LIFE IN THE TRENCHES

Incredible never-seen-before photos of WWI through the eyes of a German soldier on the frontline emerge

Taken by a medical officer the snapshots document daily life in the trenches and beyond

    

Marius Moneth/Guzelian    

A soldier sits outside his trench while a colleague gives him a shave

AN INCREDIBLE collection of never-before-seen World War One photos provide a fascinating insight into life on the German front line.

Taken by a medical officer Robert Lichte, the snapshots document daily life in the trenches and beyond.

 

Marius Moneth/Guzelian    

A soldier sits amid the debris of a building that is almost completely destroyed

Marius Moneth/Guzelian    

A medical team are seen in an operating theatre in collection taken by medical officer

Marius Moneth/Guzelian    

The same medical team pose together with one member holding a newspaper from the German city of Dusseldorf

A PhD student unearthed the extraordinary trove while researching for his doctoral thesis.
Marius Moneth, 33, describes Lichte’s shots as a “real historical treasure” showing the conflict from a German soldier’s point of view.
He said: “Normally a soldier leaves behind one or two of those albums, but he created nine of them. That speaks of dedication. I guess he created several of them to share with each family member.
“It is also the diversity of his photos because of his position as a non-commissioned medical officer he had access to the air force and the army. You can discover tanks from the later course of the war, aircrafts, guns and you can get an impression of the area behind enemy lines in his photos.”
Lichte’s photos not only show life in the trenches and the destructive nature of the war, they also share his personal experiences – including one candid image showing soldier having his morning shave in front of a bunker.

 

      

       

The most shocking photo Marius uncovered from the collection was taken during an operation, which was rare considering photographers were not permitted in medical areas.
The albums also has photo showing an area in Lille after an explosion destroyed a German ammunition camp on January 11, 1916.
The incident saw 134 dead, 104 of which were civilians and 30 were German soldiers, with about 290 being left injured.

Marius Moneth/Guzelian    

Medical officer Robert, centre, poses with comrades, two of whom have dogs with them

Marius Moneth/Guzelian    

A postcard show two German soldiers shaking hands under the slogan With God for Emperor and Empire

Marius Moneth/Guzelian    

Lichte, who took nine albums of photos, sports The Iron Cross II galantry award

Marius Moneth/Guzelian    

Soldiers check their clothes for fleas as they hunker down in a trench

Lichte’s identity was uncovered from postcards in one of the albums, which included ones he both send and received.
Marius is now planning to turn Lichte’s nine albums into a scientifically annotated photo book in both German and in English.
He recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the project, which involves digitising the images, translating the postcards and his own research.

Marius Moneth/Guzelian   

Soldiers pose proudly as a Schneider assault tank lies on its side on the lip of a trench

Marius Moneth/Guzelian   

Medical troops attend to the injured behind the trenches

Marius Moneth/Guzelian    

The aftermath after a German ammunition store in Lile was destroyed in January 1916

Marius Moneth/Guzelian    

British prisoners of war are taken away by German troops

(The Sun, UK) 

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