"Children of War" ...

[Reibert]

Hi, mates,

Based on these forum posts:

Hj flakhelfer lot for sale at Sandeboetiek.com

What is this German soldier?

Help! Luftwaffenhelfer dress, rank(?)

"HJ-LuftwaffenHelfer" (1943-1945)


I would like to show you two photos of very young German combatants which I brought back from the flea market many years ago.

These are two very small photos, probably for the Soldbuch, (pay book), or, the Wehrpass.

I "cut away" the white edge of the photos on the computer for the thread here, because the expressive faces of the young people are what really interests me.

One of the boys is a member of a Wehrmacht army unit, (Wehrmacht-Heer), the other has a breast eagle sewn onto his blouse for Luftwaffe helpers from the Hitler Youth (HJ), (Luftwaffenhelfer der Hitlerjugend).

Contemporary photos are always impressive for me because they mercilessly show and document the war, often also the cruel "reality" of war. ...

Best regards,
R.

[Aldo]

Yes these photo's do reveal a lot about the circumstances based on those piercing eyes. Excellent photo's, thanks for posting

[EScherf]

They were so young. They got younger and younger as Hitler "RAN OUT" of new soldiers. The Hitler youth was so tragic. Thanks for sharing these photos!
Erik

[GlennAgain]

My German Oma referred to these boys as "Kanonenfutter" -Cannon Fodder- ... Her youngest brother Hans was one of them and remains missing in action around Budapest...