It's an old army joke.
"Who was that woman I saw you with last night at the canteen," asked one soldier of another.
"That was no woman," exclaimed the other soldier. "That was my Feldwebel {Sergeant} !!!"
Maybe it was funnier in the trenches of 1916 when this postcard of José ??? was printed for the Wandertheater of Armee-Abt. A. or the Traveling Theater of Armee-Abteilung A. also known as the Division Falkenhausen of the German Army. It was named after its general, Ludwig von Falkenhausen, (1844 – 1936), who was in command of the southern part of the Western Front in Alsace-Lorraine and evidently thought soldiers deserved high class entertainment to improve their morale.
I told the story of the Wandertheater back in April 2013, and José ??? was a performer of questionable gender that I spotted in the lineup of the cast and orchestra.
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In this detail of the postcard, she\he stands in the front line and is the only "woman" in the ensemble of music hall players. On the left side with his dog is the comic Paul Pilz whose story I wrote about in 2012. Clearly Paul and José ??? were headliners and popular enough with the troops to justify printing a promotional postcard for each of them. I feel certain that she\he sang cabaret songs accompanied by the orchestra and no doubt flirted with the manly acrobats and clowns in the group. The Wandertheater seems to have had a mixture of professional civilian and army musicians that was not unlike the U.S.O. shows that performed for allied troops during the Second World War. Nothing serious, just a good lighthearted fun entertainment.
The card was sent by Feldpost - soldiers post - from the Gebirgs - Batterie Nr. 14 to Herrn Konrad Linz. There is no date but similar postcards were mailed from 1916 and 1917.
UPDATE:
Thanks to Susanna Rosalie (see comments below) for her translation of the postcard's message.The sender was:
Abs.[short for Absender= sender]
Kan. [Kanonier= cannoneer] Huber Karl
Geb. Battr. 14 (K) 3.Zug
The soldier Karl Huber sent it to
Herrn[= Mr.] Konrad Sinz
Metzger [=butcher]
Owingen [town]
Hohenzollern [province]
Would like to write to you once again. I am always doing fine and I am healthy. Hope the same with you. At the moment we have visitors here. It is very funny. The picture shows a 'Feldgrauen' from our visitors. With many greetings, hoping for an early answer.
Yours sincerely Karl Huber
Will Euch nun auch
mal wieder schreiben.es
geht mir immer gut und bin
gesund hoffe bei Euch das
selbe. Wir haben zur Zeit Besuch
hier geht es sehr lustig zu. Das
Bild zeigt einen Feldgrauen
von unserem Besuch. Hoffe
mit vielen Grüßen auf baldige [?]
Baldige Antwort.
Der Ihre Karl Huber
A 'Feldgrauer' is a synonym for a soldier, based on the color of the uniforms (field grey).
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There was more musical theater behind the German lines in World War One but German soldiers were not always the intended audience. In this case a musical was put on for French, Belgian, British, and Russian servicemen held in a Kriegsgefangenenlager or Prisoner of War Camp. This photo postcard shows the stage and orchestra at the Königsbrück camp. Five actors appear to be in a French restaurant and three of them are men dressed as women. The orchestra, which seems engrossed in the action, has 10 musicians with flute, clarinet, and violins. The musician on the left has a box shaped violin that was probably made in the camp.
The stage set, though quite small, has table and chairs, fancy drapes, and a painted scene flat. The signs on the left and right – Pièce {Room} and Défense de fumer {No Smoking} help create the illusion of a hotel restaurant. Judging by the makeup on the cook in the center, this was a farce where the two officers complain to the proprietress about the poor food and surly service .
This second photo shows another production in the Königsbrück camp but this one was for Russian prisoners as the postcard caption reads Gefangenenlager Königsbrück Russen Theater. There are 9 musicians in the orchestra with two violins, two guitars, and possibly 5 mandolins. The classic Russian string instrument is the balalaika which has a triangular shape and 4 strings, but the instruments here look like mandolins which have 8 strings and a pear shape body like a lute. The leader stands in the center wearing a white tunic and with his violin resting on his hip.
