Figure 1.--This portrait shows an East Prussian family in 1942. We believe it was taken in the Winter, probably sometime during January-March. The man is an enlisted Wehrmacht soldier. We at first assumed he was the father. It is possible that he is the eldest son and father is away at the front. Judging from the lack of tunic insignia he is a relatively recent enductee. Of course 1942 was a bad time to be inducted into the Wehrmacht. What was to be a massive, short campaign in the East had turned into a life and death struggle with the Soviet Union. We suspect that mother had this portrait taken with the family just before he was posted to the front--more than likely the Eastern Front.

This portrait shows an East Prussian family in 1942. We believe it was taken in the Winter, probably sometime during January-March. The man is an enlisted Wehrmacht soldier. We at first assumed he was the father. It is possible that he is the eldest son and father is away at the front. Judging from the lack of tunic insignia he is a relatively recent enductee. Of course 1942 was a bad time to be inducted into the Wehrmacht. What was to be a massive, short campaign in the East had turned into a life and death struggle with the Soviet Union. We suspect that mother had this portrait taken with the family just before he was posted to the front--more than likely the Eastern Front. His three sons and a daughter are shown with their mother. The oldest boy wears his Hitler Jugend uniform. Note that he wears wears his uniform with long brown stockings. This was not very common, butapparently more common in conservative and largely rural East Prussia with severe winters. Children very commonly wire long stockings for play and school, especially during the Winter. The younger boys wear sailor suits, also with long stockings. The daughter wears the Bund Deutscher Mädel (BDM) uniform with the white blouse and scarfe. While the prospect of being sent to the Eastern Front looked bleak at the time. This family almost certainly had no idea what the future held. A revitalized Red Army first reached the boundaries of the Reich in east Prussia (late-1944). TheGermans had to evacuate East Prussia. Those that wrre unablr to do so were later expelled by the Soviets and Poles. East Prussia itself was partitioned between the Soviet Union and Poland.

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Created: 11:54 PM 11/11/2004
Last updated: 11:54 PM 11/11/2004