After the war, the true nature of Nazi Germany was more clear, and the world struggled to deal with what was left of Germany. Photographs taken by Sergeant George E. Armstrong show the aftermath of the war. Sergeant George E. Armstrong was an American soldier stationed in Germany after the end of the Second War World. From the collection of photographs and other miscellaneous army material he left behind, we know that he was a member of the 402nd Antiaircraft Artillery Command in Portsmouth, Virginia, and the 940th Field Artillery Battalion. He may have also been a member of the 933rd Field Artillery Battalion at one time. It also appears that Armstrong was of German ancestry.
Without more information on the life of George E. Armstrong and his military service, the pictures he left behind must speak for themselves. His pictures show the complicated life of the soldier. One group of his pictures show army camps, mess halls, and soldiers spending their free time together. Several pictures show a celebration in the mess hall at Christmas. Soldiers stand proudly behind a table in the decorated hall. In other pictures, they stand leisurely and smile.4
Another group of Armstrong’s pictures are not as light-hearted. They show decimated buildings, piles of rubble, and empty streets. They depict a Germany in chaos.
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An unknown soldier in German, ca. 1945
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A Christmas feast pictured in the Armstrong Photograph Collection.
