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IMMEDIATE POST-WW2 HARDCOVER PHOTO BOOK OF THE
US ZONE OF GERMANY ~ 215 PAGES
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Text and images copyright © 2025 by USM, Inc.
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Other photos show Augsburg, Bayreuth, Bremen, Chiemsee, Darmstadt, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Heidelberg, Herrsching am Ammersee, Karlsruhe, Kassel, München, Nürnberg, Oberammergau, Rothenburg, Stuttgart, Wiesbaden and even the Hitler’s Reichsautobahn.
The very interesting 11 page English-language introduction by Eberhard Beckmann (Director of Radio Frankfurt) provides historic details about the places on the itinerary, as well as what happened to many during the Third Reich and World War II.
This immediate postwar English language photo book Germany - The American Zone contains a tour for GIs through the US Zone of Germany. The illustrations have been arranged in the proper sequence of the tour itinerary and are shown on the map on the front flyleaf. The 200 fine, full-page Leica photos show the towns and villages in the US Zone (many in then & now format). The “tour” starts in Frankfurt am Rhein, the second most important German city in the US Zone (after Berlin) and the first photos show the famous IG Farben building which had become the USFECT Headquarters.
The importance of the Hitler Movement is mentioned in the paragraphs about Munich and Nuremberg and the text also mentions that the city of Kassel was 90% destroyed by air raids.
The introduction ends by saying that “America is stretching out its hand to the enemy of yesterday. Germany had to be destroyed in order to get rid of Hitler and his dreadful regime. With assistance from abroad the Germans are now building a new state within a peaceful world moved by the noble principles of humanity.”
The state-of-the-art bobsled run built for the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen is pictured, as well as other Olympic facilities. Even the famous Bamberg Knight statue made it in this beautifully produced immediate postwar photo book on the US Zone of Germany.
Photos show historic castles, churches, and other buildings, steep vineyards, bridges, town square fountains, monuments, young girls in fancy Schwabian dresses, workmen, religious services, etc. Some photos show towns and villages in which it seemed time stood still since the 18th and 19th centuries.
There are also many images of bombed out buildings in Frankfurt, Kassel, Darmstadt, Karlsruhe, Stuttgart, Wurzburg, Bremen and Berlin.
This 9-¼ x 10-¾ inch, 215-page hardcover book Germany - The American Zone dates to the immediate post WW2 era, but is undated. It was produced by order of the US Army Exchange Service and printed in Frankfurt aM. It is in very nice, little used condition. The linen spine and edges of the front and back covers show minor wear, but the photo pages are in wonderful condition. Tight spine, no odor.
Most of the photos in this book are by Dr. Paul Wolff, who published several books during the Third Reich on the 1936 Olympics and on Leica cameras.
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Note the rubble removal along the Main river in the northern Bavarian city of Wurzburg in the foreground
of the photo above. In March 1945 the historic city was bombed by the RAF and about 90% destroyed.
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This immediate postwar photo book on the US Zome of Germany is for
sale for $85.00 delivered by Media Mail in the continental USA.
USM book #1420
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• IF you prefer faster and safer Priority Mail shipping with USPS Tracking add $9.75 |
• IF you wish to purchase highly recommended, but optional insurance, add $3.50. |
• We will be happy to ship abroad at additional cost, however foreign customers are
responsible for any VAT payments, import duties & customs clearing fees. Please inquire. |
Many pictures of war damage were taken in Nuremberg and Munich (below), so be sure to note in that the NSDAP Putsch monument where SS guards stood every day during the Third Reich was there on the side of the Feldherrnhalle at the Odeonsplatz in Munich (right)! We wonder what happened to it....
GERMANY
THE AMERICAN ZONE
FINE HARDCOVER PHOTO BOOK FOR AMERICAN GIs SHOWING HISTORIC BUILDINGS IN THE US ZONE, LOTS OF WAR DAMAGE