Feldgrau.net

Now here is an unusual image! It looks like there may possibly be a victim sitting up in the back. If the inscription is anything to go by it should not be due to any military action as it is dated Aug 39. We know hostilities did not start until Sept. Any input anybody, or can anybody shed any light on the rest of the inscription. Phil.

The inscription says:
Dienstag den 29. August 193 9(?)
Tuesday, August 29th 193 9?

Perhaps the car caught fire as the result of an accident rather than combat?

The SS was known to have staged faked 'raids' by the Poles across the German border in, I believe, August of 1939. The faked raids were supposed to stir-up the German populace for war. Perhaps this is one such staged incident, which apparently was 'reported' in the German National Socialist press. Regards, Walter

Well it does seem quite a coincidence. The car sitting by itself in the middle of a town square burning. It does not appear to have any accident damage. the photo taken by a German soldier who was a couple of days later in Poland, so he must by this time have been staged close to the border. All of this three days before the start of World War Two, and what do you know, in the same place! Obviously we will never know, but the photo poses some questions. Phil. Incidentally this is a soldiers private photo out of several of the polish campaign.

Another idea suggested to us via our friend Occam's Razor (the simpliest answer is often times the right answer) might be that this could have been a mechanical/fuel system failure resulting in your standard car fire that was subsequently witnessed by the soldier in question who snapped the photo. It does indeed pose some interesting questions though and gets the minds juices flowing to ponder the reasons why!

From the quality of the road on that austro-hungarian looking square you can be shure it is not taken in Germany.
I would guess it is the taken within the area of German Deployment in Slovakia.

Interesting...my thoughts are that is not a body in the car as it looks too large for the vehicle. Keep up with the photos PHILDHB.

Regards,

B Holmes

Well Slovakia would fit in with our theory in the other posts. Still it looks so odd sitting burning like that! I guess the Fire Brigade was busy that day!Phil.

Do yo belive a carpath-solvak small-town/village firebrigade of 1939 was motorized? It would be a miracle if they would be at the spot of a burning car before the fire has burned out...

No I do not, a poor attempt at humor. My point was more that if this was the result of military action, the fire brigade wiuld be more likely to stay clear. Phil.

At the right background of the burning car there seem to be two persons sitting down, taking fotographs. - So it looks like the show has been set up. -At the left background there are civilians (including women) watching the scene. - The inscription above the door of the house with the ornamented windows reads something like"Ru... Kylan"?? - Whatever that means, but it's most likely not in Germany.

Well,there are few Rykyncice in Slovakia.And to me(I know that sounds silly)that "9" in 1939 looks more as a "3"(1933).

Could be 9 or 3 - August 29 was a Tuesday (Dienstag) in both years.

These pictures however were in a set from a soldier who was involved in the attack on Poland all of which were dated 39 in the same handwriting.