Eins,
Zwei,
Drei,
G’suffa!
Prost!
S.S. 11 Im Felde 1915
A small moment in the lives of soldiers
captured on film and turned into an accidental work of art.
captured on film and turned into an accidental work of art.
These men from a Bavarian Infantry Division would certainly know the traditional Oktoberfest cheer. They sent this postcard on 13 June 1915 to a friend named Simmel (?) in Thansüß, Germany.
Did he appreciate the music of Haydn? Did their horse enjoy a serenade of violin and cello? I'd bet there was some singing too!
Eins, zwei, drei, g'suffa!
One, two, three, drink!
One, two, three, drink!
This is my contribution to Sepia Saturday.
Where everyone is in a cheerful mood this weekend.
15 comments:
I loved the way you moved from close ups to the final presentation...voila!
Drink up that beer, it must have been fun!
Great photo-find!
Even the horse is getting its mug!
The handwriting in front of the postcard says:
Eine gemütliche Unterhaltung
A placid entertainment/amusement
Thank you, Susanna. The handwriting was quite faded and in pencil, but it adds a very personal touch to the postcard.
I love how you always figure out a way to feature music in your posts - no matter what the prompt may suggest! And this week was no exception. Well done!
The closeups show how manly these men were. They all seem strong and kind. Good-time boys!
Interesting photo with nice clear details. I like the way you presented it.
Fine presentation: showing the details and then the assembled photograph. A fine photograph too by the way. Historical!
Great photos. And just look at all those very substantial looking braces.
What an extraordinary photo. I could look at it for a long time. I love how in those desolate times they still managed to find two bunches of flowers in vases to put in the picture!
Very cleverly done, loved it.
The photo is superb but leaves a lot of unanswered questions. Why is there a horse in the photo, they are no all drinking, why? and instruments do not seem to be on hand for all of them - was it a choir perhaps?
Quit a mixture of artefacts; manuscripts, flowers and a horse - is it an allegory? I can see evidence of drinking, but only one beer stein!
I wonder how many of these men survived the war. Were they at the Battle of Fromelles where the Australians faced the Bavarian regiments - and suffered enormous losses in July 1916? I'm pleased to see some German photos as we head into WWI commemorations - their families suffered just as we did. I have Bavarian ancestry and our 2nd generation Aussies may well have fought some distant cousins during the war.
I can almost hear the drinking song from the Student Prince. Creative way to break down the main photo - it makes you look for the not so small details.
A very interesting postcard, and I venture to suggest it could have been written by someone called Harry? to his parents, as it looks like the salutation may be Liebster Altern, which translates to Dear Parents.
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