16-287 garand Picture of the Day

[Mark in Rochester]

A group of German soldiers are taken as POWs by the U.S. Army’s 36th Infantry Division (”Arrowhead”) in German-occupied Alsace in France. Alsace-Lorraine was occupied by Germany in 1940, following the defeat of France. Although Germany never formally annexed Alsace-Lorraine, it was incorporated into the Greater German Reich, which had been restructured into a Reichsgau (an administrative subdivision). Alsace was merged with Baden, and Lorraine with the Saarland, to become part of a planned Westmark (Germany’s future western border). Rohrwiller, Alsace (now, part of Grand Est), France. 2 April 1945.

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[CINDERS]

Some have by the looks of it the reversible smocks on the soldier on the Rt bit defiant not having "Hande Hoch".

[Bill Hollinger]

And even though he's standing on the debris he's still a big kid!

[Paul S.]

I'm guessing by how he has physically distanced himself from his Kameraden, and that he is have a smoke whilst the others are 'in the position' that he may be a special case.

He is definitely 'much better fed' than the others and definitely big and beefy.

[Flying10uk]

Perhaps he is German and the others are of some other nationality perhaps Polish or Dutch? Towards the end of the war the Germans had a significant number of non Germans enlisted in it's armed forces. The Polish ones couldn't wait to surrender but unfortunately for them their real problems started when they were sent home after the end of the war. This was because Stalin was paranoid that anyone who had set foot in the West was a spy.

[Tom in N.J.]

I see at least three pair of SS pattern camo pants in that group... not good for life expectancy...