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WW2 German Polizei Armband ID


tom63
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Not too sure what the rest of the armband says, 

 

I have been trying to piece together where the location is and then try to figure out what type of Hilfspolizei the man is.

 

I think this may be some sort of air raid shelter or bunker, given that the woman is wearing heavy clothing possibly anticipating a lengthy stay in the shelter, she also appears to have some type of bag on her lap, perhaps with the extra clothes or other items to sustain her and what also appears to be other members of her family. The youngster looks like he may be in the Hitler Youth, the cap appearing to have the diamond shaped HJ cap badge above the buckle. 

 

The background structure looks to be some sort of bed, perhaps a bunk bed, again indicating a possible cellar shelter or other underground shelter.

 

This of course is speculation, not hard facts. 

 

Do you have any further information about where this image was found? Is this a photo in a magazine or a stand alone photo from a collection?

 

Leigh  

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16 hours ago, Rakkasan187 said:

...."I can make out HILFSPOLIZEI.. but not the wording above."

Leigh, Thanks for that info about the armband.  So Hilfspolizei = Aux. Police. The photo is an original from a large group of 35mm negative rolls that I got from a private estate. Still going through them but as yet have been unable to tell exactly were/when they were taken.  My best guess is the the photo in this thread was taken around 1943 somewhere in SE Germany.  Was hoping that the lettering above "HILFSPOLIZEI" would spell out a location but it is just not clear enough to read.  Incidentally, the woman and kid in this pic show up in several other photos in different locations, at home and in some town. 

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Tom,

 

It is a very interesting photo and we look forward to seeing the other images when you have time to post them. My wife is from Germany (Ludwigshafen/Mannheim) so we were studying the armband quite a bit last night. We were thinking it may have been a local area made Armband as you said as I have looked through several reference books on Polizei as well as civil organizations with no luck on finding any images of this particular armband, but with that said, there may be some very subtle hints in some of the other images that may help us narrow down an area and from there we may be able to identify the armband.

 

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and I look forward to seeing if we can solve this mystery.

 

With your permission I would also like to show this image to some friends on the War Relics Forum where I am also a member/moderator and perhaps someone there who lives in Germany may be able to properly identify this or give us an idea of where to search...

 

Leigh 

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Leigh, Thank you and your wife for taking the time to study this photo.  I have posted several other photos on this board and the USMF (under tom63) with the hope that I can get a better idea when/where some of my photos were taken.  You are welcome to show or repost any of the pictures I've uploaded here or on USMF.  Maybe someone out there can help.   I'm still waiting to come across a "smoking gun" photo that shows someone standing in front of a sign that shows a town name!   Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours also.   Tom

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Tom,

 

I just posted the images of the armband on the WRF and we will see if someone there can identify the armband lettering.

 

My wife and I will take a look at this most recent image and see if we can find this location for you

 

Leigh 

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On 12/24/2021 at 10:26 AM, tom63 said:

What do the signs say on the trollies?

The original photo is a bit clearer so I believe the sign on the trolley says " Knell (Kneil?) Suppen, Gute Suppen).  Soup advertisement so not a place name.😏

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Great detective work so far! For those of you with better eyes:

Armband - could it be an "Einsatztruppführer Hilfspolizei" ?

Trolley sign - could it be "Knorr Suppen - Gute Suppen" ?

I´m sure we´ll find it out finally.

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20 hours ago, Proud Kraut said:

Armband - could it be an "Einsatztruppführer Hilfspolizei" ?

Trolley sign - could it be "Knorr Suppen - Gute Suppen" ?

"Task Force Leader Auxiliary Police" and "Knorr Soup, Good Soup" makes sense to me.  I'll go with that!  Thanks all.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Tom,

 

I reached out to some friends on another forum and we think that the image of the boy and lady are in front of the Rathaus (Town Hall) in Bremen.

 

https://www.re.photos.en/compilation/3693 

 

Here is some information from the website link from above.. Look at the second paragraph where it mentions the "Tram"

 

The famous Bremen Town Hall with the market square around 1900 and today.

The Town Hall and Roland had survived the bombs of WW2, which destroyed more than 60% of Bremen, largely undamaged. However, many of the houses on the market square were rebuilt after the war with facades of houses further away, so that today's cityscape does not truly reflect the original one. Thus, the house of the Stadtsparkasse, at the confluence of the Langenstraße (left in the new picture), was built in 1957/1958, after plans of Eberhard Gildemeister and with the support of the land preservation officer Rudolf stone, by using original substance of the facade of the destroyed rococo house Schlachte No. 31.

 

At that time, the tram also ran on a single track through the Langenstrasse.

The building to the right behind the market house is the seat of the old Bremer Bank. It was built from 1902 to 1904 in Neo-Renaissance style according to the plans of the architects Albert Dunkel and Diedrich Tölken (thus the old picture must have been made before 1902).

 

Take a look at the architecture in your image and the current images,,, pretty sure it is a match

 

Leigh

 

 

2016-07-26-1469545736-2244341-Norwayplus20164342-thumb.jpg

photo1jpg.jpg

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Leigh, Thank you!  I'm sure that is the same building(s).  So now I know that at least some of my film rolls were taken in Bremen.  That is a BIG help.  I took the photo from that website you mentioned (with trollies!) and made it black & white to compare to my photo.  Attaching it here.  No doubt in my mind!

trolly compare.jpg

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Leigh is spot-on. I wasn´t aware of the fact that parts of the Bremen Rathaus´ front and it´s arcades were covered with additional bricks during WW II but it is correct. Excellent!

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I can't take all the credit guys, there are some great folks on the War Relics Forum who, through a combined effort were able to help identify the Rathaus in Bremen.

 

Some further information revealed as Proud Kraut indicated that the building's facade and structure was covered with brick and mortar and sandbags after some of the other German cities were bombed and apparently there was a fire brigade that was stationed in close proximity to the Rathaus in the event of damage so it makes sense now that the exact picture from wartime would be different from either pre-war or post war, and that was what was initially throwing me off as far as location..

 

I was thinking Cologne, and a few other cities that had trollies and again through the help of members on the War Relics Forum they were able to positively identify the building and location..

 

Looking forward to the next challenge..

 

Take care everyone, 

 

Leigh 

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Tom,

 

That is a great image. Clearly shows the protective measures. I wonder if the gentleman in this recent photo is the same one wearing the HILFSPOLIZEI armband in the previous shot but in a suit..

 

Some interesting images in this shot.. Looking at the trolley on the right you can see the Trolly Operator in the center wearing his uniform (or someone in uniform) standing in front in the main window of the trolley and then the uniformed soldiers standing about in front of Rathaus.. 

 

Leigh 

 

 

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