posted on August 24, 2001 08:12:21 PM
Greetings all,
I recently aquired three photos of American soldiers in Germany during WWII. The photos are all dated "Plauen May 7, 1945". The soldiers are identified as Bob Lee, Low Cowburn, and Bill Redd.
May 7, 1945 was the day Germany surrendered to Allied troops -- no wonder these boys look happy!
Here's a scan of the three photos:
Does anyone know what the value for these items might be? Or any details on what happened in Plauen that day?
posted on August 24, 2001 08:45:35 PM
I can't answer about the possible value, but being dated, and the date, certainly adds some interest. But, these are snapshots which might detract a little.
I sold a bunch of official US Army Signal Corps photographs on eBay, and did fairly well with them. The photos of aircraft, ships, tanks, installations and soldiers in action do OK and I sold these from about $10 to $35 each. But that is not much for good WWII photos. Some go much higher than that.
Many were of action in the Phillipenes, when the U.S. forces were winning back those islands from the Japanese, and many of these went to one collector in the Phillipenes.
Maybe someone in Plauen will really want these, even moreso than the average collector.
[ edited by loosecannon on Aug 24, 2001 08:52 PM ]
posted on August 24, 2001 10:05:07 PM
I did a search, and it seems the 2nd Panzer Div surrendered to the Russians in Plauen on May 5th... But that's as close as I could find.
posted on August 24, 2001 10:33:49 PM
Of course they where. But our troops, and their's didn't "mix" very much. Maybe this was one of the places our forces met???
posted on August 24, 2001 11:25:20 PMhttp://www.thehistorynet.com/worldwarii/articles/1997/07972_text.htm This was the largest German field command still in existence on May 7, 1945. Army Group South consisted of four field armies, each numbering approximately 200,000 soldiers. Three of the four armies surrendered directly to the 71st Division. The fourth was swept up by the advancing Red Army.
posted on August 25, 2001 06:26:00 AM
I did a search too. The US 87th Infantry Division entered Plauen, so these men above were likely in that Division.
posted on August 25, 2001 06:37:03 AM
I am a photographer and have watched similar auctions over the years. The photos themselves are small and, well, dull and will usually fetch only a few dollars on ebay.
However, as has been suggested, the write-up that you do could bring them to life. Given a credible and interesting story, they could fetch more because of an _emotional_ connection you develop with the reader.
Other comments here have provided some helpful facts. Go beyond the surface of the photos. Look hard at the soldier, put yourself in his shoes, and tell us what he just went through, what he is feeling, and what he is likely hoping for.
That is what I would do. When people buy photos, they are buying memories.
posted on August 25, 2001 10:42:10 AM
Thanks, everybody, for the help -- I appreciate the links and historical information!
I am planning to do a really interesting description of these items -- the photos aren't terribly interesting from an artistic standpoint, but I got chills up and down my spine when I realized when they were taken. Should be an interesting auction, at any rate...
Should be an interesting auction, at any rate...