This is a special Celebration Post dedicated to a close friend and aid in the collection - Today is his 39th Birthday! Thank you Simon Tierney for your continued help in the Collection!
The photograph here shows a Heer celebration at either a bar of barracks , showing a happy scene of drinking and friendship. The Heer grenadiers are seen collectively seated around the table, they sit with small party hats on, seen detailed with stripes on the outside and a checker designed on the top (Possibly Bavarian design but cannot be known for sure). They are seen sitting in a mixture of different clothes, most are seen in Jumpers with braces. To the left there is a grenadier seen with an M36 Tunic, whilst next to him there also appears to be two seated wearing white drillich tunics. The group seem to be very much enjoying their leisure time.
The table seen with a white cloth and held down by a scattering of glass bottles and steins. There also appears to be a keg towards the end of the table, one grenadier can be seen sitting on . Seen hanging from the ceiling is a triangle shaped light. The Walls are seen decorated with artwork and writing, this continues across the wall out of shot on the right.The artwork depicts the Reichskriegsflagge flying high over the land, terrain details of hills, mountains to the far left. The detailing of planes can also be seen drawn flying in the sky. The words written above the Reichskriegsflagge reads "Flieg Deutsche Fahne Flieg" - This translating to "Flag German Flag Fly". A patriotic phrase showing the triumph and might of the Wehrmacht. Seen to the right hand side shows another scene, partially seen is a Soldat running across what looks like a battlefield. Only partially seen words read "Au Den Zaun" - Which translates to "On the fence". Possibly meaning that they are on the offensive, on the attack.
Celebrations like this broke up hardships of being away in service. The celebrations like this having fun with friends and laughing kept morale at the time high. High morale was essential to stay focused and happy whilst serving. The grenadiers seen here would similar hardships, so they could look out for each other. This is seen in the togetherness of this photograph.