Dezsö Becker World War I Photo Albums

Scope and Contents

This donation consists of the following material documenting Dezsö Becker's World War I aviation career: a 13 by 11 inch cloth photo album, black background with flowers; a 7 by 9 inch gray photo album; and 24 black and white photographs. The larger photo album contains images of the following: Becker; a Russian pilot and his aircraft; the hangars and officer's mess of the FliK 44; an aircraft crash; and reconnaissance images of Bacau and other sites in Romania, including the Szentkatolna Airport, the bridge over the Szeret River, and the towns of Moinesti and Doftana. The album has Hungarian captions, which have been translated by the donor. The smaller photo album contains eight autographed 5 by 7 black and white portraits of Becker's comrades in the FliK 44. The loose photographs are mostly official portraits of Becker, but there are also a few group shots of the FliK 44. This collection also includes a small snapshot of Becker's Bradenburg C.I(U) mounted onto cardboard, with autographs on the reverse. There are also photocopies of Becker's death certificate and Buchenwald Camp entry paperwork.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged by type of material. Folder titles in brackets were applied by the archivist.

Biographical / Historical

Dezsö Becker (1896-1945), a bookkeeper by profession and a skilled amateur photographer, was a Lieutenant with the FliegerKompanie (FliK) 44 in the Austro-Hungarian Army during World War I. FliK 44 was activated in April of 1917 as a reconnaissance unit. From May until December 1917, Becker was on the Romanian Front (Siebenburgen) and from January 1918 until October 1918, he was on the Piave Front. He was a photographer for the FliK 44, and flew in a Bradenburg C.I(U). Becker was a decorated World War Air Corps Officer; however, because he was a Hungarian Jew he was drafted into an army labor battalion in 1940, first as an officer, than as a forced laborer. He was shipped to the provinces of Hungary and later to Germany. Becker died in the Buchenwald Concentration Camp, January 1945.