Propaganda Postcards of the Luftwaffe

by James Wilson

Propaganda Postcards of the Luftwaffe focuses on the efforts of the powerful Nazi propaganda machine to promote the technical achievements and might of the then newly created German air force. The Luftwaffe had been announced to the world in March 1935, despite the restrictions contained in the Versailles Treaty signed after the First World War denying Germany the right to develop military aircraft. All major aircraft types used by the Luftwaffe together with many lesser known, obscure and secondary types are represented in this book. There is a section covering the main figures of the Luftwaffe and the leading aces who flew the aircraft. The German Air and Propaganda ministries worked together and, using professional photographers produced quality images, which were then made available to the general public in an attempt to inspire the nation and create strong moral.

224 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1996

Reviews

[Sleepy Boy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting collection of photographic postcards.

[Edmund Chattoe-Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a hard book to rate because its target audience will probably love it (and everyone else will just roll their eyes). The main thing is images of all the postcards owned by the author. But the text is desperately repetitive. For each plane: Crew, armaments, company, number produced, years of production. The cards of pilots are slightly more revealing but still focus on what is standardised rather than what is interesting: Place of birth, training, promotions, medals. The covert rise of what became the Lutftwaffe is a potentially fascinating story but here it is reduced and atomised to engine capacities and promotions. Real train spotter stuff.