Battledetective Now and Then

Historical images compared with the current situations in the exact locations. Click on the pictures to enlarge.
Normandy Holland(1) Holland(2) Ardennes Miscellaneous
(click on the images for the full-size Now&Then comparisons)
	Frankfurt am Main, Germany, March 10, 1933 Mother Edith Frank poses with her daughters Margot (left) and Anne in their hometown. Anne was just four years old when this picture was taken. A few weeks later they fled Nazi Germany to Holland. Anne's wartime diary became an icon for the senselessness of the Nazi regime
	Frankfurt am Main, Germany, May 1945 The ancient Hauptwache building in downtown Frankfurt is in ruins after numerous Allied bombing raids.
	Frankfurt am Main, Germany, May 1945 For centuries the An der Hauptwache Square remained unchanged. Hitler's ideals of world domination also resulted in the destruction of large parts of this city in the Hessen land.
	Elten, Germany, September 28th 1944 Panther tanks and support vehicles of I./Panzer Regiment 24 move towards the Dutch border on Klosterstraße to attack the Allied bridgehead at Nijmegen. Note the soldier on the right rendering the Nazi salute to the men on the motorcycle.
	Elten, Germany, September 28th 1944 Like the previous photo this one is also taken by Kriesberichter Stachelscheid and only a few steps away from Klosterstraße. A Panther tank of I./Panzer Regiment 24 rolls past on Markt square.
	Cologne, Germany, March 6th, 1945 A German Mark V Panther tank sits smoldering in front of the ancient Dom Cathedral in Cologne, Germany.
	Cologne, March 1945 American soldiers of the 3rd Armored Division inspect the destroyed Panther tank. A brand new M-26 Pershing tank, commanded by Sgt. Robert Early of "E" Co./ 32nd Armored Regiment, had knocked it out on the 6th of March 1945.
	Cologne, March 1945 Shortly after the Panther was knocked out, a sign was posted near it reading: "SIGHT SEERS KEEP OUT! Beyond this point you draw fire on our FIGHTING MEN. He risks his life 24 hours a day. DO YOU?" We played "sight seers" for this comparison.
	Cologne, March 1945 After Sgt Early's tank knocked out the Panther, it burned for three days. Shortly after the capture of Cologne, the Panther was towed in front of the cathedral to make way to through-traffic.
	Cologne, Germany, March 6th 1945 The following 5 comparisons are to illustrate the events leading to the destruction of the Panther in the previous 4 photos. Two Sherman tanks from "F" Co./32nd Armored Regiment are standing on Komödienstrasse when suddenly a shell from the Panther tank hits the leading US tank; killing most of its crew.
	Cologne, Germany, March 6th 1945 Sgt. Robert Early of "E" Co./ 32nd Armored Regiment is ordered to take out the Panther with his Pershing tank and moves forward on An Den Dominikanern, seen here passing the building of the Reichsbank.
	Cologne, Germany, March 6th 1945 The Pershing tank turns right on Marzellenstrasse where the Panther tank is spotted at the far end of the street; and destroyed with canon and .50 caliber machinegun fire.
	Cologne, Germany, March 6th 1945 Since taking the first 4 photos of the destroyed Panther tank in Cologne, we learned that the wreck was positioned a bit further down Komödienstrasse and that the square in front of the Dom cathedral was raised post-war.
	Cologne, Germany, March 6th 1945 American infantrymen inspect the destroyed Panther tank on the junction of Komödienstrasse and Marzellenstrasse.
	Münster Germany, April 2nd 1945 American paratroopers of the 17th Airborne Division and British soldiers of the 6th Guards Tank Brigade meet in front of the bomb damaged town hall of Münster on Prinzipalmarkt were in 1648 the Peace Treaty of Westfalia was signed. In the background is the Saint Lambert Church.
	Münster Germany, April 2nd 1945 American paratroopers, some of them hitching a ride on the British tank in the center of Prinzipalmarkt, advance past the historic town hall of Münster.
