Overview
- Brief Narrative
- Cardboard photographic light meter used by Sergeant Walter E. Hunkler, medical technician, 160th Field Artillery Battalion, 45th Infantry Division, known as the Thunderbirds, from June 1943 to September 1945.In July 1943, Walter entered combat in Sicily and then advanced with his unit through Italy, France, and Germany. Walter’s unit was with the 157th Infantry when, on April 29, they arrived with the 45th Infantry at and liberated Dachau concentration camp in Germany. There were nearly 30,000 starving and dying prisoners in need of aid. Walter photographed the camp and prisoners with one of the two cameras that he carried. Walter’s Dachau photographs are part of this collection, 2000.526.1. Walter was awarded a Bronze Star for bravery while tending the wounded.
- Date
-
use:
1945
publication/distribution: approximately 1934
- Geography
-
distribution:
Darmstadt (Germany)
publication: Racibórz (Poland)
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Roberta E. Hunkler
- Markings
- front, top, orange, white, and black ink : Rapid / BELICHTUNGS-ZAHLWERK / TAGES - / LICHT / BLENDE F/ / BELICHTUNGSZEITEN / EINSTELLUNG EINSTELLUNG [Rapid / Exposure Set of Figures / Daylight / Aperture F stop / Length of Exposure / Shot Shot]
back, orange, white, and black ink : Rapid / BELICHTUNGS-ZAHLWERK / KUNST - / LICHT / BLENDE F/ / BELICHTUNGS - / ZEITEN / ORTHOCHROMATISCHER FILM / EINSTELLUNG / PANCHROMATISCHER FILM / BLENDE FUR BLITZLICHT / Photo – Kino – Brzoska / DARMSTADT / Elisabethenstr. 1 – 3 / D. R. G. M. / Druck und Verlag : Franz Lindner, Ratibor / Lindner, Generalvertretung Berlin-Schoneberg. Grunewaldstr 53 / Nr. 3314 - Contributor
-
Subject:
Walter E. Hunkler
Distributor: Photo-Kino-Brzoska
Publisher: Franz Lindner
- Biography
-
Walter Eugene Hunkler was born on February 8, 1915, in Washington, Illinois. He was the second of two children born to John and Bertha Geiger Hunkler. His parents were born in Switzerland and immigrated to the United States. John was a teamster and day laborer. Walter graduated from high school and became a bartender. He married and had a child, but later divorced.
After the December 7, 1941, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Germany declared war on the US and a few days later America entered World War II. On January 19, 1942, Walter was drafted into the US Army. Walter became a medical technician, assigned to a medical detachment, 160th Field Artillery Battalion, 45th Infantry Division, nicknamed the Thunderbird Division. In June 1943, the Division was deployed to Europe. Walter went into combat that July in Sicily, Italy. As the Division advanced through Italy and France, Walter participated in several campaigns: Anzio, Rome-Arno, Southern France, and Ardennes-Alsace-Battle of the Bulge. In spring 1945, the Division advanced into Germany. Walter’s unit was operating with the 157th Infantry when, on April 29, 1945, the 45th Infantry liberated Dachau concentration camp in Germany. They discovered over 30,000 survivors in the camp and 2,310 corpses on a train. Walter witnessed and photographed atrocities, the horrible camp conditions, and the surviving inmates. Following Germany’s May 7 surrender, the 45th Infantry was stationed near Dachau. Walter returned to the US in September 1945, and was honorably discharged as a Technician Fourth Grade in October. He was deployed overseas for 691 Days; 511 of them in combat. He received a Bronze Star for bravery for risking his own safety while tending to the wounded, as well as many battle stars for campaigns where his unit fought.
Walter returned to Washington, Illinois, and worked for the Central Illinois Light Company. In October 1956, Walter married Roberta Leighton (1916 – 2007). Walter did not speak about his wartime experiences. Only once, in 1947, did he allow Roberta to see the photographs he took at Dachau before sealing them inside a storage container where they remained for over fifty years. Walter, 76, died on September 8, 1991, in Peoria, Illinois.
Physical Details
- Language
- German
- Classification
-
Tools and Equipment
- Category
-
Measuring instruments
- Object Type
-
Exposure meters (aat)
- Physical Description
- Rectangular, double-sided offwhite cardboard light meter with a rotating disk attached near the top by a metal grommet. The body folds in half at the bottom to cover the disk. The top center is cut so the notched edges on the disk edge can be seen. The top half has a curved chart with text and number settings; the bottom has 2 cut out arched slots to view disk settings. The lower front of the card has a calendar table. The back upper left has a U-shaped window to display text printed on the disk. Both sides have a printed black background, orange border, and German text.
