Description
Illustrierter Beobachter
Donnerstag, 5. Dezember 1940 • 15. Jahrgang • Folge 49
Zentralverlag der NSDAP, Franz Eher Nachf. GmbH, München 22
32 pages scanned
Feldpost edition; international pricing listed
Cover Page
Caption: “Ausländische Militärattachés und Pressevertreter besichtigen die angeblich von englischen Fliegern zerstörten Berliner Bahnhöfe” (“Foreign military attachés and press representatives inspect the allegedly RAF-destroyed Berlin railway stations”)
Subject: Close-up portrait of foreign military attachés attending the inspection tour of Berlin railway stations, led by Reichspressechef Dr. Dietrich and Generalleutnant Bodenschatz.
Location: Berlin
Photo credit: Associated Press
Major Headlines & Content
Der Bomben-Bluff von Berlin (The Bombing Bluff of Berlin) — Propaganda photo spread refuting British claims that the RAF destroyed Berlin railway stations on the night of 23–24 November 1940. Foreign military attachés and press correspondents, led by Reichspressechef Dr. Dietrich and Generalleutnant Bodenschatz, tour undamaged stations—Berlin Potsdamer Bahnhof, Bahnhof Putlitzstraße, and Lehrter Bahnhof—and confirm them intact. Photo credit: Associated Press.
Langemarck — Photo feature marking the annual Langemarck commemoration. Reichsstudentenführer Dr. G. A. Scheel meets with Knight’s Cross holders Oberleutnant Balther and Oberleutnant Steger, veterans of the Langemarck volunteer corps. Dr. Rudach, war representative of the Reichsstudentenführer, also pictured. Wreath-laying at the Langemarck memorial.
Jahrestagung der Akademie für Deutsches Recht (Annual Conference of the Academy for German Law) — 1940 conference opening at the Universität München. Reichsminister Generalgouverneur Dr. Frank addressed delegates. Seated in front row: academy president, Reichsminister Dr. Frank, Gauleiter Adolf Wagner, and Italian Justice Minister Count Dino Grandi. Photo credits: Norz (2), Henkel (1).
Paris 1940 — Photo feature on occupied Paris. Images show a French police officer saluting German troops marching on the Champs-Élysées; souvenir Eiffel Tower models; anti-British propaganda posters listing grievances against England; and a ‘N’oubliez pas Oran’ poster referencing Mers-el-Kébir. Photo credit: Paula Wehr.
England bezieht Schläge (England Takes Its Blows) — Combat photo feature showing a Luftwaffe pilot receiving orders in-flight and an He 111 in low-level flight. A full-page illustration depicts German Stukas attacking a British convoy. Map shows Coventry and Birmingham. Photo credits: PK Eschenburg (Hr. Hoffmann); PK Atlantic. Illustrations by Lazarus.
Das englische Rüstungszentrum Coventry wird von deutschen Bombern zerschlagen (The English Armaments Centre Coventry Is Smashed by German Bombers) — Full-page illustration depicting the Luftwaffe raid on Coventry as retaliation for a British attack on München. Map by Tilsner shows Birmingham, Coventry, and London.
Mädel der deutschen Wehrmacht (Girls of the German Wehrmacht) — Photo feature on female Wehrmacht auxiliaries serving in signals and communications roles in Paris. Shows women working switchboards and teleprinters, relaxing in a hotel, visiting the Eiffel Tower platform, and attending the KdF-Soldaten-Theater. Photo credit: Leif Geiges.
Köpfe der Woche (Faces of the Week) — Nine portrait photographs with captions: Staatspräsident Dr. Tiso (Slovakia); Reichsverweser Admiral von Horthy (Hungary); König Michael I. (Romania); Reichsarbeitsminister Seldte; Reichsminister Dr. Frank; Minister Graf Dino Grandi (Italy); Senator Arturo Bocchini (died 20 November 1940, Chief of Italian Police); Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler; König Faruk von Ägypten. Photo credits: Weltbild (8), H. Hoffmann (1).
Other Content
Fiction serial — Die drei Hellwang-Kinder by Horst Biernath (2. Fortsetzung / 2nd instalment). Domestic drama set in the Hellwang household; characters include Fräulein Zögling (governess), Kathi (maid), Ludia, Britta, and Wolfgang (children), and publisher Christian Vollertbun (visitor). Copyright: Franz Eher Nachl. G.m.b.H., München 22.
Humour column — Anekdoten — Short anecdotes about Mark Twain, Otto von Bismarck, and Alfonso IV of Spain; cartoon strip Von beliebten und anderen Chefs (office humour, illustrations by Emerich Huber). Cartoon caption illustration by Kossatz.
Photo feature — In glitzerndem Glas (In Gleaming Glass) — Fashion feature on Plexiglas shoes for street and evening wear, produced in Offenbach. Photo credit: Hans Günther Titz.
Photo feature — Besondere Kennzeichen: ‚Kein Mauerblümchen!’ — Fewa detergent promotional feature with illustrated characters.
Humour column — Maxl — Anecdote set at a Schillingstraße pharmacy, featuring a boy named Maxl.
Puzzles — Kreuzworträtsel (crossword), Gitterrätsel (grid puzzle), Kryptogramm, Zahlenrätsel (number puzzle), Silbenrätsel (syllable puzzle), Silbenkreuz, Magisches Quadrat. Solutions to Folge 48 puzzles also printed.
Subscription advertisement — Full-page subscription coupon for the Illustrierter Beobachter and the newspaper Die Post, offered as a Christmas gift; published by Zentralverlag der NSDAP, München 22, Thierschstraße 11.
Film advertisement — Friedrich Schiller – Der Triumph eines Genies — Tobis film directed by Herbert Maisch; cast includes Heinrich George, Friedrich Kayßler, Paul Dahlke, Lil Dagover, Eugen Klöpfer, Paul Henckels, Horst Caspar, Hannelore Schroth, Hans Nielsen.
Advertisements — Mouson Lavendel, Deinhard Kabinett, Leica (Ernst Leitz Wetzlar), Bols Apricot, Bols Creme de Menthe, Cutex, Rotbart, Mauthe, Wagner Privat Sekt, Palliativ-Cream, Scharlachberg Meisterbrand, Atikah, Bayer Arzneimittel, Lokse Uralt Lavendel, Kosmos Khedive, Sonnal, Fasan (Solingen), Vauen, Schlichte, Petrol Duswald, Herbin-Stodin, Darmol, Fachingen, Dornbusch, UHU, Kamp Silberhals, Soltit, Nivea, Chlorodont, Hanewacker, Nedalax, Simi, Muratti Privat, Austria Zigaretten, Soennecken Füllhalter, Mauthe, Hensoldt & Söhne, Schirdewan Breslauer Brennerei, Matador, Pilo.