	Münster Germany, Spring 1945 Two American M4 Sherman tanks with extra sandbags on their fronts for protection, move down Alter Steinweg with the Saint Lambert Church and some German civilians in the background. Today the new Primark building on the left blocks the one in the "Then" photo.
	Münster Germany, Spring 1945 Schloss Münster was bombed several times and suffered serious damage. After the war, the British occupying forces first planned the complete demolition, but after protests by German officials, the castle was rebuilt to use it as an administrative and lecture building of State University.
	Berchtesgaden, Germany, late 1930's Sentry box at the Zum Türken hotel on the Obersalzberg outside of Berchtesgaden. The hotel was the Headquarters of the Reichssicherheitsdienst which had the task to protect the Führer who lived in the Berghof right around the corner. Then photo in arctic conditions presumably taken in the late 1930's.
	Berchtesgaden, Germany, late 1930's A rare photograph of Adolf Hitler in the Kehlsteinhaus. Although it cost a fortune in taxpayers' Reichmarks and was a gift from the Third Reich people to their Führer for his 50th birthday, Hitler seldom visited the Kehlsteinhaus because of his aversion to the thin mountain air and its high altitude. In the comparison we see the roofed sun terrace which today shows the history of the building on information panels.
	Berchtesgaden, Germany, May 1945 The entrance of the tunnel to the elevator to the Eagle's Nest, built in 1938. Then photo of American soldiers at the end of World War Two in 1945.
	Berchtesgaden, Germany, May 1945 American paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division enjoy the view from the terrace of the Kehlsteinhaus.
	Berchtesgaden, Germany, May 1945 American paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division relax in the comfortable chairs of the main room of the Kehlsteinhaus and drink to celebrate the end of World War Two.
	Berchtesgaden, Germany, 1945 Detectives at the Kehlsteinhaus inspecting Adolf Hitler's alpine retreat.
	Berchtesgaden, Germany, 1945 Soldiers of the 81st Airborne Anti-Aircraft Battalion of the 101st Airborne Division take time for a toast under a mural on the SchlossPlatz square. The text says: "To the fallen heroes of the Berchtesgaden market", but is changed to "the fallen sons of the Berchtesgaden market community" today.
	Berlin, Germany 1938 The Reichstag-(German Nazi-Parliament) building today and in its glory days of the Third Reich in 1938. 'Now'-photograph courtesy of Battle Detective Wilbert.
	Saint Peter Port, Guernsey, Channel Islands, June 1940 The Channel Islands were the only part of Great Britain under Nazi control during World War 2. On 30JUN1940 German troops began to arrive at Guernsey. Here, a Wehrmacht band is seen parading through High Street in St. Peter Port.
	Wewelsburg Castle, Germany 1937 Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler and NSDAP-Reichsorganisationsleiter Ley board a car in 1937 near Wewelsburg Castle; refurbished Himmler in the 1930's to become the Nazi equivalent of Camelot complete with a hall for the twelve knights, or "Obergruppenführersaal".
	Wewelsburg Castle, Germany 1941 "Pow-wow of evil". Gruppenführer assembly mid-June 1941. In the background the eastern façade of the castle. Burghauptmann Siegfried Taubert looks towards the camera. Reinhard Heydrich can be seen on the left-hand side, and Elfriede Wippermann, head of housekeeping at Wewelsburg Castle, on the right.
	Wewelsburg Castle, Germany 1945 The"Then-"picture looks like a peaceful image, but just a few days hours earlier SS leader Heinrich Himmler ordered this castle to be destroyed. The castle was used as a Nazi occult headquarters.
	Fulda, Germany, 1944 The German city of Fulda was bombed extensively in World War Two. Almost 1500 people were killed in Allied bombing raids of which the one in the night of September 11 and 12, 1944 was the heaviest. This is the Dom cathedral.
	Fulda, Germany, 1944 Gemuesemarkt (Vegetable Market) after the bombing of September 11th 1944. Note stacked rifles and German helmets in the period photograph, left lower corner. We assume a unit of soldiers was marched in to find survivors. Today, Gemuesemarkt is a street, not a square making an exact comparison impossible. The upper left picture is taken in the same spot. We then moved closer to the twin-tower church.
