeg. But my guess is generalkommissar of Kaunas Adrian von Renteln. Alex do you have some other photos from this event?
Michal

[Chris S.]

Hi,

The guy in the middle looks like Otto Drechsler maybe? General Commissioner for Latvia during the war. The guy to his right may also be Walter von Medem, Gebietskommisar for Jelgava in Latvia?

Chris

[Alex]

Thank you for comments. Chris , you are right. Obviously it is Otto Drechsler.
I have no other images unfortunately.

[randy@treadways]

Hi,

The guy in the middle looks like Otto Drechsler maybe? General Commissioner for Latvia during the war. The guy to his right may also be Walter von Medem, Gebietskommisar for Jelgava in Latvia?

Chris

I'm just outside Jelgava now, for the next couple of weeks. I already asked a few people and they don't recognize this building. It could have been destroyed in the war (most of the city was flattened by Russian artillery in 1944).. but some of them did say it is typical Latvian architecture of that time, and could have been almost anywhere.
My wife, who is from Jelgava, jumped on it immediately when she saw the suggested von Medem name, because she said there is a Medem family mansion in the Jelgava area and it has white columns. But we found some photos of it, and those columns are two stories high and more numerous.
If I get a chance I might print out the photo and show it at the Jelgava City Museum... they have many photos from WWII and might be able to confirm whether that person is Walter von Medem. Who knows, somebody there might also recognize the building.

[Chris S.]

That's interesting..whilst von Medem was born in Silesia his family were Baltic Germans from the Jelgava region, so that mansion you mentioned is connected to this individual, as the area has a long lineage with this particular surname He was also the commander of Feikorps von Medem which advanced on Riga in 1919. From additional photos I do think that is him to the right of Drechsler. Where in Latvia the image was taken is anyone's guess though...


Chris

[Michael Miller]

The SS-Oberführer is Walter Schröder, SS- und Polizeiführer in Latvia.
Photo probably taken some time between 17.07.1941 (when Dr. Drechsler was appointed as Generalkommissar of Generalbezirk Lettland) and 27.09.1941, when Schröder was promoted to SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Polizei.

~ Mike



Walter Schröder
SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Polizei

Born: 25.11.1902 in Lübeck.
Died: 30.10.1973 in Lübeck.
NSDAP-Nr.: 6 288 (Joined 05.05.1926)
SS-Nr.: 290 797 (Joined 20.04.1938)<O</O
Promotions:<O</O
00.09.1927 SA-Sturmführer
31.05.1933 Senator
08.09.1936 NSKK-Standartenführer
30.01.1938 NSKK-Oberführer
20.04.1938 SS-Mann
20.04.1938 SS-Oberführer
04.10.1938 Polizeipräsident
27.09.1941 SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Polizei
Decorations & Awards:
24.12.1943 1939 Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse
01.09.1943 Kriegsverdienstkreuz I. Klasse mit Schwertern
23.09.1940 Kriegsverdienstkreuz II. Klasse mit Schwertern
00.00.1934 Goldenes Ehrenzeichen der NSDAP
30.01.1940 Dienstauszeichnung der NSDAP in Silber
30.01.1940 Dienstauszeichnung der NSDAP in Bronze
00.00.193_ Gauehrenzeichen der Alten Garde des Gaues Mecklenburg-Lübeck der NSDAP
30.03.1940 Luftschutz-Ehrenzeichen 2. Stufe
[01.12.1938] Ehrendegen der SS
[30.01.1942] Totenkopfring der SS
00.00.193_ SS-Zivilabzeichen (Nr. 160 370)
00.12.1938 Julleuchter der SS<O</O
00.00.193_ Ehrenwinkel für alte Kämpfer
<O</O

[randy@treadways]

So it seems we have the 'lead three' identified as Schröder, Dreschler, and von Medem.

I was doing an adjustment to the exposure settings to 'restore' the picture a bit, in order to see if there are any details we had overlooked.
I noticed the umbrella on the left, seemingly with nobody holding it.

Any likely explanations? Maybe some undesirable person was airbrushed out? It does look like maybe a ghost of something down near the ground, directly under the umbrella, which is typical of airbrushing skills of the '30's and 40's. Or maybe the umbrella is already open on some kind of umbrella stand, where it could be grabbed quickly if it started to rain on Dreschler?

[Alex]

I found this discussion on other forum in relation to vist of H.Lohse.
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtop...7434&start=105

Building is the same. But I think it is another event.

[Mil-Archive]

I don't think the umbrella holder is airbrushed out, it looks more like a trick of the angle to me.