Postcards of Germany

I have a few before's here, but I don't have the afters. These are some old post cards that I don't think I have posted. Maybe someone on the forum would have photographs of what they looked like during/after the war. The last picture of the back of the card is the third picture over that has no location.

 

Some nice work there Owen!

 

The third picture is of a "work camp" and I understand from some of the internet sites I have looked at that German youth were required to spend time (2-years I think I read) workig on public works projects, thus living in the camps. However, I saw a couple of pages where the camps were referred to as part of the Holocoust. Would this be an internment camp?

 

The third picture is of a "work camp" and I understand from some of the internet sites I have looked at that German youth were required to spend time (2-years I think I read) workig on public works projects, thus living in the camps. However, I saw a couple of pages where the camps were referred to as part of the Holocoust. Would this be an internment camp?

Could be a number of youth groups.

There were the two groups,the Hitler Youth (Hitler Jugend) and the League of German Girls (Bund Deutscher Madel).Every German boy over 10 years of age had to register for admission to the organisation H.J .They were admitted on a mandatory basis providing that they and their family were successfully assessed as racially pure.The first stage of entry would be into the German Young People (Deutsches Jungvolk) for 3 years until 13 years of age.From 14 years of age, a boy would graduate into the H.J until 18 years of age.

However the camp is possibly a RAD camp as suggested,The State Labour Service (The Reichsarbeitsdienst) which in peacetime, a youth had to serve for 6 months subject to manual labour and strict discipline.After this service, the youths were conscripted into Wehrmacht service for 2 years which meant that in peacetime, Hitler never lost his hold on German youth from the age of 10 to 21 years.

The RAD was manned by German manhood from the age of 19 years to 25 years as mandatory service with the principle that those who shouldered shovels would in the future shoulder rifles.This mandatory state service helped Hitler to reduce unemployment in the 1930s.

The RAD was involved throughtout the Reich and its empire.It was involved in the atrocity at Lidice in June 1942.After the destruction and murder at Lidice, the RAD were brought in to level the village.Not content with the wholesale murder carried out the RAD were directed to plunder and destroy the Lidice Cemetery graves. 60 vaults,140 large family tombs and 200 single graves were plundered.Human remains were left shrewn over the cemetery grounds,some left in "creative poses".The "work" was not completed until the end of 1943 when Lidice became "Vorwerk".

I would think that after war broke out, the manning levels of the RAD would have been maintained subject to the greater priority demand of the Wehrmacht.

 

The reverse of the card reads Reichsarbeitsdienstlager-the word you use above with the "lager" extension. So I see it is a RAD camp.

Thanks, you guys have done a good job on these pictures. The Potsdamer Platz and Paradeplatz were I assume bombed beyond repair. Shame to loose the nice old architecture and the green space at the A. Hitler Plaza.

 

Here is another for you: Kerhaus Weisbaden now Translated version of http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurhaus_Wiesbaden

Kerhaus Weisbaden earlier:

 

I have no idea where this is, but it appears that someone has done quite a bit of trenching.

 

Excellent photos! Good work on getting them posted. I would like to visit some of these sites.

I wonder if there is anything left or any recognized area of the "Fuhrer Bunker" in Berlin? I thought I had heard at one time a parking lot had been buildt over the site.

 

Here is further info:

Berlin Pt. 2

Having been there, this site is pretty accurate

 

Thanks Owen for the work you have done on thse piccies

 

Yea! Great Job.

 

Yes Indeed! Thank you for the powerful information. It's very interesting to compare the photos of the period to more recent ones. I appreciate the links!

P51 Fan!
http://re3.mm-a4.yimg.com/image/3016085616