1958 – People observe a group of soldiers from the Bundeswehr (German Army) preparing to pull a private lorry that has crashed into a field in Germany. Scan © Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com
The story behind the image
Here is the first image of the 500+ slide lot I acquired last week. The stunning lot contains images from the late 1950s and early 1960s.
This image is pretty unique within the lot as it does not follow the overall themes of family, travel and leisure. This one is a snapshot that must have been taken while the photographer got stuck in a (small) traffic jam on the countryside caused by a lorry that had come off the highway and ended up in a field. The incident must have been heavy as one of the windshields has popped out.
Apparently, a group of soldiers of the Bundeswehr (the German Army) prepared the lorry to be pulled out by one of their tanks. The tank blocks the road, and no traffic can pass.
In such a situation, and if you have no pressing schedule to follow, the photographer did what a photographer almost always does: he takes a picture or two. Our photog took just this one – at least it is the only image in this lot showing the rescue operation.
Two police officers secure the activity (one in the front, one near the tank). The highway seems like a typical highway of the 1950s on the countryside.
It’s so exciting to see the old truck, a Krupp Titan SWL 80 in blue and red paint which was manufactured from 1950 to 1954. Read more about this sturdy truck at Wikipedia (in German.)
Of course, it is sad to see the lorry crushed in the field. The high-resolution scan reveals that the truck belonged to a small logistics company in Worms, Germany, but it is impossible to read the name of the business owner.
As no location is given whatsoever, it will remain a mystery where exactly the photo was taken, but I guess it was the foundation for a long article in the local newspaper.
The high resolution image
| Capture Date | c. 1958 |
| Location | Germany |
| Camera | n/a |
| Image Source | Framed 35mm color slide |
| 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 | 6991 x 4735 Pixels |
| Copyright | © by Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com |
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