1943 – Otto Schweim (left), Arthur Wilke (center), and Edith Schweim sit at the promenade of St. Peter Ording in Germany, reading a letter with news from their hometown. Their faces show concern. © Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com
The story behind the image
Here is yet another photo from our family archive. It shows my grandfather Otto Schweim (left), my grandmother Edith (right), and Arthur Wilke, as they sit on a bench at the beach promenade of St. Peter Ording at the German North Sea coast. The photo is dated summer 1943, so it must have been shot between 15th July and 26th August 1943. The family spent this period at the North Sea coast.
This image is quite interesting as the group reads a letter, and their faces show concern. Did they receive bad news from home? After all, just 100 kilometers to the east, WW2 was raging and held Northern Germany – especially the larger cities – in its ugly grip. In 1943, the situation had become depressing for the people, including my grandparents. That’s why they moved to St. Peter Ording for about six weeks. There life seemed to be pretty normal. People at the beach. Beach chairs. Everything neat and tidy. Wartimes? Not there. (Which is not true by the way. There were even some air raids on St. Peter Ording.)
The tiny 6.5×6.5 cm print has an superb quality. It’s sharp and can cope with the harsh contrasts of a sunny day pretty well. The photographer (most likely my grandfather) must have been quite relaxed on that day.
Design ideas
The high resolution image
| Capture Date | Summer 1943 |
| Location | St. Peter, Germany |
| Image Source | 6.5 x 6.5 cm Print |
| Digital Image Source | EPSON Perfection 4870 Photo |
| Digital Image Source Format | TIFF, 48 bits/pixel, sRGB |
| Edited Image Format | JPEG, 24 bits/pixel, sRGB |
| Edited Image Dimensions | 2575 x 2749 Pixels |
| Copyright | Scan © by Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com |
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