This collection shows photographs from World War Two that are not necessarily odd, let’s just say not quite normal, and by the book. The conflict involved virtually every part of the world during the years 1939–1945.
The war was in many respects a continuation, after an uneasy 20-year hiatus, of the disputes, left unsettled by World War I. The 40,000,000–50,000,000 deaths incurred in World War II make it the bloodiest conflict, as well as the largest war, in history.
World War II changed the political alignment and social structure of the globe. The United Nations was established to foster international cooperation and prevent future conflicts, with the victorious great powers—China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States—becoming the permanent members of its Security Council.
The Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the nearly half-century-long Cold War. In the wake of European devastation, the influence of its great powers waned, triggering the decolonization of Africa and Asia.
Most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery and expansion. Political and economic integration, especially in Europe, began as an effort to forestall future hostilities, end pre-war enmities and forge a sense of common identity.
A captured German officer gives an overweight British soldier an appraising glance.
The war criminals at the Nuremberg trials having a casual laugh.
William Patrick Stuart-Houston (né Hitler), son of Alois Hitler Jr, was the half-nephew of Adolf Hitler. During the war, he joined the US Navy. (More info about his story)
Hitler reacts to a kiss from an excited Carla de Vries, a 40-year-old American woman at the Berlin Olympics, 1936. Her rationale was, “Why, I simply embraced him because he appeared so friendly and gracious… I don’t know why I did it. Certainly, I hadn’t planned such a thing. It’s just that I’m a woman of impulses, I guess.” (More info about this picture here).
A picture of Hitler staring at the woman while she’s doing some “odd” decorations.
US soldiers sending some Easter eggs to Hitler.
A German soldier taking a look at a magazine. This is what the boys at the front really wanted in the mail.
Japanese soldiers take a moment to relax and massage each other’s shoulders. Occupied China, late 1930s.
A German crew keeping track of the hits.
A Wehrmacht soldier with a cat on top of his helmet.
The funeral of a German pilot (bring the coffin). It is inscribed in German: “Dein leben – dein gewinn” – or, “your life – your reward.” Also, “mich auch” – “for me, too.” This was taken by Siegfried Lauterwasser at Tatsinskaya airfield, the main supply base 260 km from Stalingrad, in the fall of 1942. The airfield was lost by the end of the year.
An unknown American soldier in Summer Service Uniform mocking Hitler’s mustache with a hair comb. 1944
Germans trying to tame the Russian bear.
Meine Funk.
Not odd, but interesting. South African, Australian, and British troops learning how to cook in the field at the Western Desert Cookery School in Egypt. 1941.
French woman pouring tea for a British soldier fighting in Normandy, 1944. Let’s be real, most likely a staged image.
A German soldier on the Eastern Front making a political statement.
Drunk and having fun.
German soldiers surround a captured French heavy 240 mm howitzer “Saint-Chamond” Model 84.
Not sure if the general noticed the symbolism here, but the photographer sure did.
An SS officer frolicking in a field of daffodils.
Heinrich Himmler, his wife, and daughter Gudrun out picking flowers without a care in the world. 1941.
A Nazi DJ spins records at a radio exhibition in Berlin, 1932.
The Soviet sign says, “The fastest way home is to be in a Russian POW camp.”
Allied troops mocking Hitler, 1945.
Boys will be boys. American soldiers with a captured Panzerschreck, 1944.
Leave no one behind.
“If going much further please take one..” Typical ‘Aussie’ humor is reflected in this sign erected on the El Alamein road by Australian troops, 14 September 1942.
British troops training on disabling land mines.
(Photo credit: Pinterest / Flickr / WWW2 by James Bjorkman / Wikimedia Commons).
Updated on: December 4, 2022
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