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 Identifier

NASM.XXXX.0635

Date

bulk 1940s

Provenance

Unknown

Extent

.75 Cubic feet ((15 folders))

Archival Repository

National Air and Space Museum Archives

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of at least 300 copy prints, all of which are stamped "National Archives Luftwaffe Collection" on the back. The photographs appear to have been taken by German photographers, presumably Luftwaffe personnel, and the images are generally informal in subject and composition, more like "snapshots" than official photographs. Subjects include shots of Luftwaffe personnel and aircraft, as well as other Allied and Axis aircraft.

These prints were evidently selected and copied for NASM's collection from the larger collection of captured World War II German photography which resided at the National Archives from the mid-1940s until the late 1960s or early 1970s. At that point, the originals were returned to West Germany and are currently housed at the Bildarchive of the Bundesarchiv. While 300 prints are directly identified, there are probably an additional 100-200 images scattered in the Archives Collection which also came from this collection.

Rights

Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests

Restrictions

No restrictions on access.

Citation

Luftwaffe Photograph Collection [National Archives], Accession XXXX-0635, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Topics

World War, 1939-1945

World War, 1939-1945 -- Aerial operations

Aeronautics -- Germany

Airplanes

Type

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs