Their War: German Combat Photographs From The Archives Of Signal Magazine

by Will Fowler, Mike Rose

Wherever German forces operated during World War II, from Norway to North Africa, they were accompanied by the photographers of Signal, the German armed forces magazine, who took some of the most famous German combat photos of the war, including many in color.

160 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2000

About the author

Will Fowler is Professor of Spanish at the University of St Andrews, where he has taught since 1995. He earned his PhD at the University of Bristol and worked as a lecturer in Spanish at Leicester Polytechnic (subsequently renamed De Montfort University) for four years before joining the University of St Andrews.

Reviews

[Martin Koenigsberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really a big Military History picture book. It's a group of curated pictures from the Nazi Magazine Signal. Sort of a Propaganda version of our "Life" Magazine, a News Picture publication that went to all the Axis Occupied territories and overseas- Signal had a few Colour pages each issue, so there are some priceless real colour Action shots. The text of the book tells the story of the Magazine and the War, Germany Crowing about her success in the beginning, then trying to portray herself in a noble losing cause -when the tide had turned. The pictures are truly excellent- having been double curated by Goebbels' team of propagandists- and then Will Fowler and Mike Rose- the authors. They let the Nazis tell their own story in an amazing font of visual images.

I have to say- the Colour images are amazing, some iconic pics among them. The B/W pics are also a very strong collection- every few pages they toss in a cover of the Magazine- often versions for Nazi Allies or Occupied Countries. The history of the Magazine follows the path of the war- expansive at first- by the end a luxury Germany could not really afford to produce. One does see a glorification of the Military in the composition and subject matter- in a vastly different way from the photography of the Western Allies. It is much closer to the "Socialist Realism" (note the PROPER Used of the term "Socialist") of the Soviets. I have to say I was a little enchanted by their use of maps and diagrams to show battle in a way I wish more modern publishers would note. You can see they were a little bit ahead of their time presenting autocratic imperialism as noble struggle against disorder - in slick packaging and faux realism. It's beguiling, and it's a great journey inside the Nazi mind. You get to take a good look around- and decide you don't like it.

With simple prose, few adult themes, and no gore per se, this is a fine introductory book for a Junior reader over about 10, but I would try to use it as a teaching opportunity about militarist propaganda. For the Gamer/Modeler/Military Enthusiast- this is purest gold. The colour shots are just too good for setting your palette in all three groups. The action shots of gear in use won't help Scenario development, but it will help diorama and general modeling - stuff like stowage/turret candy. Early on, Signal photos tried to show the superiority of German Arms, so there are some sequences and HQ shots that show how things are done- even if the coding machines are always cut out of the shot. Later on- you can see the disintegrating German Military even as Signal are trying to make it nobler-all the while the crisp shots of the Wehrmacht/Waffen SS and their fabulous gear(or allied stuff) are the kind of things that bring reality to models and game pieces. This is a good book if you want pictures of the Nazi war effort for any reason- and you can resist Goebbels' attempt to lure you in to his craziness.

[Patti · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I saw this at Strand for a mere $5.00 I was thrilled.