A Reich Labour Service (Rad) 1933-37 Private Photo Album

A photo album with 65 pictures, measuring 311x220mm, near mint condition. 5 pictures are loose and unsorted. The album belonged to Berthold Roßmüller. The first page reads: “In memory of my time in the Reich Labour Service.” The pictures cover the time period from 1933 to 1937. They show men of the RAD, either at work or during mustering, or RAD accommodations. They also show the countryside, and notable buildings of several cities, often connected to a visit by Reichsarbeitsführer (Reich Labour Leader) Konstantin Hierl (1875–1955), who also appears in several pictures, including the first and the last one. The final picture was in fact taken on the occasion of his 65th birthday in 1940.

Footnote: Berthold Roßmüller briefly joined the Hilfspolizei (auxiliary police) in 1933, but later that same year switched to the Freiwillige Arbeitsdienst (voluntary labour service), Department Wolfgang, 1st Squadron. His recruit swearing-in ceremony took place in 1934.

Between January and March 1935, Roßmüller took part in the 1st Department Leader course in Rotenburg/Fulda (central Germany). The picture with the caption “Zum Oberstfeldmeister befördert” (promoted to Oberstfeldmeister, equivalent of Hauptmann in the Wehrmacht) is missing. In 1937, Roßmüller served in the Arbeitsdienstabteilung (Labour Service Department) 5/224 in Mottgers/Rhön in the district of Fulda.