Friday, January 4, 2013

WWII Germans in Color

I've seen color WWII photos and films before, but I still find them rare enough to be novelties. A set of German propaganda pics popped up on Reddit. I found them interesting and thought you might too.

Panzer III?


Is that a lend lease Sherman and T-34 on the easter front?

In researching German uniforms I was aware that the Hollywood gray was much lighter than what the Heer actually wore, being darker and greener like the dirty faced fellow below:


But check out the uniforms on this anti-tank crew. Even taking into account the altered hues in this early color film, their uniforms are nearly black. Is that a "trick of the light", or did the uneven production quality of German textile mills produce such sinister looking uniforms?



More photos available from the original imgur album.
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5 comments:

  1. fireymonkeyboyJanuary 5, 2013 at 10:37 AM

    Nice find! Any idea if these were originally in colour, or later "colourized"? The latter might help account for differences in fabric, etc.

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    Replies
    1. JohnJanuary 5, 2013 at 2:37 PM

      Pretty sure these were original color photos, not BW colorized.

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  2. DeanMJanuary 6, 2013 at 4:01 PM

    Nice photos - I have a very, very old magazine that has that first photo on the cover. Best, Dean

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  3. Paul O'GJanuary 7, 2013 at 1:16 AM

    Great pics!

    Not sure on the colours but I imagine there would have been lots of slight variations based on manufacturer etc.

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  4. Mitch KJanuary 7, 2013 at 3:04 PM

    I suspect trick of the light. See how the exposure has lost all the detail of what is under the gunshield?

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