German Military Unit Parading Through the Streets of France

These photos, taken May 1942, depict a German anti-aircraft (FLAK Luftwaffe) unit stayed in Amiens, France. They were taken by an unidentified photographer and formed part of a scrapbook. The six small photos show the unit being read the orders for the day by an officer on the steps of the Pensionnat and parading through Amiens. 

While the unit seems to have been in Amiens only briefly, and while there was a regular German military and police presence in the city, the photos stand out when juxtaposed with the deteriorating situation of the local Jewish residents. 

One week after these photographs were taken, legislation was issued that forced all Jews above the age of six to wear the Yellow Star. 

Three weeks after these photographs were taken, the infamous Vel d’Hiv roundup took place. The Vélodrome d’Hiver (or “Vél d’Hiv”) roundup was the largest French deportation of Jews during the Holocaust. In two days, some 13,152 Jews (including more than 4,000 children) were arrested and deported to concentration camps.