Stosstrupp/Stormtroop Images

[David_Blanchard]

Hello,

I would be interested to know if anyone can help me with representations of German Stosstrupp/Stormtroopers in the form of posters, postcards or paintings, but not photographs.

I am interested in the way these 'elite' German troops have been portrayed both during the war and after into the Weimar and Nazi periods, i e heroic portraits, propaganda. I am not interested in representations of Stormtroops from Wehmacht/World War II, only portraits of soldiers from the Great War, such as the famous 'Help Us Win! Subscribe to the War Loans' Poster designed by Fritz Erler in 1917, or the works produced by Elk Eber.

Any website, book or individual postcard recommendations would be appreciated. Just to add I am not interested in the role, formation of these units, or the actions they fought in.

David Blanchard

[George Armstrong Custer]

Erm, I know this is four years down the line but if you're still interested in this subject you can't do better for contemporary heroic artistic representations of German Strormtroops than this thesis De iconografie en iconologie van de Duitse frontsoldaat in de visualistiek vanaf 1916: van allegorie van weldaad tot symbool van misdaad by Xabier Jense. The text is in Dutch, but when you get to the page on the link just keep scrolling down and you'll find a rich harvest of images amongst the text. There's also some anti-heroic representations by Germany's enemies, and some of the material is WWII and interwar related, however much of it is from or about the Great War. Here's the link: frontsoldaat iconografie

ciao,

GAC

[ian turner]

Interesting site, thanks GAC.

I was also interested to see the similarity between the sculptur of the unknown Munich soldier and the memorial at Lindau, which appears a very similar concept.

Ian

[mastermindmichel]

...frontsoldaat iconografie...

Thank you very much for the link, GAC!

[George Armstrong Custer]

I was also interested to see the similarity between the sculptur of the unknown Munich soldier and the memorial at Lindau, which appears a very similar concept.

Ian, that's a similarity that struck me too! I'd always wanted to see the Lindau memorial after reading John Laffin's evocative description of it in 'Jackboot,' and after I posted a request a couple of years or so back someone put up images of it on this forum (wasn't you was it?), which I can't find now. And the resemblance to the Munich unknown soldier is, as you say, striking.

Michel - Glad you found the link of interest - I see you're based in the Netherlands, so am guessing that you'll be able to read the text of Xabier Jense's thesis which is based on the accompanying iconography? I corresponded with Xabier some four years ago when I was working on a project with similar themes, but centering on the iconography of the Stahlhelm. I haven't been in touch with him for some time, so don't know if he's followed up on this work.

ciao,

GAC

[ian turner]

GAC,

Yes it was me. PM with your e-mail and I can happily send them. But I am afraid they are of poor quality. I know a bad workman always blames his tools - my excuse is that the memorial is in a fairly dark 'chapel' and not having my tripod the resulting images suffered from handshake, looking slighly out of focus as a result.

The 'theme' of a recumbant soldier is pretty much the same as the Munich sculpture, except at Lindau the rifle is at his side, rather than resting on the soldier.

The effect of the sculpture in its location is rather like being in a chapel with someone laid out to rest. It is not creepy, just a feeling of being in a 'presence'. It is therefore quite effective. Probably what moved people as mentioned in Laffin's comments.

Ian

[Max Poilu]

An excellent link - the text is unintelligible to me but the pictures show what an iconic symbol of imagery the German steel helmet was to become.

[David_Blanchard]

A big thanks for the link to this excellent website,

Regards

David

[trenchtrotter]

Superb images....thanks for the link. Wish I could read the text.

Regards

TT