Nowadays, there are several beautiful and full of humour postcard series painted by Mr Thiele which are well known amongst deltiologists, as postcard collectors are called. They depict various aspects of the life of soldiers on the front (Soldatenleben) and in the rear (Hinter der Front), on leave (Auf Urlaub) and in occupied territories. The final set of cards named “We are barbarians” or in German “Wir Barbaren” was created to prove that German soldiers in France and Belgium are not looters or rapists at all, but the best helpmates of locals who can look after kids and plow a field.
Today’s article is devoted to postcards which were published in Leipzig in 1916. Maybe we will also discus other postcard series in our next articles. The title of today’s set can be literally translated as “Caught and Captured” (“Erwischt und Gefangen”). It includes eight postcards, some of them have humorous rhymes on their back side.
“What’s mine is mine”. And what’s yours is mine. The Russian Cossack is not afraid of the German uhlans’ jokes even if he is held captive
The German cavalryman and the Austrian infantryman are escorting the captured French or English pilot to his imprisonment place. “Pilots are often short of luck. One shot is enough to bring them back down to the ground. It is doubly disappointing if you were a hero with a plane just a few moments ago, and now you are heading for your imprisonment, accompanied by a black guy and riding a cow”
Two Australians are carrying the injured Algerian spahi, accompanied by the French shooter. The spahi is giving the German hussar a light
The British gentleman packed up a set of sports equipment for tennis, boxing and golf, and also a Maxim gun which is safely covered by the Red Cross flag
The Russian infantryman is marching with a cart full of lady stuff and things for a house. The Turkish infantryman is escorting him. “When Ivan collected all these items which might be of use for his bride Maruska, he always imagined her joy when she will become his wife. He looks contended because of these thoughts, but his dream will not come true. The evil Turkish enemy will take everything away”. It is difficult to determine what German, Turkish, and Russian soldiers are doing together in the same place. Maybe the painter wanted to depict a Bosnian infantryman?
The British soldiers have no guns this time. “Tommys walked along the road with a nice catch, with music and songs, but their joyfulness was over when the third traveller joined them. Now they can only play the bagpipe, and the Landsturm soldier laughs. The pig belongs to hin now”
The French soldiers and a Senegalese infantryman were caught when having a bath. “After a dusty and hot day, the French soldiers do not mind swimming in a cool forest lake, but the Germans will end joyfulness. If you get caught so unexpectedly, any bath is not very refreshing, you get caught so unexpectedly,any bath will not be very refreshing»
The international team consisting of Britons, Frenchmen and Scots wearing gas masks and scaring women and children
