Lost Sites

Geoff Walden

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"Lost Sites"

The following photos were taken by my father, U.S. Army Air Forces Lt. Delbert R. Walden, while he was stationed in Germany as part of the Army of Occupation from December 1945 - July 1946. Although my father's military records are not entirely clear, it appears he was assigned to the following units/areas: XII Tactical Air Command (Bad Kissingen/Würzburg); 344th Bombardment Group (M), 9th Air Force, Schleissheim (near Munich); 496th Bomb Squadron (part of the 344th?); and also possibly in the 438th Sig Cons Bn (I have not been able to identify this unit).

The photos that my brother and I have been able to identify were all taken in southern Bavaria and the Alps ... Garmisch, Bodensee, Chiemsee, Berchtesgaden and Salzburg, and around Munich (plus a few in Frankfurt/Main). The thumbnail photos below are some of those we have not been able to identify conclusively. Anyone who can identify any of these locations is asked to contact the page author at gwalden (at) windstream.net. I believe many of these were likely taken in Munich, or perhaps Salzburg, but others likely weren't.


Mess hall in preparation for Christmas 1945. This was apparently the 344th Bomb Group at Schleissheim, near Munich. The wall is painted with scenes representing (left-right) England, France, 344th unit insignia, Germany, Belgium. (G.R. and G.A. Walden collection)	My father poses in front of Schloss (Palace) Schleissheim, north of Munich. Due to the damage, I do not know if the 344th Bomb Group HQs were in the palace, or elsewhere.


The photo on the left is an enlargement of part of the "Germany" scene on the messhall wall. I believe this may represent the arched gateway shown in unk9.jpg, below (see enlargement to right). This may be in Munich. Update -- This has been identified as the Siegestor in Munich - see Updates below.

Click on the thumbnails to see the full size photos.
Many of these have now been identified by visitors to this page - see UPDATES below.

UPDATES -- Many thanks to Robert Noss, Walter Joyner, Jim Gibson, Roland Fogt, George Conrad, Johan Metselaar, Florian Beierl, Ken Bacon, Bob Robinson, Werner Müller, Guenter Braun, Hans Colsman, Paul Higgins, and Dr. Ulrich Wieczorek, who have identified the following photos:

Unk1 -- Berchtesgaden, looking off the back terrace of the Berchtesgadener Hof hotel
Unk2 -- Obersalzberg, looking toward the ruins in the Buchenhöhe area
Unk4 -- Frankfurt am Main - I.G. Farben Building (taken over by the US Army in 1945 as Eisenhower's HQ) (Click here to see a pre-war photo of the I.G. Farben Building in Frankfurt.)
Unk5 -- Munich, Altes Rathaus and Marienplatz
Unk6 -- Munich, square in front of the Hauptbahnhof (train station)
Unk7 -- Schleissheim Airfield - barracks (POW camp)
Unk8 -- Munich, Odeonsplatz - looking away from the Feldherrnhalle
Unk9 -- Munich, Siegestor on Leopoldstraße, in Schwabing
Unk10 -- Chiemsee, Herrenchiemsee Castle
Unk11 -- Frankfurt am Main - Hauptbahnhof (train station)
Unk12-13 -- Salzburg, Cathedral and Residenz
Unk14 -- Frankfurt am Main, Schumann Theater
Unk16 -- Chiemsee, fountain in front of Herrenchiemsee Castle
Unk17 -- Chiemsee, fountain in front of Herrenchiemsee Castle
Unk19 -- Berchtesgaden, back terrace of the Berchtesgadener Hof hotel
Unk20 -- Munich, Wittelsbacher Platz, with Kurfürst Maximilian I monument
Unk22 -- Schleissheim Palace, Oberschleissheim, near Munich
Unk23 -- Hotel Bad Schachen, Lindau am Bodensee
Unk24 -- Berchtesgaden, Hauptbahnhof (railway station) (see modern photos here)
Unk25 -- Schleissheim Airfield - officers mess
Unk26 -- Schleissheim Airfield - temporary barracks
Unk27-28 -- Munich, Friedensengel monument

My special thanks to Herr Guenter Braun of the Bayerische-Flugzeug-Historiker e.V., for identifying the above photos of Schleissheim Airfield, where my father was stationed.

lostplace.jpg (15906 bytes)

Visit Scott Pinkowski's "Lost Images of World War II" page to see his grandfather's unidentified photos, similar to these. My thanks to Scott for giving me this idea!

Schloss Primkenau.jpg (124539 bytes)

Visit Schloss Primkenau, a lost castle in Silesia. Visit Roland Fogt's page
http://hometown.aol.com/germanpostcards/page7.html

Return to the Third Reich in Ruins homepage

Third Reich in Ruins, http://www.thirdreichruins.com/

All contents copyright © 2000-2008, Geoffrey R. Walden; all rights reserved. All photos taken by or from the collection of Geoffrey R. Walden, except where specifically noted. Please respect my property rights, and the rights of others who have graciously allowed me to use their photos on this page, and do not copy these photos or reproduce them in any other way.

This page is intended for historical research only, and no political or philosophical aims should be assumed.
Nothing on this page should be construed as advice or directions to trespass on private or posted property.

This page initially uploaded on 20 July 2000.
Last updated on: 20 November 2007