- Dimensions
- overall: Height: 4.750 inches (12.065 cm) | Width: 3.125 inches (7.938 cm)
- Materials
- overall : cardboard, ink, metal
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- No restrictions on access
- Conditions on Use
- No restrictions on use
Keywords & Subjects
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The light calculator was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2000 by Roberta E. Hunkler, on behalf of the Estate of her husband, Walter E. Hunkler.
- Funding Note
- The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
- Record last modified:
- 2024-10-03 11:34:16
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn513208
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Also in Walter E. Hunkler collection
The collection consists of two cameras, camera accessories, a cloth pouch, documents, and photographs relating to the experiences of Walter E. Hunkler, medical technician, 160th Field Artillery Battalion, 45th Infantry Division, United States Army in combat in Europe during World War II, including the liberation of Dachau concentration camp in Germany.
Date: 1942-1945 August
Six-20 Kodak camera and accessories used by US soldier
Object
Kodak Six-20 camera with art deco styling used by Sergeant Walter E. Hunkler, medical technician, 160th Field Artillery Battalion, 45th Infantry Division, known as the Thunderbirds from June 1943 to September 1945. This folding bellows camera was a portable model that took eight large 2 ¼ x 3 ¼ inch shots on a single no. 620 film roll. In July 1943, Walter entered combat in Sicily and then advanced with his unit through Italy, France, and Germany. Walter’s unit was with the 157th Infantry when, on April 29, they arrived with the 45th Infantry at and liberated Dachau concentration camp in Germany. There were nearly 30,000 starving and dying prisoners in need of aid. Walter photographed the camp and prisoners with one of the two cameras that he carried. Walter’s Dachau photographs are part of this collection, 2000.526.1. Walter was awarded a Bronze Star for bravery while tending the wounded.
Goerz Tenax pocket camera and accessories used by US soldier
Object
Goerz Coat Pocket Tenax camera and photographic accessories used by Sergeant Walter E. Hunkler, medical technician, 160th Field Artillery Battalion, 45th Infantry Division, known as the Thunderbirds, from June 1943 to September 1945. In July 1943, Walter entered combat in Sicily and then advanced with his unit through Italy, France, and Germany. Walter’s unit was with the 157th Infantry when, on April 29, they arrived with the 45th Infantry at and liberated Dachau concentration camp in Germany. There were nearly 30,000 starving and dying prisoners in need of aid. Walter photographed the camp and prisoners with one of the two cameras that he carried. Walter’s Dachau photographs are part of this collection, 2000.526.1. Walter was awarded a Bronze Star for bravery while tending the wounded.
Wehrmacht waterproof gas cape pouch found by US soldier
Object
German gas cape pouch found by Sergeant Walter E. Hunkler, medical technician, 160th Field Artillery Battalion, 45th Infantry Division, known as the Thunderbirds, from June 1943 to September 1945. The pouch was worn on a German soldier’s chest, attached to gas mask pouch shoulder strap. Walter may have used it to hold binoculars. In July 1943, Walter entered combat in Sicily and then advanced with his unit through Italy, France, and Germany. Walter’s unit was with the 157th Infantry when, on April 29, they arrived with the 45th Infantry at and liberated Dachau concentration camp in Germany. There were nearly 30,000 starving and dying prisoners in need of aid. Walter photographed the camp and prisoners with one of the two cameras that he carried. Walter’s Dachau photographs are part of this collection, 2000.526.1. Walter was awarded a Bronze Star for bravery while tending the wounded.
Mimosa 6.5 x 9 cm sheet film box used by US soldier
Object
Mimosa sheet film box used by Sergeant Walter E. Hunkler, medical technician, 160th Field Artillery Battalion, 45th Infantry Division, known as the Thunderbirds, from June 1943 to September 1945. The box held 6.5 x 9 cm film sheets which would fit the Tenax camera that he used during the war.In July 1943, Walter entered combat in Sicily and then advanced with his unit through Italy, France, and Germany. Walter’s unit was with the 157th Infantry when, on April 29, they arrived with the 45th Infantry at and liberated Dachau concentration camp in Germany. There were nearly 30,000 starving and dying prisoners in need of aid. Walter photographed the camp and prisoners with one of the two cameras that he carried. Walter’s Dachau photographs are part of this collection, 2000.526.1. Walter was awarded a Bronze Star for bravery while tending the wounded.
Walter Hunkler papers
Document
Contains two documents titled allowing U.S. military officer to possess and/or mail "captured enemy military equipment," retrieved and used by Sergeant Walter Hunkler, dated August 20, 1945. One envelope with "Dachau" written on front and "44." Group of black and white photographs from Dachau, taken by Sergeant Hunkler, and othes gathered in Germany after liberation of the camp. The documents belonged to Walter Hunkler (donor's husband), Sergeant, assigned to medical detachment of the 160th Field Artillery Battalion, a unit of the 45th armored division that entered concentration camp Dachau in Germany on April 29, 1945.
