Description

Signal
Nr. 6 / 1. Jahrgang • Berlin • 1. Juli 1940
Publisher: Deutscher Verlag, Berlin SW 68, Kochstrasse 22–26 | Editor-in-Chief: Harald Lechenperg | Frequency: Fortnightly (alle 14 Tage) |

Pages scanned: 40

Overview
This issue, published at the height of the Western Campaign’s conclusion, provides a comprehensive German-language photojournalistic account of the fall of Dunkirk (1–4 June 1940), featuring the first colour photographs from the Western Front, a reproduction of a captured secret British War Office intelligence report, the full diary of a captured British officer, detailed battle-art spreads on combined-arms warfare, and diplomatic coverage of Italy’s new ambassador to both Berlin and Rome.

Articles and Features

Richtung? Strasse nach Dunkirchen! / Direction? Road to Dunkirk!
A vivid narrative account of the collapse of Allied forces at Dunkirk, describing the chaos on the roads and beaches from a German perspective, with scenes drawn from London and from the French retreat.

Das war der Feldzug vom 10. Mai bis 4. Juni 1940 im Westen / The Western Campaign, 10 May – 4 June 1940
A two-page illustrated campaign map tracing German advance positions in six stages (10, 15, 18, 21, 26, and 30 May) across Holland, Belgium, and northern France, with explanatory captions.

…und ein Bildberichterstatter war dabei / …And a Photo-Correspondent Was There / undefined
A photo-essay in four sequential frames showing a German anti-tank gun crew destroying an enemy tank — identified as Panzer 12173 — during the advance, alongside a photograph of a bunker disguised as a farmhouse.

Ein Bericht über das Verhältnis der britischen Truppen in Frankreich zu den französischen Truppen und der Zivilbevölkerung / A Report on the Conduct of British Troops in France toward French Troops and the Civilian Population
Sir John Reith, G.B.E., British Minister of Information; transmitted to Maj.-Gen. F. N. Mason MacFarlane, C.B., M.C., Director Military Intelligence, British Expeditionary Forces
A reproduction and German translation of a classified British War Office document (Document No. 77, dated 8/1/40) criticising the behaviour of British troops in France toward the French civilian population and French military; presented by Signal as captured enemy intelligence.

Vor den Toren Englands / Before the Gates of England
A multi-page photographic spread of the aftermath at Dunkirk beach: abandoned British artillery, burned-out vehicles, a destroyed warship, equipment bearing the name Lt. Col. J. Morrison, and columns of Allied prisoners of war marching into captivity.

Flucht im Zick-Zack / Flight in Zigzag
Two dramatic aerial photographs taken from a German bomber showing a French destroyer near Boulogne attempting evasive manoeuvres before being struck and sunk.

In Berlin und…ROM / In Berlin and…ROME
Diplomatic photo-feature covering the arrival and presentation of Italy’s new ambassador, Dino Alfieri, in Berlin and his formal reception by the Pope at the Vatican, accompanied by the Swiss Guard.

Die ersten Farbfotos von der grossen Schlacht im Westen / The First Colour Photographs from the Great Battle in the West
Three full-colour photographs — the burning city of Sedan at night, a road strewn with destroyed Allied vehicles, and a long column of French prisoners — described as the first colour images published from the Western Campaign.

Schlacht – vor der Infanteriespitze / Battle Ahead of the Infantry Point
An illustrated tactical article explaining German combined-arms doctrine: how the Luftwaffe, armour, paratroopers, and airborne troops prepared and softened objectives before infantry assault, illustrated with detailed combat-art panoramas and explanatory diagrams.

Fallschirmjäger greifen ein / Paratroopers Strike
No author credited. Artwork signed: Hans Liska.
Two full-colour combat paintings by artist Hans Liska depicting German paratroopers descending on and securing a western airfield in the opening phase of the Western Campaign.

Inzwischen rollt der grosse Angriff… / Meanwhile the Great Attack Rolls Forward…
Artwork signed: Hans Liska.
Full-colour combat artwork continuing the combined-arms battle narrative, showing Luftwaffe low-level attacks on Allied marching columns and armoured breakthrough scenes.

Seiner Majestät Leutnant Tony Strachans Tagebuch / His Majesty’s Lieutenant Tony Strachan’s Diary
No author credited (diary by Lt. Tony Strachan, Leicester Regiment, as captured document).
The reproduced and fully translated diary of British Lt. Tony Strachan, captured by Germans near Lillehammer, Norway on 22 April 1940, running from 6 April to 29 April and covering the chaotic Allied withdrawal from Norway with candid observations about poor organisation and Anglo-French relations.

Eine Stadt für sich / A City unto Itself
A two-page photographic feature on the Heinkel aircraft works at Marienehe near Rostock, presented as a self-contained industrial city with its own butcher’s shop, fire brigade, sports grounds, medical clinic, women’s retreat, and canteen — visited in 1936 by Colonel Lindbergh.

Ins rechte Licht gesetzt? Spielereien mit farbigen Strahlen / Placed in the Right Light? Playing with Coloured Rays
A colour-photography demonstration feature showing the same young woman photographed under blue, red, green, and mixed-coloured stage lighting to illustrate how coloured light can simulate different emotional states — pale fright, ruddy embarrassment, suntanned health, firelight glow.

Eine Maus ist wieder da! / A Mouse Is Back!
A natural history short reporting the rediscovery of the birch mouse (Birkenmaus / Streifenmaus) in an East Prussian nature reserve, believed extinct in Central Europe, illustrated with a striking macro photograph.

