ss officers uniform

[Friedrich-Berthold]

You will notice in this picture, that at said time, the refurbishing of old bricks stood higher on the Maslovian pyramid than cap badges do in the year 2009.

Denkt daran!

1945 is regarded as the year zero or the year of the woman, in that the men with the "sculls" were either dead, in Russian captivity, in the slammer, or simply finally revealed to be the catastrophic losers and rabble that a man like Himmler always was, such that the task of reconstruction began with what you see here in this picture. That is, the rescue of the raw materials of civilization from the heaps of rubble. A cap badge, or any of the regalia of the former regime was worth a lot less than a used brick.

While I err on the side of irony here, such is an important point in all of this as concerns the present day fascination with a very narrow and over stylized aspect of the Nazi regime and its material culture.

FB i love your comments so very true !!! [/QUOTE]

Thanks so much. We may yet reach a stage where a used brick will again have more value than a Cupal cap badge at the rate things are going now in this unfortunate 21st century. The woman who taught me German grammar eons ago was of the same generation as the woman in this picture, and I adored her greatly for being a smart, tough, impressive personage. I am not sure whether she did such labor, as I never asked, but she taught me also about this era, which deserves its place here along with all the digitalized fawning and fussing about Ritterkreuztraeger. And I have known more than a few of such men too, to be sure, and give them their due all the same.

[Frog]

I accept my sugary treat from F-B on the photograph stab with humility.

My father, a Navy Lt. in WWII and (for a time) an aide to Bull Halsey, talked at length in my childhood of the war and the unfathomable impact on those of his generation. I will try to share a picture or two on the appropriate forum.

Beetle Smith, in any event, was a notorius smoker who, it is said, could not sit still more than 15 minutes for his official protrait without taking a break.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

I accept my sugary treat from F-B on the photograph stab with humility.

My father, a Navy Lt. in WWII and (for a time) an aide to Bull Halsey, talked at length in my childhood of the war and the unfathomable impact on those of his generation. I will try to share a picture or two on the appropriate forum.

Beetle Smith, in any event, was a notorius smoker who, it is said, could not sit still more than 15 minutes for his official protrait without taking a break.

Thanks, I appreciate your interest. When I started my life with soldiers in another century, they, too ran on cigarettes and caffeine, which were appropriate for victory in 1945, after all. One should mention coitus and alcohol, too, I guess.
Poor Vandenberg obviously fell apart as the press photos memorialized the birth pangs of the USAF at the expense of the USN.

I find re reading all the adverisements in Life Magazine somehow soothing and pleasing, especially when counterpoised to the excessive moralizing and self righteous clap trap one sees today in advertisements for things that are supposed to be healthy and clean in all their splendor. I especially loathe all the neo puritan rectitude of same on PBS, which I otherwise adhere to with great energy. I vote for machine produced chocolate cake mix, Whiskey, and high octane gasoline full of lead, even if they kill me. They meant prosperity and freedom from totalitarianism in their day, and that is good enough for me.

[Frog]

Surely forgive my spelling on last post. How awful, twice no less.

In any event, for those interested, see the Western Allies forum on this site, topic Documents, Paper items, Photos..., post "WWII Photo, Old Timers Only...". A photo of my father, and his good friend throughout their years on this earth.

WWII photo (old timers only) - identify

[Friedrich-Berthold]

What this thread needs is some reinforcement, which I give herewith....

[Anders S]

What this thread needs is some reinforcement, which I give herewith....

Accompanied with a well known fanfare from Franz Liszt's "Les Préludes"

[Badto666]

Seems like the creator of this thread ran away...

[Killroy]

Wow, I had some hard lessons learned early on here but this guy just wouldnt quit! I like F-B's jabs it makes for great reading! If I did not just get off work I would say something funny too. I guess I will leave it up to you F-B...

[Frog]

Anybody remember what old movie serial was backed by "Les Preludes"?

Attached this WWII picture of my father (right) with someone you old-timers may recognize.

[Frog]

A studio picture of the man in the center.

Who is it?