There is only a single performer on stage, a "woman" who bears a resemblance to José ???. She\he seems about ready to sing as the musicians play. The camera has captured a clear image of the sheet music on the violinist's stand and it looks quite challenging. The stage set presents a drawing room that is much more elaborate than the French restaurant. The painted proscenium even gives a foreshortened perspective and the furniture is quite elegant. Was it borrowed from the camp commandant's residence?
The postcard was mailed by Feldpost on 21.12.16 or 21 December 1916 to Frau Rosa Ulbricht (?)f Armsdorf. The writer was a German soldier so perhaps he saw this musical.
UPDATE:
Thanks again to Susanna Rosalie (see comments below) for a translation of this postcard's message.The second card showing the Russian Theater at the prison camp Königsbrück has a stamp saying 'Übungsplatz' =drill ground or military training ground. So you are right, the card was sent by a German soldier apparently stationed at the garrison Königsbrück.
Abs.[= sender] P. Ulbricht. Ers.[tes or atz ?? first or substitute ??] Masch.[inen] Gew.[ehr] Battl. [= Maschinegun Battalion]
I. Komp.[anie= company]
Feld Abtlg Härtel [Field Division Härtel]
Königsbrück Neues Lager [New Camp]
It is addressed to his mother
Mrs. Rośa Ulbricht
Arnsdorf i/Sa [=in Sachsen/Saxony]
Bahnhofstr. 77c
Thursday evening
My dear Muttel!
May God bless and protect you!
Today, our lieutenant told us that we are once again allowed to visit home.
I will likely come tomorrow evening or early Shabbat. In any case you can order your carp. I think everything is taking its course as wished. Our guns are here, but not all of the wagons yet.
They say that we are not going into the field before January, 5.
I send you my love, until we'll meet again
Yours Seppel
Donnerstag abend
Mein liebes Muttel!
Der Herr segne und beschütze Dich!
Heute teilte uns unser
Leutnant mit, daß wir nochmals auf
Urlaub fahren dürfen. Ich komme
voraussichtlich morgen abend oder Sabbat
früh. Jedenfalls darst Du Deinen Karpfen
bestellen. Ich denke das alles nach Wunsch
geht. Unsere Gewehre sind da, aber noch
nicht alle Wagen. Es heißt wir kommen
nicht vor 5. Januar ins Feld.
Es grüßt Dich herzlichst
auf baldiges Wiedersehen Dein Seppel
When deciphering all the words of the handwriting I was deeply moved as the fate behind it became clear. A Jewish German soldier of WWI.
This last photo shows another French production from the Königsbrück P.O.W. camp theater where the photographer was closer to the stage. The cast of 11 men includes three dressed in drag as women. The caption reads La Roulotte {the caravan} — Mlle. Culot. Though I can't be certain, the title may refer to an 1898 French comic operetta entitled Mamzelle Culot written by Maurice T'ar Nemo with music by Ch. Gerin.
The one reference was found on Google Books in the Journal général de l'imprimerie et de la librairie, Issue 87, Parts 1-2, page 456.
The back of this postcard has printed instructions more formal than what I have seen on other P.O.W. cards from 1914-1918. It has the location of Königsbrück (Sachsen) which was a small town in Saxony on the eastern side of Germany. That would explain the presence of Russian soldiers captured on the Eastern Front.
These postcards of captured servicemen indulging in recreation were obviously used to convey the supposed humane conditions of the German P.O.W. camps. They also had a propaganda purpose to convince the enemy to surrender. What soldier would not want to trade the horrors of trench warfare for a chance to put their feet up and enjoy a musical show? In fact there were over 15,000 POWs confined to the camp in Königsbrück, and it was just one of hundreds of camps. Many were harsh labor camps where enlisted men were compelled to join German work details. The millions of allied prisoners were also last on the German government's lists to receive food rations and health services. A POW camp should never be mistaken for a holiday resort.
What intrigues me about these postcards of POW theatrical productions and orchestra concerts is that they offered the men a chance to restore everyone's humanity, both captives and captors alike. The universal cruelty shared by all in the camps was unvaried boredom. Musical theater was a natural creative outlet for men faced with imprisonment for an indefinite period. That they were able to mount such a variety of costumed entertainments is a testimony to the tenacious human desire to tell stories and sing songs.
And as Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein would say 30 years later —
"There Is Nothing Like a Dame"!
"There Is Nothing Like a Dame"!