	Fulda, Germany, 1944 Koenig Strasse. We could only find this location because of the photograph's caption stating that this is near the Amtsgericht (Court House). War damage and post-war reconstruction changed this street drastically.
	Vittoria, Sicily, 1943 Operation "Husky", with its D-Day on July 10 1943, was the first Allied invasion on European soil. As in the landings in Normandy 11 months later, the invasion of Sicily was spearheaded by American and British paratroopers. Here, American soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division are marching down Via Cavour in Vittoria.
	Gela, Sicily, 1943 The US Army Signal Corps caption of this photograph reads: "US Troops in Gela on D+1". This is a few miles inland from the American landing beaches. The wreckage on the street is of a knocked-out Italian tank.
	Cassibile, Sicily, 1943 In the British sector, armored troops move North from the landing beaches in the direction of Syracuse. In this photograph, a Sherman tank leaves the old Market Square on the outskirts of Cassibile. The road in the foreground is the SS115; the main highway along the Eastern Sicilian coast.
	Cassibile, Sicily, 1943 The same stretch of SS115 with the majestic market square gate in the background. This is the route to the next objective: Syracuse. We think the previous photograph with the Sherman tank is a staged one for propaganda purposes.
	Catania, Sicily, 1943 Marines of the 7th Battalion Royal Marines inch forward on the Piazza del Duomo in Catania toward the Via Etnea.
	Catania, Sicily, 1943 The same location but just a few yards further down the street. The open gate in the gable behind Battledetective Tom in the "Now-photo" is the entrance of the hotel where we stayed in, in Catania.
	Catania, Sicily, 1943 Just around the corner of the location in our first photograph of Catania, these Marines dash forward in the opposite direction. Due to the finding in our Battle Study # 15 that photo's with action in the direction of the camera are usually staged, we think this one may be set up for propaganda purposes.
	Acireale, Sicily, 1943 Ten miles North of Catania two British Bren gunners and their assistants cover a street corner on the Via Vittorio Emmanuelle II in Acireale. The house on the left is No. 191 in that street today.
	Acireale, Sicily, 1943 A lone British "Tommy" peeks around the corner of the Via degli Studi. The street on the left hand side is renamed Vico (Alley) degli Studi after the war.
	Auschwitz I, 1940-1945 This is the "Stammlager" or original concentration camp, housing in already existing housing barracks in Oświęcim, Poland. The watchtowers, fences and gate with the infamous "Arbeit Macht Frei-" sign were added by the Germans.
	Auschwitz I, January 27th 1945 Surviving prisoners of the Nazi concentration camp cheer and hug Red Army soldier on the day the camp is liberated.
	Auschwitz I, January 27th 1945 The end of Nazi tyranny when a Russian soldier approaches the main gate of Auschwitz.
	Auschwitz I, January 27th 1945 Russian soldiers with prisoners of Block 19, the quarantine blockhouse in the medical section of the camp.
	Auschwitz I, January 27th 1945 Russian Army nurse with liberated children in Auschwitz. Many of them were twins as the Nazi's performed criminal medical experiments on twins to test effects.
	Auschwitz-Birkenau, 1945 The train platform inside Auschwitz-Birkenau were so many Jews met their death in the Nazi gas chambers. Photo taken after the liberation of the camp by the Russian Army. Note prisoner food bowls in foreground.
	Auschwitz-Birkenau, January 27th 1945 Not the exact location down to the very yard but this is in the "Kanada-" section of Auschwitz-Birkenau were all the belongings of the prisoners and gas chamber victims were stored. The Nazi's torched the barracks in an attempt to destroy evidence of their crimes. "Then"-photo by Red Army shows barracks still burning on the day the camp was liberated.
	Fort Eben Emaël, Belgium, May 1940 German soldiers discuss tactics used during the attack on the artillery cupolas of the Belgian Fort Eben Emaël on May 10 1940. The fort was considered impenetrable by the Belgian defenders, but was put of action by German glider troops within an hour.
