Germany, SS. A Private Wartime Waffen-SS Photo Album with Paperwork to SS-Sturmmann Oskar Lachmann, Eastern Front KIA

(Waffen-SS Fotoalbum mit Papiere). A fascinating and superb private wartime photo album from the estate of SS-Sturmmann Oskar Lachmann, constructed of a heavy card stock binding with a faux textured black and brown leather exterior liner, the cover bearing a silvered magnetic metal Heer-style Stahlhelm, situated above a silvered inscription of “MEINE DIENSTZEIT” (“MY SERVICE TIME”), the spine perforated with four holes reinforced with magnetic metal grommets through which is looped a period original drawstring which maintains the album’s structural integrity, the interior content consisting of 18 black card stock pages pasted with 168 black-and-white wartime photographs, some accompanied by handwritten captions providing context, opening with a group photograph of early wartime Waffen-SS personnel and images of uniformed troops on review and at leisure, transitioning to Poland in the immediate wake of the German conquest, with depictions of the plight of Jewish life in the German occupation zone, followed by scenes of SS funerals and memorials, subsequently shifting to the Western Front with the owner participating in the campaign of spring 1940, with scenes of combat in the Netherlands and efforts to capture Dutch canals, notably including shots of Waffen-SS soldiers wearing camouflage smocks and helmet covers, one important featuring an unpublished image of SS-Gruppenführer Paul Hausser, followed by scenes of the invasion of France, with images of captured French colonial troops accompanied by derogatory captions, concluding with photos of devastated French cities and German forces at leisure, before transitioning to a small number of photos of early fighting on the Eastern Front and ending with a photo of Lachmann’s grave in the field (with name and a casualty date of 4 August 1941 clearly visible), measuring 31.5 cm (w) x 23 cm (h), demonstrating minor material fatigue, a first-hand account of a fallen Waffen-SS soldier’s career on both the Eastern and Western Fronts in near extremely fine condition; accompanied by seven examples of wartime SS correspondence, consisting of communication between commanding officers of Lachmann’s unit and Lachmann’s father, Alwin, indicating that Oskar died in Baltutino Field Hospital (Russian SSR) on 4 August 1941 after suffering gunshots to his back and neck during combat with the Red Army, that he had no known possessions, that his unit was unaware of his death until stumbling upon his grave, apologizing to Alwin for the lack of communication regarding his son’s fate, and providing a photo of the gravesite, supplemented by four period cards and a CD-ROM featuring digitized information, a fantastic and researchable supplemented