Militaria Archive

Reichsarbeitsdienst (RAD-Abt. 3/376) to Panzer Division (1940 - 1943). Germany, Norway, Poland, Denmark.

This album begins on 29th April 1940 in Braunau-Süd. It shows a member of the Reichsarbeitsdienst, Braunau-Ölberg, RAD-Abt. 3/376, throughout his barracks life in this Reichsarbeitsdienst (RAD) lager, rifle practice, bicycle repair and other leisure and work activities. It progresses to show the Reichsarbeitsdienst enroute in convoy to Norway on camouflaged troop transport ships. This appears to have been in the weeks immediately after the April 9th invasion of Norway by Germany (beating Britain by a few days). There are pictures of a heavily damaged Norwegian town and of the Nordic Fjords showing heavy sea-plane traffic, and also some of Lillehammer. Camouflaged warships and the Reichsarbeitsdienst band playing at the harbour. Later in 1940 this man completes his Reichsarbeitsdienst (RAD) service and joins/is conscripted into a Panzer Division. There are snapshots of him in Berlin in 1940 showing famous landmarks in wartime including : the Berliner Dom, Olympiastadion, Dietrich-Eckart-Bühne, the Reich Chancellery (Reichskanzlei), Brandenburger Tor, Sanssouci and Wunsdorf (Panzertruppenschule) barracks. There are several pictures enroute to Poland and also 1942 pictures of the man in his Panzer uniform wearing Panzer assault badge and wound badge at Neuruppin and Constanz. Towards the end of this album there are several pictures from Denmark 1943.