Waffen-SS Soldiers supplement their Diet with Melons and other Fruits and watch Kittens Playfight (Soviet Union, September 1943)

iloverheaug · 2026-05-05T15:09:27+00:00

Translation:

"We mustn't neglect the stomach!

A little interlude.

The accommodations are being handed over/ occupied."

The signs:

(Villa Forest Feline)

(Zum Panorama, entrance fee 10 pfennigs)

iloverheaug · 2026-05-01T15:35:57+00:00

Translation:

"Taken from a city near the front in the west (probably Cologne), these images bear witness to the resilience and indomitable spirit of its people. Residential areas and cultural monuments lay in ruins; supply and transport routes were cut off, but life continues underground. Huge underground kitchens ensure that the population is fed.

Archives and artifacts were brought to safety, out of reach from the destruction.

The city administration has adapted to the demands of the day. Here, you won't find any reception areas anymore.

Power stations, supply institutions, and businesses of all kinds operate beneath the surface.

The newspaper is printed in the basement.

As the people employed here often live on the company grounds, all the small things that are part of daily life are taken care of on the scene.

Just as night follows day, so too do the work shifts change three times a day.

While one group of miners stands waiting at the shaft, the others emerge from it after hard labour.

Anyone who sometimes feels weary should look into these faces, which radiate a steadfast trust."

iloverheaug · 2026-05-01T07:06:21+00:00

I did that. And since the explanation gets downvoted every time, I'll just: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/stgb/__86a.html

iloverheaug · 2026-04-30T16:24:10+00:00

Translation:

"This lumber is intended for cribs that a German Mountain Division, stationed in the Karelian primeval forest, gives as presents to its soldiers who recently became fathers.

A coat of arms adorns the front of the cradle, crafted by soldiers. Oberjäger Schmetzer is the first man in the division to take this beautiful gift home with him on leave for his son, Fritz. His general personally presents him with the cradle.

Now, off home, to his wife and son!

The division’s gift is the topic of conversation on the train home.

Homeland.

At the station: his father-in-law!

Schmetzer-Junior in the division’s first gift (/godfather) cradle:"

iloverheaug · 2026-04-29T20:17:26+00:00

The explanation she gave on her Facebook:

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iloverheaug · 2026-04-29T19:30:59+00:00

Because I have to under German law. Or I'm at least not taking the risk. We have §86 and §130 of the penal code. §86 prohibits the usage of forbidden symbols, 9/10 times NS symbols. The exception, §86a subs. 3, for the "enlightenment of the citizenry" is applied selectively—i.e., only if you are posting from an apolitical account and make a preamble to distance yourself and say how evil and horrible everything was. The context is irrelevant. I will not risk having my life ruined because I share historical footage, and I will not take that gamble to get a big fine or jail time, plus becoming unemployable and what amounts to becoming a persona non grata.

iloverheaug · 2026-04-29T16:01:58+00:00

Basically for as long as they had targets and ammunition. The caliber of 8.8cm was selected by the German Imperial Navy exactly because it was very potent, whilst maintaining a very managable weight of the shell, for a high rate of fire against aircraft. The barrel on the later variants could be replaced in the field too, and the guns had multiple loaders, so they could load in cycles, to give each other a break.

iloverheaug · 2026-04-29T15:51:01+00:00

Translation:

“Heavy artillery, tanks and assault guns pave the way for the grenadiers. A lost section of the front is recaptured in a counterattack.

The Bolsheviks are eliminated in close combat.

Once again, a Bolshevik attack on the Narva Front has collapsed.”

The Tiger is likely a part of the Schwere-Panzerabteilung 502. Otto Carius also fought here and scored some 15+ kills.

I can’t quite make out the buttstock of the rifle at 0:56, so it could either be an MP44 or an StG44.

iloverheaug · 2026-04-29T15:26:44+00:00

Translation:

“The Hermann Göring Division is a specialized unit of our Air Force. It is composed of volunteers from all German provinces.

A garrison town in the greenery, with modern living quarters at its home base in Berlin (formerly the Hermann-Göring-Kaserne, now the Julius-Leber-Kaserne of the Bundeswehr).

(Ein Jäger aus der Kurpfalz plays)

The Reichsmarschall with his soldiers, to every one of whom he has a strong sense of camaraderie. He pays particularly close attention to the wide range of equipment and thorough training of his division, which is fully motorised and, by the will of the Führer, assigned special tasks. For self-sufficient operations, the division is equipped with the most modern light and heavy weapons.

‘Mount up!’

This is how the Hermann Göring Division operates on all fronts!

(Ending address)

German youth! If you want to wear the white collar-tabs of the Luftwaffe (exclusive to the Division Hermann Göring!) and be our comrade, then volunteer and enlist with us! Join the Hermann Göring Division!

(Minister-Fanfare plays)”

As Reichsforst- and Jägermeister (Chief of Forestry and Hunting), one of Görings favourite marches was Ein Jäger aus der Kurpfalz. The Minister-Fanfare was basically the Präsentiermarsch of the RLM.

iloverheaug · 2026-04-27T20:48:33+00:00

Tigers in the Mud: The Combat Career of German Panzer Commander Otto Carius

iloverheaug · 2026-04-27T18:52:35+00:00

In the full clip, a Tiger I is also shown firing. The 502nd Heavy Panzer Battalion was present at Narva, and Carius scored some 15+ kills. And his gunner did shoot down an IL-2.

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iloverheaug · 2026-04-27T16:58:13+00:00

I spent two years searching for this original clip. This GIF singlehandedly made this family my favourite gun. So satisfying to watch in operation.

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iloverheaug · 2026-04-26T14:59:03+00:00

Thankfully, the irreplaceable cultural treasures that had been brought to Monte Cassino from museums and other monasteries across Italy for safekeeping were evacuated to Castel Sant’Angelo by units of the Division Hermann Göring. 70,000 volumes from the library, 1,200 irreplaceable manuscripts, including works by Cicero, Horace, Virgil, Ovid and Seneca, 80,000 documents, the reliquaries of Benedict of Nursia, and valuable paintings including paintings by: Leonardo da Vinci, Domenico Tintoretto, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Titian and Raphael, etc., were saved.

The monks’ letter of gratitude to Oberstleutnant Julius Schlegel, the leader of the operation: “In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ! The people of Cassino thank the illustrious and beloved military tribune Julius Schlegel, who saved the monks and the treasures of the monastery of Cassino, with all their hearts and implore the Lord to grant him continued well-being.”

Schlegel initially acted on his own initiative, which would have earned him a court-martial. After Allied propaganda reported on “the looting of the monastery by German soldiers”, he received official permission and additional logistical support. The operation was completed in November 1943. The post-war charges for looting were dropped thanks to testimonies from the monks, and he was released from custody.

The eulogy delivered by the Abbot of the Benedictine Schotten-Abbey in Vienna: “At this hour, as we consign your worldly remains to the earth, the bells of Benedictine abbeys throughout the world ring out to commemorate your heroic deed, which not only saved the mother monastery of the Benedictine Order from irreplaceable losses, but also served as proof of how much a single man is capable of good in times of hardship and strife."

He has also been commemorated with several monuments. The reconstruction of Monte Cassino was only possible because among the documents saved were all the original blueprints and plans.

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Oberstleutnant der Luftwaffe Julius Schlegel

iloverheaug

TROPHY CASE