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enter image description hereI was going through my late Uncles WWII photo album from his time in the US Army. To my surprise I came across one page dedicated to the Nazi army. No idea how he came about these pictures. It looks like it was taken from his camera but do not see how that was possible. I am thinking it was maybe taken from a fallen Nazi soldier.

Who are the Nazi soldiers pictured with Hitler?

enter image description here

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    Is this the highest resolution scan you can get? All the faces are out of focus, making identification difficult unless the scene can be located somewhere else.
    – Pieter Geerkens
    Commented Jan 20, 2018 at 5:29
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    The only one I can even hazard a guess at is that perhaps it is Albert Bormann on Hitler's immediate left, in foreground
    – Pieter Geerkens
    Commented Jan 20, 2018 at 5:40
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    Even a higher resolution scan across the faces, with the current picture as context, would help tremendously. Likewise any additional details of the uniforms and rank insignia would help identify service and narrow down possibilities.
    – Pieter Geerkens
    Commented Jan 20, 2018 at 5:44
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    An aside - this is from your uncle's personal collection? Wow, that's amazing! Perhaps consider looking in to a high quality "digitizer" so you can put these online for others, especially historians. (assuming you're comfortable sharing his personal photos/memories).
    – BruceWayne
    Commented Jan 20, 2018 at 19:19
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    Peter, unfortunately the photo album is back with my mom. That was the clearest my phone could take. I did zoom in and just posted that one too. Hopefully that helps.
    – Mark
    Commented Jan 21, 2018 at 0:01

1 Answer 1

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Regarding place and date: The picture was taken in Blaubeuren, Germany. In the background, a part of the Blaubeuren Abbey is visible (its western portal):

von Schilling Thomas (Eigenes Werk) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Source: Wikipedia Commons, Schilling Thomas (Own Work) [CC BY-SA 4.0] (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)

The place is about 100 meters south of the „Blautopf“, a famous little pond in Blaubeuren; today, the street is named „Blautopfstraße“. Guessing by the shadows cast, the photo was taken around noon.

Maybe, the photo depicts Hitler's visit in Blaubeuren where he had lunch on September 5th 1933 (according to Sandner's „Itinerar“), on occasion of his stay in Ulm where he attended a maneuver of the 5. Reichswehrregiment on September 5th and 6th, 1933 (this may explain the presence of high-ranking military people at that place and time). There are archival sources about a meeting between Hitler and some high-ranking Reichswehr officers at Ulm: Werner von Blomberg, General Kurt von Hammerstein, Generalleutnant Curt Liebmann and General Hans Freiherr Seutter von Lötzen. Guessing by a slightly better (but cropped) version of that photo (that was also available as picture postcard: see here and here), the person at Hitler's left may be Werner von Blomberg (wearing his "Pour le Mérite"?), at that time Minister of Defense. The person at the very right of the photo may be Heinrich Himmler (???). Regarding Goebbels: It seems that he didn't accompany Hitler to Ulm but returned to Berlin after attending the Nuremberg Rally from August 30 to September 3, 1933.

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  • Good work. I agree that Blomberg is a more likely candidate than Borman for the figure at Hitler's immediate left. The entire uniform and medals seems nearly identical to that in his Wikipedia picture, as well as his facial features.
    – Pieter Geerkens
    Commented Jan 20, 2018 at 16:23
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    Tell me you did know the building beforehand. Otherwise: tell me how you did that. Amazing. – As a side note: I guess the guy on the right is too well built and plump to be HH. And can you identify or make sense of the one to the left of AH in what looks like undecorated imperial dress? (Or is this just some ticket inspector?)
    – LаngLаngС
    Commented Jan 20, 2018 at 20:04
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    Wow! Great detective work! All I can say is the picture I have is not postcard. But the pictures are identical for sure. So this would also confirm my uncle did not take the picture because he enlisted in the army in 1942.
    – Mark
    Commented Jan 21, 2018 at 0:16
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    @LangLangC: to be honest: identifying the place was pure luck. Somehow, i found this photo using Google. On its back, there's a stamp "Photo-Wörz Blaubeuren". Now, searching for churches in Blaubeuren, identification was easy. Then, i tried to find information about any visits of Hitler in Blaubeuren, and so on...
    – tohuwawohu
    Commented Jan 21, 2018 at 8:23
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    @tohuwawohu: He's definitely lower ranking (or at least less prestigious) than the others - simpler uniform, no medals - but the cap is an officer's not an enlisted man's or NCO's I believe.
    – Pieter Geerkens
    Commented Jan 21, 2018 at 16:21

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