Description
Illustrierter Beobachter
January 1945 | 20th Year
Publisher: Verlag Franz Eher Nachf. GmbH, Munich 22
Pages scanned: 12
Note: December issue delivery was delayed due to wartime conditions (stated on back page)
Cover Page
Caption: “Kaltes Blut und sichere Hand” (Cold Blood and a Steady Hand). Close-up of a German soldier aiming a Panzerschreck (anti-tank rocket launcher) at an important section of the Eastern Front. Photo credit: War correspondent Uecker.
Major Headlines & Content
1. Die Nacht des Entschlusses — Ein Unternehmen wird vorbereitet (The Night of Decision — An Operation is Prepared)
By PK war correspondent Pincornelly. A two-page dramatized photo-documentary in 12 numbered scenes, showing a German regimental commander and battalion officers planning a night combat operation. Scenes depict the initial briefing, map study, deception planning (a feint attack), messenger waiting, equipment checks, the selection of a veteran Oberfeldwebel to lead the assault troop, final preparations, and the commander trying to sleep before the mission begins. No specific location named — generic Eastern Front context.
2. Die vom Jahrgang 1928 (Those of the Class of 1928)
Photo report by Reinhold Lessmann. A feature on 16–17-year-old boys born in 1928 now serving or preparing to serve. Named individuals: shoe-apprentice Werner W. (Luftwaffe helper, wants to be a U-boat man); Hitler Youth leader Ferdinand B. (serving with the Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler); commercial school student Peter G. (volunteered for infantry/mountain troops at age 16 in Volkssturm training); gymnasium student Adolf K. (wants to fight in the West against the English and Americans as a paratrooper). Caption: “Their morning of life saw Germany’s awakening — fighting ripens them into men.”
3. Frauen lösen Soldaten ab (Women Replace Soldiers)
Feature on women and girls of the BDM (League of German Girls) volunteering for Wehrmacht auxiliary service to free up fighting men. Photo spread shows female Luftwaffe auxiliaries (Fliegerhelferinnen) refuelling aircraft engines, receiving technical instruction on engine pre-heaters, doing metalwork (Schlosserarbeiten), and carefully folding parachutes. Caption notes women are assigned to office, signals, medical, and administrative roles, with suitable women also serving as Luftwaffe technical auxiliaries.
4. Flitterwochen im Urlauberheim (Honeymoon at the Holiday Home)
Photo feature on a Wehrmacht-run honeymoon facility built by a division for its newlyweds on home leave. Images show couples arriving (“She came from the West, he from the East”), a traditional threshold-carrying, cosy furnished rooms, and a group portrait of several newlywed couples and their soldier-escorts. Photos by Hamann, To-Ep.
5. In Freud und Not mit Eugen Roth (In Joy and Hardship with Eugen Roth)
Full-page tribute to Munich poet Eugen Roth on the occasion of his 50th birthday, 24 January 1945. Includes his autobiographical poem “Kleiner Lebenslauf” (Short Curriculum Vitae) and several of his well-known humorous poems: “Unlauglicher Versuch,” “Das Böse,” “Der Traum,” “Der Phantast,” “Das Urviech,” “Vorsicht!,” “Geben und Nehmen,” “Warnung,” and “Schmerzliches Erlebnis.” Portrait photo by W. Brunner. Born in Munich on 24 January 1895.
Other Content
Essay — “Lob der kleinen Freuden” (In Praise of Small Pleasures): A reflective prose piece (signed W—n) on learning to appreciate subtle, everyday pleasures rather than always seeking grand experiences. Illustrated with a silhouette shadow photo captioned “Reizvolles Schattenspiel” (Charming Shadow Play), photo by Tobis-Hespos.
Fiction — “Abenteuer um Mitternacht” / “Eine nicht alltägliche Liebesgeschichte in zwei Briefen” (Midnight Adventure / An Uncommon Love Story in Two Crossed Letters): A comic short story told in two letters that cross in the post — a man and a woman on a train to Munich–Vienna, 12 December, each independently describing the same overnight mishap from their own perspective. Portrait photos by Walter Brunner.
Fiction — “Der Kriegsmaler” (The War Painter): By Kurt Preis. Humorous first-person anecdote about a soldier-painter sketching at the front near a tank wreck and a machine-gun post. Mentions locations Munich (Ludwigstrasse, Au district) and Liaba (Libau/Liepāja). Includes an encounter with a division commander posing for a portrait. Illustration by Prof. E. v. Dombrowski.
Cartoon spread — “So viel Liebe zu den Tieren!” (Such Love for Animals!): Back-page humorous cartoon strip by Anton Kolnberger. Wartime animal-keeping jokes: a man (Herr Süßnase) befriending a farmer’s pig; a newlywed couple encountering pigs at their honeymoon hotel breakfast; Frau Kommerzienrat Nobelberg keeping geese in her salon; Assessor Breitkopf collecting rabbit feed at night; and a man devising elaborate machinery to help hens lay eggs.
Editorial Note
Chief editor: Dietrich Loder. Deputy: Dr. Hans Diebow. Advertising: Joh. Bartenschlager, Munich. Printed by Buchgewerbehaus M. Müller & Sohn, Munich. The back page notes that for wartime reasons, delivery of the December issue of this illustrated magazine had to be suspended. This document is a historical artifact for research purposes.