Grouping of Four Photo Albums for Army General Benigus Dippold-This is a very interesting grouping. Dippold was born in 1889, and first joined the army in 1908. He served during both world wars, finally reaching the rank of Lt. General in 1941. It’s worth doing a google search to learn more about his commands. We will include what we were able to research on this man.
The first album is dated 1917/1920. It contains approx. 70 early photos and one postcard in a variety of sizes. Some pictures are pretty faded, but most are in good shape. They are a combination of family, portraits of fellow soldiers and what I assume are some self-portraits. The photos are captioned and dated in pencil at the top of most of the pages. The book itself is made with forest green cardboard covers tied together with a green string. There is a nice Celtic looking design printed on the front of this book. The book itself measures 11 inches (27.94cm) long by 8 inches (20.32cm) wide. The binding is very nice. There are several blank pages in the back. (Interesting note, Ben was captured by the British in 1917 and interned in a camp in Switzerland. He was returned home a year later).
Photo album two is labeled Duggendorf 1934-1935. It contains some great night photos of a party rally with torches and party flags. There is approx. 127 impressive, unpubished images in this album. We assume this is in the city of Duggendorf. There are several day pictures of a parade or event in the same city. There are a few photos of what appears to be a sporting event, with wrestling, swimming and equestrian activities. We can see the general on the back of a blurry horse in a few of these photos. There are a few photos of possibly an inspection taking place in front of what looks to be army barracks. There are photos from Nurnburg dated 1936. A few of the photos have come loose from their glue. There are 8 postcards also included that were never mounted. The average size of the photos in this book are 4 inches (10.16cm) by 6 inches (15.24cm) but there really is a variety of sizes. The book itself is covered in a two-toned brown vinyl. This is bound with a brown cord. The book is small, and measures 8 ½ inches (21.59cm) long by 5 ½ inches (13.87cm) wide.
Photo album three is a mix of photos from 1936 through to 1939. This contains approx. 124 photos of candid shots, rally shots and some field shots. The photos are in very good condition, though some have come loose from the photo’s pages. In fact, the gray photo pages have come loose from the binding in this album, so I would say this one book is in a rather fragile condition. The brown hardcover album measures 11 ¼ inches (28.575cm) by 9 ¼ inches (23.49cm) in size. It has a brown cover that has significant damage to the spine and binding. The cover has the world “Album” and a multicolored flower wreath on the front. The book is salty, but the photos are very good though.
Album number four is a collection of photos from 1934 starting in Munich through Yugoslavia in 1941 and Russia in Yugoslavia in 1943. This collection consists of approx. 125 photos and postcards in varying sizes. Some of the smaller format photos are very faded, but you can still see the images. There is a large format photograph of our general Ben with what appears to be a black eye, we are unsure If this photo was taken for evidentiary purposes? There are many photos of the men out in the field. The one thing I notice throughout these four photo albums is that his trusty little dog is by his side in many of them. If you want to see a dog wearing glasses and smoking a pipe, well here you are. This fourth album is covered with a gray and blue fabric cover, bound with a twisted black and white cord. The book measures 10 inches (25.4 cm) long and 7 inches (17.78cm) wide. Overall, this is in good condition, with some loose photos. These albums are a time capsule into a world that we do not get to see reading books. These are a very special collection.
History: Benignus Dippold was promoted Generalleutnant on October 1st 1941, and became 183rd Infantry Division commander on the Eastern Front.
He was later detached to Army Group A from March 43 through May of 43 for special assignment, as he was selected to negotiate the Croat/Yugoslav anti partisan cease fire in March of 1943. Later in the war, he was in ally captivity for 2 years, after the war. He was release in 1947 and died 20 years later in Bamberg, German.