The World War I photographs taken by Eduard Frankl were donated by Sigrid Schultz as part of her papers (Mss 677). According to Schultz's memory the photographs, contained within an album, were given to her father, Herman Schultz, in about 1920. While she did not remember the name of the giver of the gift, it was, almost certainly the photographer, Eduard Frankl. She wrote in a letter to the Society Director Les Fishel, “the man was in financial trouble and father rendered him some service – probably introduced him to people who placed orders with him.” In return, Herman Schultz was given the photo album. In the financial and political chaos of post-World War I Germany, Frankl's ability to earn a living with his photography business would have been difficult. Seeking help from a prominent, and socially well-connected, portrait painter such as Herman Schultz would have made sense.
How many copies of Eduard's WWI prints existed is unknown, but clearly, there was more than one set. Some of his images were widely reproduced in publications, both contemporary to the war, and later. The loose pages in the Historical Society's collection were originally bound and covered with boards. It seems likely Frankl may have produced multiple bound versions for sale.
The Eduard Frankl photographs help document the first half of World War I from the Central Powers' point of view. Whether Frankl did any other war related photography during the last two years of the conflict is unclear. It is known he, and his son Alfred, took images of the fighting in Berlin during the post-war communist revolution and subsequent counter-revolution. None of these post-war photographs are included in the collection, but were published and/or are located in other archives.
During the war, Frankl was obligated to turn over his negatives to Supreme Army Command (Oberste Heeresleitung) authorities for use in press and propaganda efforts. However, he kept copies for himself and sold to publishers of various illustrated magazines and newspapers both in Germany and Austria. It is known his efforts to market the images sometimes resulted in conflict with military authorities who wanted exclusive control over the images.
After the start of hostilities in August 1914, Eduard Frankl quickly focused his energies on taking photographs of war related activities. He photographed scenes in and around Berlin such as the mobilization of troops, care of the wounded, preparation of supplies, foodstuffs, bandages for troops in the field, and the care of German refugees who had fled East Prussia during the fighting with the Russian army. He also photographed Allied prisoners in a camp at Zossen, south of Berlin.
Frankl then must have sought permission from German authorities to visit and photograph battlefront scenes. He visited the province of East Prussia, probably in September or October 1914, to photograph scenes of destruction caused by the Russian occupation and its recapture after the battle of Tannenberg. He also traveled to occupied Belgium and shot images in and around the City of Antwerp, which was captured by the Germans in October 1914. These photographs include many scenes of Belgian refugees who fled to neutral Netherlands to escape the fighting and the beginnings of their return to Belgium. Around this time, he also photographed German troops on the front lines in Alsace.
After the Ottoman Empire formally entered the war on the side of Germany in October 1914, Frankl sought permission to travel there. Based on dating of some of the images, this trip must have occurred before the end of 1914. The collection contains many images from this trip including the Turkish capital, Constantinople (Istanbul), German sailors from the battlecruiser S.M.S. Goeben, which was interned in the Bosporus Straits, the mobilization and training of Turkish troops, and their passage to the front in Syria. The journey to Syria includes images of the movement of men and equipment through Anatolia, the difficult passage over the Taurus Mountains, and into the province of Syria. He then visited Syria and Palestine, including scenes in Aleppo, Homs, Damascus, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and as far south as Beersheba on the edge of the Negev Desert.
The scenes in Palestine show preparations for the unsuccessful Ottoman attack on the Suez Canal in January 1915. Images include scenes of the Ottoman commander, Ahmed Djemal Pascha, and his German military advisors. Other images include the declaration of Jihad (Holy War) by the Turks, images of the Arab irregular forces who fought for Turkey, and an image of Eduard Frankl astride a camel. Frankl returned from the Middle East by early 1915.
In addition to photographing German battlefronts, he also received as permit permission from the Austrian High Command and its War Press Office (Kriegspressequartier) to travel to Austro-Hungarian fronts in Poland and Galicia. Frankl photographed scenes from battles fought in the Carpathian Mountains in March or April of 1915. He also photographed the war in other parts of Poland, Galicia, and Bukovina. Included are images of the life of soldiers and civilians in areas behind the front, and units of the Polish Legion. He spent time in and around Czernowitz (Chernivtsi), the capital of the province of Bukovina, photographing the fighting there. He also visited Czenstochau (Czestochowa), Poland, after its occupation by Austrian troops, and Belgrade, after the invasion of the Kingdom of Serbia.
Finally, in both 1915 and 1916, Frankl visited Austrian forces fighting against the Italian army in South Tyrol. After Italy's declaration of war in the spring of 1915, Frankl made several visits to the Alpine front in the province of Trentino, the area around Lake Garda, and in the high mountain fighting near Mount Ortler.
