daveT
Senior Airman
We plan on using this WW2 Europe street scene in a museum.
Need to know where, when and any
info about it.
looks like France with American GIs
Need to know where, when and any
looks like France with American GIs
Picture ID help needed WW2 Europe street scene
- Thread starter daveT
- Start date
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Airframes
Benevolens Magister
Judging by the style of the buildings, and particularly the wording above the shop window at left, it looks more like Germany.
vikingBerserker
Lieutenant General
based on the writing, I would go with Germany as well
pinehilljoe
Senior Airman
- 673
- May 1, 2016
I edited my post:
The language on the sign is German or Dutch. If you zoom in the middle, it looks like a gas pump to me, with the letters S H E L L , anyone know if Royal Dutch Shell sold gasoline in Nazi Germany? If not, it maybe a town in Holland.
Wittig is a German surname, not Dutch. The distinguished German surname Wittig comes from the former southwestern duchy of Swabia, around Bavaria.
Wittig Name Meaning, Family History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
My vote would be a town somewhere in Bavaria, the GIs from the 3rd or 7th Army
The language on the sign is German or Dutch. If you zoom in the middle, it looks like a gas pump to me, with the letters S H E L L , anyone know if Royal Dutch Shell sold gasoline in Nazi Germany? If not, it maybe a town in Holland.
Wittig is a German surname, not Dutch. The distinguished German surname Wittig comes from the former southwestern duchy of Swabia, around Bavaria.
Wittig Name Meaning, Family History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
My vote would be a town somewhere in Bavaria, the GIs from the 3rd or 7th Army
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- Thread starter
- #7
daveT
Senior Airman
I found another very similar WW2 street scene. This one is most likely Germany. BUT still no ID on the picture in the 1st post.
fubar57
General
Many shop signs in occupied Europe were written in German. This is Paris...
MANY MANY COPIES OF THIS ON THE WEB VIA GOOGLE REVERSE IMAGE SEARCH, MOSTLY FOREIGN LANGUAGE, UNABLE TO FIND THE ORIGINAL OWNER
MANY MANY COPIES OF THIS ON THE WEB VIA GOOGLE REVERSE IMAGE SEARCH, MOSTLY FOREIGN LANGUAGE, UNABLE TO FIND THE ORIGINAL OWNER
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GrauGeist
Generalfeldmarschall zur Luftschiff Abteilung
In regards to the Shell fuel pump observation, Shell Oil was a Dutch company and when Germany occupied Holland, Shell fell under German authority.
However, the bulk of Shell's oil came from the West Indies, which had been taken over by the Japanese and any oil production was diverted to the Japanese war effort.
Plus, virtually all fuel within the German occupied areas was dedicated to the war effort, so there's a very good chance that the fuel pump seen in the photo had been sitting idle for quite some time.
However, the bulk of Shell's oil came from the West Indies, which had been taken over by the Japanese and any oil production was diverted to the Japanese war effort.
Plus, virtually all fuel within the German occupied areas was dedicated to the war effort, so there's a very good chance that the fuel pump seen in the photo had been sitting idle for quite some time.
It's not that type of shop/store compared to the Soldatenkaffee in Paris. The complete sign probably was "Warenhandlung Otto Wittig Nachf." Warenhandlung is the German word for a general store. Often in combination with a bakery called Backerei und Warenhandlung or it could be Gemischtwarenhandlung = variety store. I think this cannot be one of the occupied territories, because of the last word Nachf.= Nachfolger (successor). The meaning of the abbreviation AFAIK is that the new owner has taken at some point over the business or bought the store of Otto Wittig, the former owner. This usually shows a longer period of use by the original owner before the successor started. I think this is a place in Germany.
The house on the right side with the clock has some interesting frieze with patterns. One of them is an anchor. This is probably some administrative or office building and anchors very often are symbols of some shipbuilding industry or maritime transport in the area.
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