	Fort Eben Emaël, Belgium, May 1940 The fort's main artillery cupola, "Cp 120", on the middle of the plateau on top of the fort. It featured two 120 millimeter guns. Note the circular impact marks of the dome shaped German hollow charges used to silence armored gun and observation positions.
	Fort Eben Emaël, Belgium, May 1940 German soldiers pose in front of "Bloc I", the main entrance block of the fort, during what is likely an after action analysis visit to the battlefield by members of taskforce "Granit" under Oberleutnant Witzig.
	Fort Eben Emaël, Belgium, May 1940 Armored observation turret on the south east corner of the fort overlooking the Albert Canal. The terrain in the distance is on Dutch territory.
	Fort Eben Emaël, Belgium, September 1944 GI's of the US Army's 30th Infantry Division at the main entrance of the fort. On the 10th of September 1944 the fort fell into Allied hands without a single shot fired.
	Hasselt, Belgium March 25th 1945 On Grote Markt square, U.S. 82nd Armored Reconnaissance Battalion of the 2nd Armored Division parades in East Belgian town of Hasselt, led by 66th Armored Regiment military band.
	Cozumel, Mexico, 1944 "Reservistas" of the defense force of the Mexican Island of Cozumel stand at attention during a parade on the island's main square. Mexico declared war on the Axis Powers in 1943.
	Paris, France, June 1940 German soldiers march down the the Champs Élysées after their capture of the French capital.
	Paris, France, August 1944 Battle Detective Tom looks up at the Eiffel Tower just as American G.I.'s did 67 years earlier. The German garrison of Paris surrendered on the 25th of August 1944.
	Paris, France, August 26th 1944 Parisians gather en masse in the Place de l'Étoile to see the liberators of their city. In 1970 this square was renamed Place General de Gaulle in honor of the commanding general of the Free French Forces.
	Paris, France, August 26th 1944 American soldiers of the 28th Infantry Division march down the Champs-Élysées, on a victory parade on the 26th of august 1944. This was a combined parade of the 28th US Infantry and the 2nd French Armored Divisions.
	Paris, France, August 26th 1944 The color guard of the 28th Infantry Division march in front of the Arc de Triomphe.
	Paris, France, August 26th 1944 An American M8 Light Armored Scout Car parades in front of the Arc de Triomphe. The M8 usually was fitted with a 37 mm M6 gun and a coaxially mounted .30 caliber Browning machine gun in an open-topped, welded turret. A .50 caliber Browning machine gun, as seen here, was sometimes carried on a ring mount for anti-aircraft use.
	Paris, France, August 26th 1944 The French 2nd Armored Division of General LeClerc is seen here on the Liberation Parade on the 26th of August.
	Paris, France, August 26th 1944 Parisians line the Champs Élysées as the French 2nd Armored Division tanks and half tracks pass before the Arc de Triomphe.
	Colditz, Germany, 1939-1945 The guard garrison of Oflag IV-C prison facility for Allied officers stands at attention near the main entrance to the Colditz Castle. The building on the left was demolished only a few years ago.
	Colditz, Germany, 1939-1945 The Dutch officers contingent poses in the court yard of the Prisoner Of War section of the castle.
	Colditz, Germany, 1939-1945 The ornate main entrance in the court yard served as the back ground for many group photos of Allied officers imprisoned at Colditz Castle. "Then-"section, top to bottom, left to right: "The Laufen Six" some of the first British officers who entered Oflag IV-C on November 7th 1940, French officers, Belgian officers, Polish officers, Battle detectives Tom & Wilbert, British officers.
	Colditz, Germany, April 16th 1945 American GI's and an M4 Sherman tank on the river Mulde bridge in the town of Colditz. Until this moment the bridge was known as "Adolf Hitler Brücke".
	Berlin, Germany, May 2nd 1945 Soviet Army Army photographer Yevgeny Khaldei 'shot' Private Alexei Kovalyov from Kiev while rasing the Red Flag on the German Reichstag. It took this agency some effort to find the correct location of Khaldei's position.