Well roared, lion
A propaganda feature reproducing and mocking five British newspaper cartoons from the Daily Mail, Daily Dispatch, Daily Express, and Manchester Guardian, which depicted Germany’s blitzkrieg as fanciful or confused, with German commentary dismissing them as wishful thinking proven wrong by events.

England im Mittelmeer / England in the Mediterranean
By Dr. Ernst Lewalter
A lengthy historical-geopolitical essay tracing British strategic expansion through Gibraltar, Malta, Egypt, Cyprus, and the Suez Canal from Queen Elizabeth I to 1940, arguing that British Mediterranean policy has been consistently predatory and obstructive rather than constructive.

Mittagspause in der Sonne / Lunchtime in the Sun
A light photo-feature on summer leisure activities of Berlin women — swimming at the Olympic Stadium pool, skiing under ultraviolet lamps, resting by waterfalls — accompanied by the final-page colophon.

Täglich geöffnet von 9-3 / Open Daily 9 to 3
A colour photo-feature on the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum in Berlin, showing a woman studying Albrecht Dürer’s portrait of Hieronymus Holzschuher, and German soldiers on leave viewing Old Master paintings including a Botticelli Venus.

Advertisements
p. 2 — Agfa (I.G. Farben) — Agfa film, plates, cameras, cine-film, and photographic chemicals (Isochrom, Isopan, Isopan ISS, Lupex, Brovira, Billy, Karat, Isolette, Agfacolor-Filme, etc.)
p. 29 — R. Stock & Co. — Stock precision cutting tools (drill bits, milling heads, threading dies); manufactured in Berlin-Marienfelde
p. 34 — Mix & Genest AG, Berlin-Schöneberg — Telephone and telecommunications equipment; 60-year anniversary advertisement
p. 35 — M. Hensoldt & Soehne, Wetzlar — Hensoldt Dialyt extra-light prismatic field binoculars for travel, sport, and hunting
p. 39 — Hein, Lehmann & Co. K.G., Berlin-Tempelhof — Radio / transmission towers engineered to the world’s greatest heights; illustration shows Berlin Funkturm at night

Colour Plates Summary
• Cover (p. 1) — German infantry advancing along the Dunkirk beach toward a burning Allied vessel in the background; caption in red circle: “Vor den Toren Englands: Deutsche Infanterie am Strand von Dünkirchen” (Before the Gates of England: German Infantry on the Beach at Dunkirk). Black-and-white halftone on red-bordered cover.
• p. 9 (top) — ★ MOST DRAMATIC COLOUR PLATE: Night photograph of Sedan burning after the German assault; the entire city skyline is silhouetted in deep orange and red flame-glow against a dark sky. Caption: “Sedan brennt!” (Sedan Burns!). Extraordinarily rare true-colour combat photograph; possibly the most dramatic image in the issue.
• p. 9 (centre) — Colour photograph of a road outside a French town littered with burned-out Allied vehicles, trucks, and abandoned equipment under summer foliage. Caption: “Rückzugstraßen des Gegners — Vormarschstraßen der Deutschen” (The Enemy’s Retreat Roads — the Germans’ Advance Roads).
• p. 9 (bottom) — Colour photograph of a long column of French and colonial prisoners of war, faces visible in close-up, queuing under German guard. A racially diverse group including African colonial troops.
• p. 10 — Single full-page colour photograph: a German artillery piece in a foxhole foreground with a farmer ploughing a field with two horses in the background. Caption: “Felder im Schutz der Waffen von Soldaten bestellt” (Fields Tilled under the Protection of Soldiers’ Weapons). Propaganda imagery of normalcy alongside military presence.
• p. 19 (top) — Colour combat painting by Hans Liska of paratroopers exiting aircraft over a burning airfield in dramatic orange and grey tones.
• p. 19 (bottom) — Large colour painting by Hans Liska of paratroopers landing at dusk amid fire and smoke, parachutes in white against a crimson and grey sky.
• p. 20 (top) — Colour combat painting showing a burning windmill at dusk with German forces advancing; by Hans Liska.
• p. 20 (bottom) — Large dramatic colour combat painting by Liska of a German Stuka attack on Allied marching columns: soldiers fleeing, a tank burning in the centre, a low-flying aircraft overhead. Vivid oranges and purples.
• p. 21 — Full-page colour combat painting by Liska titled “Die ‘Schlacht vor der Infanteriespitze’ ist geschlagen” showing French prisoners surrendering to German infantry and tanks at dusk, a fallen French tricolour in the foreground debris.
• p. 22 — Six colour photographs demonstrating coloured-light photography effects on a young woman in a red-and-white striped top: blue (fear-pale), red (embarrassment), tri-colour mosaic, warm firelight, etc.
• p. 31 — Full-page colour photograph of a young fashionably dressed woman at the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum studying Albrecht Dürer’s portrait of Hieronymus Holzschuher.
• p. 32 (top) — Colour photograph of German soldiers in uniform viewing old-master portraits at the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum.
• p. 32 (bottom left) — Colour photograph of a German soldier and female companion viewing Sandro Botticelli’s Venus painting at the National Gallery, Berlin.
• p. 32 (bottom right) — Colour photograph of museum visitors including an elderly man and women viewing a large nocturnal cityscape painting at the National Gallery.
• Back cover (p. 40) — Red-bordered monochrome rear cover showing a salt-encrusted British machine gun and a Gold Flake cigarette tin left abandoned on the Dunkirk beach. Caption: “Ein Tropfen im Kielwasser einer zerschlagenen Armee…” (A Drop in the Wake of a Shattered Army).