Frontkämpfer is a collection of World War II German photographs, the majority of which have never been published before. Sourced directly from personal photo albums of German veterans, Allied soldiers, and archival resources, readers are taken on a chronological journey through World War II, its beginning in September 1939 with the Blitzkrieg invasion of Poland and its culmination with the German surrender in Berlin in May 1945. Frontkämpfer takes the reader through the campaigns in Europe, North Africa, and the Soviet Union, as well as the air war and the war at sea. Featured in this volume are all branches of the German Wehrmacht: Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen SS, foreign volunteer legions, Volkssturm, and auxiliary support units. This book presents a detailed study of the uniforms, small arms, equipment, and machinery of the German military, including rare and experimental subject matter. Historically significant battles such as Stalingrad and wartime personalities are featured as well. As an added bonus, photographs from the early post-war years are included, highlighting the return of German POWs, the reconstruction of Germany, and the birth of the West German Bundeswehr and East German Nationale Volksarmee. Frontkämpfer is a must have for students of German military history.

Table of Contents:

Blitzkrieg 1939 to 1942; First days of the Poland invasion of 1939; The invasions of France and the Low Countries in 1940; The Balkans and North Africa in 1941–1942; The arctic theater of Norway and Finland; The War at Sea; The Barbarossa invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941; The drive across the steppe to the Caucasus Mountains and the gates of Asia; The horrific Battle of Stalingrad in the winter of 1942; The German retreat from the banks of the Volga River at Stalingrad in early 1943; The Allied invasion of Western Europe in 1944; The costly battles of late 1944 to the Fall of Berlin in 1945; Late-war images from Press Corps and Allied sources; Rarely seen images of the early post-war reconstruction period of 1946–1961.