Historical images compared with the current situations in the exact locations.
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Frankfurt am Main, Germany, March 10, 1933

Mother Edith Frank poses with her daughters Margot (left) and Anne in their hometown. Anne was just four years old when this picture was taken. A few weeks later they fled Nazi Germany to Holland. Anne's wartime diary became an icon for the senselessness of the Nazi regime

Frankfurt am Main, Germany, May 1945

The ancient Hauptwache building in downtown Frankfurt is in ruins after numerous Allied bombing raids.

Frankfurt am Main, Germany, May 1945

For centuries the An der Hauptwache Square remained unchanged. Hitler's ideals of world domination also resulted in the destruction of large parts of this city in the Hessen land.
Cologne, Germany, March 6th, 1945

A German Mark V Panther tank sits smoldering in front of the ancient Dom Cathedral in Cologne, Germany.

 
Cologne, March 1945

American soldiers of the 3rd Armored Division inspect the destroyed Panther tank. A brand new M-26 Pershing tank, commanded by Sgt. Robert Early of "E" Co./ 32nd Armored Regiment, had knocked it out on the 6th of March 1945.

 
Cologne, March 1945

Shortly after the Panther was knocked out, a sign was posted near it reading: "SIGHT SEERS KEEP OUT! Beyond this point you draw fire on our FIGHTING MEN. He risks his life 24 hours a day. DO YOU?" We played "sight seers" for this comparison.

 
Cologne, March 1945

After Sgt Early's tank knocked out the Panther, it burned for three days. Shortly after the capture of Cologne, the Panther was towed in front of the cathedral to make way to through-traffic.
 

Berlin, Germany 1938
The Reichstag-(German Nazi-Parliament) building today and in its glory days of the Third Reich in 1938.

'Now'-photograph courtesy of Battle Detective Wilbert.

Fulda, Germany, 1944
The German city of Fulda was bombed extensively in World War Two. Almost 1500 people were killed in Allied bombing raids of which the one in the night of September 11 and 12, 1944 was the heaviest. This is the Dom cathedral.

Fulda, Germany, 1944
Gemuesemarkt (Vegetable Market) after the bombing of September 11th 1944. Note stacked rifles and German helmets in the period photograph, left lower corner. We assume a unit of soldiers was marched in to find survivors. Today, Gemuesemarkt is a street, not a square making an exact comparison impossible. The upper left picture is taken in the same spot. We then moved closer to the twin-tower church.

Fulda, Germany, 1944
Koenig Strasse. We could only find this location because of the photograph's caption stating that this is near the Amtsgericht (Court House). War damage and post-war reconstruction changed this street drastically.
Vittoria, Sicily, 1943
Operation "Husky", with its D-Day on July 10 1943, was the first Allied invasion on European soil. As in the landings in Normandy 11 months later, the invasion of  Sicily was spearheaded by American and British paratroopers. Here, American soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division are marching down Via Cavour in Vittoria.
Gela, Sicily, 1943
The US Army Signal Corps caption of this photograph reads: "US Troops in Gela on D+1". This is a few miles inland from the American landing beaches. The wreckage on the street is of a knocked-out Italian tank.
Cassibile, Sicily, 1943
In the British sector, armored troops move North from the landing beaches in the direction of Syracuse. In this photograph, a Sherman tank leaves the old Market Square on the outskirts of Cassibile. The road in the foreground is the SS115;  the main highway along the Eastern Sicilian coast.
Cassibile, Sicily, 1943
The same stretch of SS115 with the majestic market square gate in the background. This is the route to the next objective: Syracuse. We think the previous photograph with the Sherman tank is a staged one for propaganda purposes.
Catania, Sicily, 1943
Marines of the 7th Battalion Royal Marines inch forward on the Piazza del Duomo in Catania toward the Via Etnea.
Catania, Sicily, 1943
The same location but just a few yards further down the street. The open gate in the gable behind Battledetective Tom in the "Now-photo" is the entrance of the hotel where we stayed in, in Catania.

 

Catania, Sicily, 1943
Just around the corner of the location in our first photograph of Catania, these Marines dash forward in the opposite direction. Due to the finding in our Battle Study # 15 that photo's with action in the direction of the camera are usually staged, we think this one may be set up for propaganda purposes.

