The image portfolios described here, "Rechts und links der Rollbahn" (Left and Right of the Supply Route) and "Soldaten in Eis und Schnee" (Soldiers in Ice and Snow), represent remarkable examples of military propaganda art and documentation during World War II. Both portfolios were self-published by Flakregiment 101 in 1941 and document the operations of the XXXXVII Panzer Corps during the campaign against the Soviet Union.
The XXXXVII Panzer Corps (motorized) was established in February 1941 under the command of General der Panzertruppe Joachim Lemelsen and played a significant role during Operation Barbarossa, the German attack on the Soviet Union that began on June 22, 1941. The corps was part of Panzer Group 3 (later 3rd Panzer Army) and initially operated in the Army Group Center sector. Its divisions included the 17th and 18th Panzer Divisions, among others, as well as several motorized infantry divisions.
Flakregiment 101 (motorized) was directly subordinated to the XXXXVII Panzer Corps as a corps-level unit and had the mission of protecting the rapidly advancing armored and motorized formations against enemy air attacks. The Luftwaffe's Flak units played a dual role during the Eastern campaign: in addition to air defense, the heavy Flak guns, particularly the famous 8.8 cm Flak, were also successfully employed in ground combat against Soviet tanks.
The production of such image portfolios was a widespread phenomenon within the Wehrmacht during World War II. They served multiple purposes: documenting military operations, boosting troop morale, propaganda, and serving as mementos for the soldiers involved. The use of watercolors instead of photographs was not uncommon. Artists, both professional and from the ranks of soldiers themselves, were employed to document the war. Watercolors had the advantage of capturing atmospheric moods and subjective impressions better than the black-and-white photography of the time.
The titles of both portfolios are programmatic: "Rechts und links der Rollbahn" refers to the provisional supply roads, the so-called Rollbahnen, which represented the lifelines of the rapidly advancing German armored formations. In the vast spaces of the Soviet Union with its inadequately developed road network, these supply routes were crucial for logistics and supply. The second portfolio, "Soldaten in Eis und Schnee", documents the challenges of the first winter of war 1941/42 in Russia, which became a catastrophe for the Wehrmacht.
The advance of the XXXXVII Panzer Corps in summer and autumn 1941 led through Belarus and toward Moscow. The corps participated in the great encirclement battles of Minsk and Smolensk, where hundreds of thousands of Soviet soldiers were captured. The first portfolio likely documents this phase of the seemingly victorious advance, with scenes from life at the front, the landscape, encounters with the civilian population, and the daily challenges of motorized warfare.
The onset of winter in 1941 came surprisingly early and severe for the German leadership. The Wehrmacht was neither equipped nor prepared for the extreme temperatures that could drop to minus 30 to 40 degrees Celsius. The portfolio "Soldaten in Eis und Schnee" documents this dramatic turning point. Vehicles froze solid, weapons failed, and soldiers suffered from inadequate winter equipment. The Soviet winter offensive before Moscow, which began on December 5, 1941, brought the exhausted German troops into an existential crisis.
The fact that these portfolios were self-published by the Flak regiment itself is noteworthy. This demonstrates the initiative of individual units to document their own history and foster camaraderie. Such publications were often printed in small editions and distributed to members of the unit and superiors. Today, they are important historical sources that provide insight into the Wehrmacht's self-perception and representation.
The 24 watercolors in each portfolio formed a comprehensive visual chronicle of the respective subject matter. The artistic quality of such works varied greatly, depending on whether professional war artists were commissioned or whether talented amateurs from within the ranks created the images. The Wehrmacht maintained a system of official war painters and correspondents assigned to the propaganda companies.
From today's perspective, such image portfolios are ambivalent objects. On one hand, they are valuable historical documents providing insight into the daily life and experiences of soldiers. On the other hand, they must be viewed in the context of their propagandistic function and the criminal character of the German war of aggression against the Soviet Union. The war in the East was planned and conducted from the beginning as a war of annihilation, in which millions of people, soldiers and civilians alike, lost their lives.
