Source: Author's collection
During a lull in the combat that raged through the streets and buildings of Stalingrad from August 23, 1942 to February 2, 1943, Luftwaffe Kriegsberichter Otto Vieth enjoys a cigar while resting on the fender of a Mercedes-Benz truck. Vieth was part of 1. Lw.-Kriegsberichter-Kompanie (mot.) z.b.V. which was short for 1st. Luftwaffe War Correspondent Company (motorized) zur besonderen Verfügung. Units with the designation z.b.V. were units that had no subordinate combat troops and thus were on special deployment or special duty. Vieth was a contributor to the Luftwaffe's biweekly magazine “Der Adler” (“The Eagle”).
This color photograph of Vieth shows him with the rank of Flieger, the lowest rank which was equivalent to a Airman Basic in the U.S. Air Force. This is denoted by the single “gull wing” rank pip pinned through his collar tabs. The collar tabs on his fliegerbluse are gold-yellow (goldgelb) which was the Luftwaffe waffenfarbe (corps color) for both men in aviation units (pilots and ground personnel) as well as Fallschirmjäger (paratroopers). This same color was used on the piping of his uniform's shoulder boards. Vieth was not a Fallschirmjäger but he was a glider pilot and we know this from the insignia seen below his medal. This is the Segelflieger B Abzeichen Gleitfliegerprüfung which translates to Glider Pilot Level B Proficiency Badge. The badge was awarded to glider students in the Deutscher Luftsportverband (DLV; German Air Sports Association) which was, more or less, a training organization for the future Luftwaffe. The DLV was established in March 1933 and then absorbed into the Nationalsozialistisches Fliegerkorps (NSFK; National Socialist Flyers Corps) on April 15, 1937. The badge consisted of a round base of blue-gray material with a machine-embroidered circle with two gulls within it. This particular badge was the middle of three proficiency levels with A being the lowest proficiency and C being the highest. To earn the B level proficiency required the student to make a 60 second free flight and execute a “S” turn maneuver. Those who earned the B and C level proficiency badges were allowed to wear them on Luftwaffe uniforms even though they were not Luftwaffe awards. Returning to the medal, it is the Deutsches Sportabzeichen (German Sports Badge) which was awarded for excellence in physical endurance, speed, strength, and agility. Though not too visible, the letters DRL are within the wreath which stood for Deutsche Reichsauszeichnung für Leibesübungen meaning German Reich Award for Physical Exercise.
Not visible in this particular photograph of Vieth is the cuff title (Ärmelband) on the lower right sleeve of his fliegerbluse which read “Kriegsberichter der Luftwaffe”. This was a blue band with the words (in a Fraktur-style script) embroidered in white thread. Also not visible, but on the lower left sleeve, was his Fliegendes Personal (flying personnel) badge. This badge had a blue-gray material background with a embroidered four-bladed propeller superimposed over a pair of wings in white threading. This particular badge was worn by flying personnel not eligible to wear the Pilotenabzeichen (Pilot's Badge).
For a camera, Vieth is using a manual Leica IIIc 35mm rangefinder camera. This particular model was produced from 1940 into 1946, the Leica IIIc used a die-cast body, pin bearing equipped shutter, cold shoe flash mount, and a M39 lens mount. The viewfinder of the camera was set for the standard 50mm lens and if other lens were used, then the user had to fit an alternate viewfinder on the camera's accessory socket.
Little is known about Vieth's Luftwaffe career. What we do know is that he worked exclusively for “Der Adler” and was a highly experienced photographer as his pictures were often used for the covers of the magazine. As a reporter, Vieth spent time in France, the Eastern Front, North Africa, Italy, as well as in Germany. From surviving photographs of Vieth, at some point in time, he was promoted to Unteroffizier (equivalent to a U.S. Air Force Sergeant) and was able to earn either the Fliegerschützenabzeichen (Air Gunner Badge) or the Fliegerschützenabzeichen für Bordfunker (Air Gunner Badge for Radio Operators) as there is a photograph of him wearing one of these two badges on his Luftwaffe service shirt in a 1943 photograph taken of him while in Russia. At that time, he was still using his Leica IIIc camera. Another photograph shows him as a Fahnenjunker-Unterfeldwebel, having been promoted again to Unterfeldwebel (equivalent to a Staff Sergeant) and then selected for officer training but there is no date associated with the photograph. Even though the last issue of “Der Adler” came out on September 12, 1944, Vieth continued to work as a photographer as the Bundesarchiv Bildarchiv (Federal Image Archive) in Germany has cataloged photographs attributed to Vieth into 1945. It is presumed he survived the war.
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