	Albert, France, January 15th 1915 During World War I, the statue of Mary and the infant Jesus on the Albert basilica was hit by a shell on January 15, 1915, and slumped to a near-horizontal position, where it remained until further shelling in 1918 destroyed the tower. The British said that whoever made the statue fall would lose the war, whilst the Germans thought the opposite. The "Leaning Virgin" became a familiar image to the British soldiers who fought at the Battle of the Somme in 1916.
	Bruneval, France, February 1942 R.A.F. photo of the German "Wurzburg" radar station near Bruneval on the French coast. On February 27th 1942 120 British paratroopers conducted a raid on the radar station. 75 years later, this agency was on the spot where the "Wurzburg" used to be. Note remains of the villa in the background.
	Dieppe, France, August 19th 1942 Canadian soldiers, taken prisoner after the August 19th 1942 raid on the French coastal town of Dieppe, are marched inland along the Rue de Sygogne, the only street with an access gate from the sea front promenade into town.
	Dieppe, France, August 19th 1942 A few hundred yards up the same Rue de Sygogne towards the sea front, with a concrete roadblock constructed by the Germans. The buildings on the left are replaced by modern ones today.
	Dieppe, France, August 19th 1942 "Cat" was one of the Canadian Churchill tanks that made it across the beach onto the esplanade. It cruised up and down for hours firing its guns into the houses in the background until a Ju87 "Stuka" dive bomber knocked it out.
	Dieppe, France, August 19th 1942 TLC (Tank Landing Craft)1, which succeeded in bringing in 3 Canadian tanks and a scout car on the eastern end of "Red" beach, was hit several times by enemy coastal artillery and sank in shallow waters near the West Jetty.
	Dieppe, France, August 19th 1942 Canadian Churchill tank "Bert" made it across the beach but was put out of action when its left track was blown off near the casino of Dieppe; the camouflaged building on the right. Note the medieval chateau in the background.
	Hamminkeln, Germany, March 24th 1945 Drop- and Landing zones of the 6th Airborne Division north-west of Hamminkeln. A jeep and trailer on Mehrhooger Strasse at the point where West Strasse branches off as "Umgehungsstrasse" or ring road; hence the letter "U" on the signs Now and Then.
	Hamminkeln, Germany, March 24th 1945 British Airborne infantrymen of "D" Company, The Devonshire Regiment regroup at the elementary school on Mehrhooger Strasse in Hamminkeln.
	Hamminkeln, Germany, March 24th 1945 The elementary school's playground, located at the back of the elementary school along Bislicher Strasse, was used as a collecting point for German prisoners of war.
	Hamminkeln, Germany, March 24th 1945 A group of German civilians and prisoners of war is led away from the Kloppert brewery. The civilians were sent to the Evangelist church.
	Bergerfurth, Germany, March 24th 1945 German POW's are brought in on the first day of Operation “Varsity”. On the right is the Bergerfurth elementary school. The church on the left is no longer there.
	Bocholt, Germany, March 29th 1945 British infantrymen in front of the historical city hall of Bocholt.
	Bocholt, Germany, March 29th 1945 Infantry of the 2nd Battalion of the Monmouthshire Regiment, 53rd (Welsh) Division move forward at the railway station on March 29th 1945. On the wall is a Nazi graffiti saying: "Now more than ever: Heil Hitler!"
	Camp Mourmelon, France, December 1944 After having been in combat for 72 in Holland since the beginning of Operation Market Garden, the 101st Airborne Division was finally given a well deserved rest. The troops of the division were billeted in brick barracks in the French army camp near Mourmelon-le-Grand. This is the guard house building which served as division CP while Division HQ was quartered in the school building in Reims where on May 7th 1945 German General Jodl signed the surrender instrument on behalf of all Third Reich armed forces in Europe.
	Camp Mourmelon, France, December 1944 The CP building has not changed much and is located next to the D21 highway outside the town of Mourmelon-le-Grand proper.
