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Old Journey - Hilter's Eagle's Nest 1950
Right after WWII my dad took our family to Europe. My mother made arrangements for the trip and one of the arrangements she made was for us to meet her friend Peg and Peg's husband Bob. Bob was a Colonel in the US Army. He was stationed in the US sector and he had a car. First we went to the walled city of Rotenburg. After the devastation we saw in Cologne, my mom remarked that the city was spared by war
It probably looks much the same today as it did in 1950 but these children
are no doubt grown up by now. We wanted to see the clock in the square strike -my mom's notes say "saved by 1 citizen daring to drink 3.5 quarts wine at one gulp". I don't know how accurate that story is.
My dad liked the sculptural signs. He also liked taking photos of the local people like these wood gatherers (who are a bit out of focus)
and this one of a goose woman
This is the Pforshheim snack bar - July 2, 1950 - my sister, Peg, me, Bob, and my mom
Street in Mannheim
This was the hotel we stayed in in Austria just before we crossed the border - where we spent the night - Our room had a balcony - cost 50 cents July 9, 1950
Breakfast on Sunday morning
Dignified old lady on her way to church on a bicycle. She stopped for Daddy to take her photo.
a different hotel
Since Bob was a colonel, he had access to some restricted areas, like this one
It probably looks much the same today as it did in 1950 but these children
are no doubt grown up by now. We wanted to see the clock in the square strike -my mom's notes say "saved by 1 citizen daring to drink 3.5 quarts wine at one gulp". I don't know how accurate that story is.
My dad liked the sculptural signs. He also liked taking photos of the local people like these wood gatherers (who are a bit out of focus)
and this one of a goose woman
This is the Pforshheim snack bar - July 2, 1950 - my sister, Peg, me, Bob, and my mom
Street in Mannheim
This was the hotel we stayed in in Austria just before we crossed the border - where we spent the night - Our room had a balcony - cost 50 cents July 9, 1950
Breakfast on Sunday morning
Dignified old lady on her way to church on a bicycle. She stopped for Daddy to take her photo.
a different hotel
Since Bob was a colonel, he had access to some restricted areas, like this one
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Goebel's House
ruins of the SS barracks
view from the Eagle's Nest
And this is my favorite photo - the slide is titled "Hitler's window" (it had no glass at that time of course)
Daddy had us stand silhouetted in the window - Bob is on the left pointing, then my mom and sister and I'm on the right
After that everything was sort of an anticlimax but my dad took some more photos of people in Typical Sunday-go-<wbr>to-meeting clothes - Berchtesga<wbr>rden
and a traffic cop that my dad also took movies of him directing traffic.
These people were by a roadside shrine
Street fair
I hope you find these photos from the past interesting
Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a beautiful town with a nice Christmas market too
Thanks for sharing!
Jase // www.stonesque.com
I think the dress of the people has probably also changed. My father was fascinated by those shaving brushes that they had on their hats - most of you guys are too young to know what a shaving brush is I guess.
Thanks for sharing!
My favorite is the silhouette shot. Fun!
The people and places in the shots seem so much more quaint, untouched, and peaceful compared to early post-war depictions of the urban areas.
I do see that the Goebels house had a big wake-up call on one fine day.
Left to right - my grandmother (Mary Barbara aka Babette), her father Ernst, her brother Lenhard, her sister Margretha, and her brother John.
I'm wondering if the people were wearing their old fashioned clothes because they had nothing else to wear. My grandmother got letters from distant relatives asking for help and I have some of those letters.
This letter has been translated in part
Yes, dear Babett, times in Germany have been very hard. It is certainly a great deed that the churches there (in the USA?) have collected that much money to support the people in need. However, these things are mainly used for those expelled, people who had to leave a lot in their old home countries.<wbr>Because of the war we have not got anything and all, clothes as well as shoes, are that worn that one has, at best, got 1 pair of shoes, while the suits and dresses are, if that is possible, turned (my granny explained that this was done, when the outside of a dress got really shabby, turned inside out. Obviously, this is one of the impacts of the war. It won’t be possible to get new items quickly, as most companies were destroyed in the air attacks.Co<wbr>me to that, there are no machines to use, the old ones may not be used again. And it is going to take a couple of years till the rest of the population will be able to purchase clothes, underwear and shoes. You should really see in what a poor condition people walk about. Many have lost their flats, furniture, everything<wbr>. 80 % of Nuremberg was destroyed. There are ruins wherever you go to. I was very happy that my letter which I had sent to Silver Cliff, using your maiden name, was redirected to your new address. As for Mr Schlump whom you have asked for, we have not heard from him again. Nobody in Germany has heard from him, and he has never returned here...
My mother corresponded with some of the family and we met them in 1950 when we visited, and our family has visited again periodically.
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Also I went to Europe in 1964 (Germany, Spain, Portugal, France and Italy) and took a lot of photos in Lisbon of the fish and vegetable market by the river. I understand that area is no longer there. It's too bad as it was very picturesque.
If my heart and lungs hold out, I'm going to Australia in July. Maybe post some of those too.
Hard to imagine the hardship they must have been under for years to come.
Gary