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AH Salutes

Article about: I don’t know if anyone else has seen this but it’s quite an interesting short report which appears to have come out of the archives reviewing the various styles of salute adopted by AH. I’ve

  1. #1

    Default AH Salutes

    I don’t know if anyone else has seen this but it’s quite an interesting short report which appears to have come out of the archives reviewing the various styles of salute adopted by AH. I’ve thrown the text into a basic translation package as I don’t speak German – it seems to have done quite a good job – see below pics.

    AH Salutes

    AH Salutes

    AH Salutes

    AH Salutes

    AH Salutes

    AH Salutes







    TRANSLATION (courtesy Mr Google!)


    Response to initial contact


    Gerti

    Imagine my joy at receiving a letter from my favourite pupil – “pupil”?!...now you are a senior official – please forgive my rudeness. I was intrigued with your idea regarding the understanding of his salutes – I have since watched many newsreels and can agree that several different styles are adopted depending on his position and the event he is attending.
    I will be glad to take up the challenge and report back to you. I understand that your request is for a short report and not one that would fill a Library shelf!

    Please pass on my best regards to Lyz,




    Professor Hienz Obermayer

    __________________________________________________ __

    Report covering memo


    Herr Mueller,

    I am pleased to enclose my findings. I trust you will find them informative and interesting. Please ask me any questions which may arise.

    __________________________________________________ _________________


    Report (inc. diagrams)



    Observation sources:-

    Press photographs (1,247 from 4 Agencies)
    Newsreels (72 hours October 1938 – January 1944)


    Findings

    The subject matter has adopted a number of saluting styles during the period of review. It would have been natural to assume that certain styles were reserved for specific event types such as funerals, parades, visiting dignitaries and personal meetings but it is not possible to correlate any to specific event types. The responses of Der Fuhrer are unique and totally random in their nature although at the highest level there are effectively two styles, one involving a straight arm whilst the other is bent at the elbow. One interesting observation is that Herr Goering as adopted a similar bent arm approach when responding carrying his baton.

    Following my review, it has been possible to categorise a number of styles and these are shown in rudimentary diagrams on the following page. The diagrams are numbered and explained in the following text.

    1 The “Praetorian” - this is without doubt the most common and perhaps best known response and dominated the large scale events such as Party Day parades (73% of sample). There were three other straight-arm variants:-

    1a The “Auto Salute” – this variant of the “Praetorian” was most often observed when the subject was situated in an automobile or similar and only slightly raised above others. I have undertaken studies to understand if this is directly relational to the height and type of the vehicle in use and whilst there was a slight correlation when using the large six wheeled car (the angle of decline was more significant) the sample was insufficient to prove a categoric relationship.

    1b The “Reach” – this style also dominated when the subject was vehicle based (stationary) but it was only used on Parades and there proved to be a direct link between this style and the movement of military personnel in front of the subject. The key difference in adoption style was that the “Praetorian” dominated when the people were also stationary. It was interesting to observe that the “Reach” took priority at three events as soon as the attendees started to parade.

    1c The “four o’clock” – this straight arm variant was almost always (31 / 39) adopted for Army parades. Six of the remaining occurrences were at Air Force events.


    2 The “Swan Neck” – this is a rarely used variant of the “Praetorian” and appears to be restricted to only those events where the subject is most committed. The subject demonstrates an almost super human ability to present a concave curve to his arm presenting a slightly downward pointing hand. Whilst not within the sample period the best recorded example of this salute was in Munich, August, 1936 – this popular image clearly demonstrates the APPARENT curve of the arm.


    These next examples demonstrate a clear break from the use of the straight-arm salute. This sub-style has been given the name “Crooked Arm” and appears in a small number of variants.


    3 The “half bend” is the dominant salute of this sub-style. The arm is no longer straight but is raised from the elbow in an informal style with a slightly angled (reverse) hand. The subject adopts this style when meeting smaller groups or in one-to-one situations. In most occurrences (67 / 84) the events were less formal and were more tightly grouped. Three possible explanations for the employment of this salutation are:-

    i) Speed – it is much quicker for the subject to raise his forearm several times in quick succession
    ii) Safety – the impact dangers generated by a fully straightened arm in a restricted space are avoided
    iii) Fatigue avoidance – the subject is able to avoid applying additional stress to his muscles in avoiding the bodily rigidity generated when deploying the “Praetorian”

    3a This “full bend” again demonstrates an almost super human ability to create outlines which could not be undertaken by most others he meets. The arm is shaped as if the subject is to throw a medicine ball and proves extremely difficult for those meeting the subject to emulate. An additional benefit of the “full bend” is the ability to deliver them at speed although the “half bend” can be delivered 27% faster which facilitates nearly 3 salutes more per meeting (medium to large groups only)

    3b This final style, the “Whatever” style is certainly reserved for the most informal of meetings and in 42 / 57 examples was adopted when the subject was either tired or meeting people for whom the subject had little respect or time.
    Click to enlarge the picture Click to enlarge the picture AH Salutes   AH Salutes  

    AH Salutes   AH Salutes  

    AH Salutes   AH Salutes  

    AH Salutes   AH Salutes  


  2. #2

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    ...'messed up the pics a bit.....

  3. #3

    Default

    Yeah yeah right!....

  4. #4

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    oh well, it was worth a try....thanks Gunny.

    April 1st, noon approaching....etc etc.....

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