This Lineol figure of a wounded soldier from the Wehrmacht, lying on his stomach, represents a fascinating artifact from German toy and collectible history of the 1930s and 1940s. The company Lineol, founded in 1906 by Oskar Wiederholt in Brandenburg an der Havel, developed into one of the leading manufacturers of composition figures and Elastolin toys in the German Reich.

Lineol production was characterized by the use of composition material – a mixture of sawdust, casein, chalk, and other binding agents that was pressed into molds and subsequently hand-painted. This technique enabled detailed representations of military scenes and figures at an affordable scale of approximately 7 cm in height, the so-called 7-cm scale, which became the German industry standard for toy soldiers.

The depiction of wounded soldiers in toy form may seem disturbing from today's perspective, but it was part of a comprehensive product range that portrayed all aspects of military life. In the 1930s, intensified after 1933 under the National Socialist regime, the production of military toys was expanded. Lineol's Wehrmacht series included not only marching troops and fighting soldiers but also medical personnel, wounded, and fallen soldiers – a realistic, albeit propagandistically colored, representation of warfare.

The position “lying on the stomach” indicates an infantry figure in combat position, possibly wounded in battle. Such figures were often sold together with medics, stretchers, and field hospital scenes to recreate complete battlefield scenarios. The uniform details of these figures typically corresponded to the actual Wehrmacht army regulations, including the characteristic field-gray uniform, the M35/M40 steel helmet, and appropriate equipment.

Condition 2 in collector terminology denotes a very well-preserved specimen with minimal signs of use, light paint wear, or minor damage, but without major defects. This is remarkable for objects from this period, as composition figures were sensitive to moisture and mechanical stress.

After World War II, Lineol production was initially discontinued under Soviet occupation, later resumed in modified form in the GDR, but without Wehrmacht military themes. The original pre-war and wartime productions are today sought-after collectibles that possess documentary value from both toy-historical and military-historical perspectives. They testify to the militarization of society and the role of toys in the ideological education of that era.