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jollyjacktar
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Some interesting photos in the story, more at link below. The book should be good if he get's it off the ground.
World War One from the OTHER side: Hundreds of images taken by a German soldier reveal the misery of the enemy's trenches
Walter Koessler took almost 1,000 images while he served in the German Army during the war
The images have been perfectly preserved by his descendants in America but were unseen by public
Walter's great-grandson Dean Putney has shared them and hopes they 'humanize the war'
Is fundraising to turn the unique collection into a photo book in time for next year's 100th anniversary
By Becky Evans
PUBLISHED: 16:35 GMT, 8 August 2013 | UPDATED: 16:51 GMT, 8 August 2013
Hundreds of rare images charting one German soldier's experiences of the First World War have been made public for the first time.
The rare glimpse into life in the trenches reveals Walter Koessler's journey from the smiles and hopes of signing up to fight, to the stark the reality of war.
The poignant album begins with Walter smiling and 'playing at war' with his friends to dead soldiers lying buried in muddy trenches.
He also records for posterity the devastation that was wrought on Europe.
Walter took almost 1,000 photos while serving in the Reserve Artillery Battalion and as an aerial photographer.
While beautifully preserved by Walter's descendants, the unique window into the war has been hidden in a cupboard for almost a century.
However, Walter's great grandson Dean Putney has now launched an ambitious project to share the images and hopes to turn them into a book.
Software developer Mr Putney only discovered the album's existence during a Thanks Giving visit to his mother in 2011.
He said the day before he was due to return to his home in San Francisco, California, she 'casually' pulled it out to show him.
Mr Putney told Mail Online: 'I thought "this is incredible".
'There were hundreds of photos over a century old.
'I am in publishing and spend a lot of time looking at stuff like this. I immediately knew it was something really special that lots of people needed to see.
'Not only did lots of people need to see it, it was something that I needed to spread and share.
'I hope people can get in touch with that understanding - how different life was back then.'
Mr Putney said he immediately felt a connection to the pictures of his great-grandfather.
At 23, he is just one year younger than his ancestor was when he was conscripted into the war.
But they also look strikingly similar.
Mr Putney said the album is a 'real treasure' and especially important because it tells the personal story of a German, when most of the photographs that remain are from the Allies' side.
The negatives have also been kept and among the collection is a box of more than 100 3D stereographs from the war.
Mr Putney, who is currently sharing the images through the Walter Koessler Project Tumblr blog and on Boing Boing, has spent the past two years researching the images.
He has even visited France so he can compare some of the photos with how the sites look today.
Walter survived the war and went to have a hugely successful career in Hollywood as an art director.
He moved to Los Angeles soon after the Armistice where he worked on the Charlie Chan films and worked for Universal Studios.
The family believe he was also the set designer for the classic World War One film, All Quiet On The Western Front.
Next year is the 100th anniversary of the start of the war and Mr Putney said the images are a crucial reminder of what life was like for soldiers on both sides of the devastating conflict.
Walter had trained as an architect before being conscripted into the German Army.
As an aerial photographer, he was one of the first to chart battlefields and help create maps from the air, in biplanes and hot-air balloons.
At the beginning of the album, the photographs of him and his friends look like a picture postcard to be sent home.
But with every page turned, the reality of the war kicks in and Mr Putney said by 1918 his great-grandfather was a staunch pacifist.
Mr Putney said: 'I think that his album and his photos are humazing of this really terrible war.
'He tells a brilliant story. The first pictures are of him and his friends going off to war.
'At the beginning of the album they are almost playing at war - they are swimming in lakes and taking photos. They are almost glamour shots.
'When you reach the middle of the album the aerial shots
'There are pictures of a crashed airplane
'Towards the end of the album you really see his understanding of what they are doing.
'He stops taking photos of his friends. It is pretty much taking photos of destroyed churches, of dead men in the trenches, blown up tanks.
'It's scary stuff. The smiling faces disappear.'
Pictures such as this one of German soldiers playing cards together next to their trenches 'garden' give an insight into the reality of the boredom, as well as the violence, of warfare
None of the pictures are annotated so Mr Putney said one of the only clues to the time of year is if there is snow on the ground
Because Walter was not an official photographer, his images show a different side to the First World War
He hopes the project will help people get in touch with First World War and is aptly timed as the 100 anniversary next year
Dean Putney is raising funds on Kickstarter to make a photo book. To pledge or for more information visit his page.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2386912/World-War-One-German-soldiers-perspective-Hundreds-images-rare-insight-the-Great-War-rarely-see.html#ixzz2bPsHlEyT
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