Posted on 09/16/2009 10:49:22 AM PDT by Free ThinkerNY
The only colour photographs of the German surrender of World War Two have emerged 64 years after being taken by a lowly clerk who hid behind a tree.
Crafty Ronald Playforth covertly captured one of the most historic events of the 20th century after sneaking into a clump of trees overlooking the scene of the surrender.
With his camera, he snapped Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery greeting the highest ranking officers of the remains of Hitler's Third Reich outside his HQ tent.
Although defeated and just days after the Fuhrer's suicide, the never-seen-before photos show the German officers looking immaculate yet menacing in their long overcoats and jackboots.
Until now the only images of the momentous occasion in existence are the official black and white ones held by the Imperial War Museum.
Mr Playforth kept hold of his pictures along with a handwritten speech Montgomery wrote in March 1945 to rouse British soldiers ahead of a final push into Germany.
The historic items have remained in Mr Playforth's family ever since but have now been made public for the first time as they are being sold at auction.
Andrew Aldridge, of Henry Aldridge Auctioneers of Devizes, Wilts, said: 'Playforth knew he was about to witness one of the most important events of the 20th century.
'He was of too low a rank to be present so he crept into the trees and bushes on the perimeter of the HQ tent and took four photographs using colour slides.
'As far as we know these are the only colour photographs to capture this historic event, all the others are black and white.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
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Too bad he kept them in a box for so long. The images could be better if they’d had some proper storage and TLC over the years.
Very cool. For some reason I have never read an acco8unt of the German surrender. Were these German officials taken into custody, I assume?
000bama’s mental note to self:
“Remind me to look up the uniform manufacturer of those trench coats. We need something snappy for the 000 Youth Corps. You know, something Matrix-like, but with a Euro-pop-weenie flair to it.”
These are color? Hmm.
Any word on the value of these?
Take these photos to “Pawn Stars” they can tell you what they are worth and then try to buy them for $200.00
My reaction also.
If you cannot see the greens and the reds in the photos, the problem is not with your set, it is with your eyes.
LMAO!
The Germans had the neatest uniforms.
It all looks one color and it’s not my eyes.
The Americans have had color pictures of this for years. Only the Brits have COLOUR pictures.
LOok under the chin of the guy 2nd from the left in the photo at the top of the thread.
Do you not see a blotch of color in the red portion of the spectrum?
Yes.
Bit of chauvinist historical revisionism from the Daily Mail, always plays well with the home audience.
The unconditional surrender of all German forces was signed at Rheims, France on May 7th, 1945 by Keitel and Jodl as representatives of the Donitz government.
Another signing was ginned up on May 8th in Berlin to give the Soviets bragging rights too.
The Soviet rep at the Rheims ceremony, one Suslov I think, by his participation incurred the extreme displeasure of Stalin, disappeared shortly afterward and is presumed to have been shot.
The Luneberg Heath signing covered only German forces in North-West Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands.
German forces surrendered piecemeal here and there before and after the 4/26 date, the 200,000 men of Army Group B for example capitulating on 4/24.
There was isolated fighting by separate German units and commands here and there for weeks after May 7th.
There was brief concern that the document only covered military forces and that a de jure German civilian government continued to exist and pretended to function as late as May 23rd. The Allies resolved the question by ignoring it and arresting anyone pretending to that role.
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