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(701) 
An interesting item to note is that with the exception of Troll, Bobek and 
Meynen, most of the well-known, active German geographic photo interpreters 
appear to have been born in the 1901-1909 era, making them about 30 years 
of age at the outset of World War II. This age bracket generally corresponds 
with the ages of photo geographers in England and the United States, where few 
geographers who have been seriously engaged in photo interpretation as a geo- 
graphic research technique for a period of five or more years have yet reached 
or passed their early forties. The large proportion of photo geographers in the 
relatively young age brackets is a natural consequence of the comparative 
newness of the subject. Most geographers born prior to 1910 developed their 
basic research methods and field techniques before instruction in airphoto inter- 
pretation was available to them. Many geographers born after this date received 
military training in airphoto interpretation. 
Troll reports (Fischer, 1948, p. 306) that the Forschungsbeirat für Ver- 
messungtechnik und Kartographie selected 34 typical regions for minute ground 
and airphoto survey to determine the best means for their cartographic presen- 
tation ?). 
Present status. After the cessation of hostilities, the military photo inter- 
preters, who were nearly one hundred per cent reserve personnel, were almost 
entirely demobilized in all countries, except possibly the Soviet Union. In the 
U. S. and British armed forces, some photo interpretation schools have been 
retained on a reduced basis to avoid loss, through normal attrition, of the 
interpreters still on active duty. In the United States, civilian photo interpreters 
have been employed to complement or even to replace the military interpreters 
at various military installations. Civilian employment involves less cost to the 
government, provides the exact specialists desired and provides the important 
element of continuity which is lacking among the military personnel who are 
constantly being reassigned to other duties. On the other hand, employment of 
civilian photo interpreters by military establishments limits the mobility of such 
interpretation units. 
The civilian and military interpretation personnel of the armed forces 
have continued to advance the technique, particularly in terms of moulded 
aerial photos, regional and subject photo interpretation keys, improvement of 
radarscope interpretation, development of television and high-speed facsimile 
photo interpretation and the development of new methods of reading photo- 
graphs taken through obscurations. 
The veteran photo interpreters who have returned to civilian life are, in 
many instances, applying the techniques of photo interpretation learned in the 
the 12,000 oblique aerial photos taken on the Deutsche Antarktische Expedition, 1938/39. 
Smith and Black (1946, p. 402) note that 80 such scientists were engaged in this type of work 
for the Forschungsstaffel alone. 
9) Trolls (1947) analysis, critique and justification of geographic science in Germany during 
the period from 1933 to 1945 was to be written in two parts, the first of which appeared in 
1947 in the initial issue of the post-war geographic publication, Er dk u nde, and which was 
reviewed by Fischer (1948) and in part translated into English by Fischer (Troll, 1949). Troll 
stated in a personal communication to Fischer (Fischer, 1948, p. 309) that part II would 
include®.... special chapters about scientific airphoto interpretation.... [and other sub- 
jects]. ... specially developed in the German geography of the last ten years." In view of the 
wide acceptance of Part I of Dr. Troll’s work, and his unquestionable standing, both as a ge- 
ographer and a photo interpreter, this article, which was to have appeared in 1949, is still 
awaited with considerable interest.