 
Acireale, Sicily, 1943
Ten miles North of Catania two British Bren gunners and their assistants cover a street corner on the Via Vittorio Emmanuelle II in Acireale. The house on the left is No. 191 in that street today.
Acireale, Sicily, 1943

A lone British "Tommy" peeks around the corner of the Via degli Studi. The street on the left hand side is renamed Vico (Alley) degli Studi after the war.
Auschwitz I, 1940-1945
This is the "Stammlager" or original concentration camp, housing in already existing housing barracks in Oświęcim, Poland. The watchtowers, fences and  gate with the infamous "Arbeit Macht Frei-" sign were added by the Germans.
Auschwitz I, January 27th 1945
Surviving prisoners of the Nazi concentration camp cheer and hug Red Army soldier on the day the camp is liberated.
Auschwitz I, January 27th 1945
The end of Nazi tyranny when a Russian soldier approaches the main gate of Auschwitz.
Auschwitz I, January 27th 1945
Russian soldiers with prisoners of Block 19, the quarantine blockhouse in the medical section of the camp.
Auschwitz I, January 27th 1945
Russian Army nurse with liberated children in Auschwitz. Many of them were twins as the Nazi's performed criminal medical experiments on twins to test effects.
Auschwitz-Birkenau, 1945
The train platform inside Auschwitz-Birkenau were so many Jews met their death in the Nazi gas chambers. Photo taken after the liberation of the camp by the Russian Army. Note prisoner food bowls in foreground.
Auschwitz-Birkenau, January 27th 1945
Not the exact location down to the very yard but this is in the "Kanada-" section of Auschwitz-Birkenau were all the belongings of the prisoners and gas chamber victims were stored. The Nazi's torched the barracks in an attempt to destroy evidence of their crimes. "Then"-photo by Red Army shows barracks still burning on the day the camp was liberated.

 
Fort Eben Emaël, Belgium, May 1940
German soldiers discuss tactics used during the attack on the artillery cupolas of the Belgian Fort Eben Emaël on May 10 1940. The fort was considered impenetrable by the Belgian defenders, but was put of action by German glider troops within an hour.

 
 

Fort Eben Emaël, Belgium, May 1940
The fort's main artillery cupola, "Cp 120", on the middle of the plateau on top of the fort. It featured two 120 millimeter guns. Note the circular impact marks of the dome shaped German hollow charges used to silence armored gun and observation positions.

Fort Eben Emaël, Belgium, May 1940
German soldiers pose in front of "Bloc I", the main entrance block of the fort, during what is likely an after action analysis visit to the battlefield by members of taskforce "Granit" under Oberleutnant Witzig.
Fort Eben Emaël, Belgium, May 1940

Armored observation turret on the south east corner of the fort overlooking the Albert Canal. The terrain in the distance is on Dutch territory.
Fort Eben Emaël, Belgium, September 1944

GI's of the US Army's 30th Infantry Division at the main entrance of the fort. On the 10th of September 1944 the fort fell into Allied hands without a single shot fired.

Cozumel, Mexico, 1944
"Reservistas" of the defense force of the Mexican Island of Cozumel stand at attention during a parade on the island's main square. Mexico declared war on the Axis Powers in 1943.
Paris, France, June 1940
German soldiers march down the the Champs Élysées after their capture of the French capital.
Paris, France, August 1944

Battle Detective Tom looks up at the Eiffel Tower just as American G.I.'s did 67 years earlier. The German garrison of Paris surrendered on the 25th of August 1944.

Paris, France, August 26th 1944
Parisians gather en masse in the Place de l'Étoile to see the liberators of their city. In 1970 this square was renamed Place General de Gaulle in honor of the commanding general of the Free French Forces.
 

Paris, France, August 26th 1944
American soldiers of the 28th Infantry Division march down the Champs-Élysées, on a victory parade on the 26th of august 1944. This was a combined parade of the 28th US Infantry and the 2nd French Armored Divisions.

Paris, France, August 26th 1944
The color guard of the 28th Infantry Division march in front of the Arc de Triomphe.

Paris, France, August 26th 1944
An American M8 Light Armored Scout Car parades in front of the Arc de Triomphe. The M8 usually was fitted with a 37 mm M6 gun and a coaxially mounted .30 caliber Browning machine gun in an open-topped, welded turret. A .50 caliber  Browning machine gun, as seen here, was sometimes carried on a ring mount for anti-aircraft use.

Paris, France, August 26th 1944
The French 2nd Armored Division of General LeClerc is seen here on the Liberation Parade on the 26th of August.

Paris, France, August 26th 1944
Parisians line the Champs Élysées as the French 2nd Armored Division tanks and half tracks pass before the Arc de Triomphe.

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