	Camp Mourmelon, France, December 1944 According to historian Mark Bando's "Vanguard of the Crusade" Sergeant Ed Hallo of "A" Company, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment was detailed to lower the American flag on the roof of the CP every evening.
	Camp Mourmelon, France, December 18th 1944 Troops of the 101st Airborne Division preparing to deploy to the Belgian Ardennes. Note jeep with "geen liefde" painted on the windshield. Something the trooper in the passenger seat might have picked up in Holland meaning "no love" in Dutch.
	Reims, France, May 7th 1945 Celebrating the German surrender and the end of World War 2 in the ETO, Paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division parade in Reims on Place Myron Herrick into Rue Carnot. The view is down Rue du Trésor with the Notre-Dame cathedral in the background.
	Nice, France, Summer 1945 The famous Negresco hotel in Nice, Southern France. In the "Then-"photo American paratroopers of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Division arrive at the hotel on Promenade des Anglais for some well deserved Rest & Relaxation.
	Raversijde, Belgium, December 1943 Tall Battle Detective Ivo stands in for the German sentry in the "Then-"photo in which Field Marshall Erwin Rommel is shown inspecting the Raversijde Battery, part of the Atlantik Wall, in December 1943. The letters UvD on the concrete sentry box stand for "Unteroffizier vom Dienst", or Duty Non-Commissioned Officer. The battery is now part of the Raversyde Atlantik Wall Museum; which is well worth a visit.
	Pisa, Italy, 1943 SS soldiers admire the Cathedral in Pisa with the famed Leaning Tower in the foreground, in 1943, during the German occupation of Italy in World War Two.
	Pisa, Italy, September 6th 1944 US Army Signal Corps photo MM-5-44-10249: American soldiers enter the Piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa with the cathedral and famous Leaning Tower while liberating the city on September 2nd 1944.
	Pisa, Italy, September 6th 1944 US Army Signal Corps photo MM-5-44-10268 with official caption: "American tanks on way to front, circle past the famed 'Leaning Tower.' Pisa, Italy. 6 September 1944". Today an Italian Army vehicle stood in for the American M10 tank destroyer in front of the tower. The tank on the left of the "Then-"photo is an M4 Sherman tank.
	Leipzig, Germany, April 18th 1945 A lone rifleman of the American 69th Infantry Division enters the crypt in the "Volkerschlachtdenkmal"; the gigantic monument to commemorate the Battle of the Nations in 1813. The building was heavily defended by SS troops.
	Leipzig, Germany, April 18th 1945 The following 7 comparisons are from a series of photos taken by war photographer Robert Capa shortly after an American machine-gunner on a nearby apartment building balcony was killed by a German sniper.
	Leipzig, Germany, April 18th 1945 Street cars have been placed on the street and weighed down with bricks to create a road block against the American attackers. A buddy of the machine-gunner who got killed nearby charges at German Prisoners of War with fixed bayonet.
	Leipzig, Germany, April 18th 1945 More German soldiers surrender and run passed the angry GI. The wall in the background is gone but the building behind it, still stands and is home to the Leipzig grassroots and youth sports Club ("Sportgemeinschaft Leipziger Verkehrsbetriebe").
	Leipzig, Germany, April 18th 1945 With their hands up, even more German soldiers surrender. The "Now-" location could only be identified by comparing the pavement with the missing bricks in the previous photo in Robert Capa's series.
	Leipzig, Germany, April 18th 1945 Capa then followed American soldiers of the 2nd ("Indian Head") Infantry Division move east towards the center of the city while German soldiers are running in the opposite direction with their hands up in surrender.
	Leipzig, Germany, April 18th 1945 The bridge carries traffic on Jahnallee across the Elsterbecken river. In July 1945 the Americans withdrew from Leipzig, retiring westward to the line that marked the designated postwar zones of occupation and the Red Army moved in.
	Leipzig, Germany, April 18th 1945 The Americans are still cautious as these images were taken only moments after the killing of their buddy Raymond Bowman; perhaps by the very Germans speeding passed them here.
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