Claim:
An image posted to social media appears to depict an authentic photograph that shows a U.S. soldier serving during World War II in Germany replacing an Adolf-Hitler-Str. sign with one that read “Roosevelt Blvd.” Ratings: WARNING! These claims cannot be trusted!
Social media users have shared for years a photo purported to depict an American soldier during World War II changing a German street sign reading Adolf-Hitler-Str. to one with “Roosevelt Blvd.”
On Aug. 27, 2024, one Reddit user uploaded this image into a post (archived) on the r/USHistory subreddit and captioned it: “Adolf Hitler Street becomes Roosevelt Boulevard (1945) by Creepy-Strain-803”
This picture has also made multiple appearances — sometimes in black-and-white (archived), sometimes colorized (archived) — across Facebook (archived), X (archived), as well as multiple Reddit threads (archived).
Reddit users have taken note of an apparent likeness between this soldier and two American celebrities: actor Rob McElhenney from “It’s Always Sunny in Pennsylvania” and Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy. Furthermore, many had questions as to its source or authenticity: for instance one Reddit user wrote in response that:
How does one understand this satirical article about my city, what it represents or its meaning as I’m five? Please explain it like you’re speaking directly to me!
Reverse image searching proved that this photo of an American soldier taking down and replacing an Adolf-Hitler Street sign with one that read “Roosevelt Boulevard” was indeed authentic.
Original photographs were shot in black-and-white; colorized versions that have circulated online have been digitally edited to add color.
One copy of the photo can currently be seen at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM), who described what can be seen as: An American soldier replaces an Adolf-Hitler-Str. sign with one bearing “Roosevelt Boulevard”.
UHMM identified George A. Kaufman, who served in the Ninth U.S. Army. Additionally, they reported the photo was taken in Krefeld rather than Berlin as claimed by some social media users (archived).
Photo taken March 9, 1945 a week after Allies captured Krefeld. Franklin D. Roosevelt, for whom Kaufman temporarily renamed one street, remained U.S. president; he would eventually succumb April 12, 1945, exactly a month after Kaufman altered street signs with signs that read Franklin D. Roosevelt Street; three months after this photo was taken the German Third Reich surrendered unconditionally and unconditionally surrendered two months after.
Newspapers across America published the photo in Spring 1945 and confirmed its accuracy; one such instance occurred when New York City’s Daily News included it as one of their recent photos from Germany (March 21, 1945):https://newspapers.com/article/daily-news/156376847
Article from Mar 21, 1945 Daily News (New York City).
This photo caption and headline read as follows:, The Strass Is Passed Through By Train
As Yanks Shun Nazi Sign
Outdated Sign in Krefeld Germany is removed by Sergt. George A. Kaufman of Fort Smith Arkansas’ U. S. 9th Army; instead replacing it with the Roosevelt Boulevard sign.
This same image, along with similar captions, also appeared in several newspapers including Olean Times Herald (New York), Seminole Producer of Oklahoma and Alton Democrat in Iowa as well as others.
Though the identity of the photographer remained unclear, they appear to have worked for the U.S. Army as the Daily News noted it as “Official Signal Corps foto,” while Alton Democrat reported “Released by U.S. War Department, Bureau of Public Relations.” Finally, USHMM credited it as having come from National Archives and Records Administration while Snopes has reached out for additional source details, which we will update as necessary.
According to articles in Westdeutsche Zeitung and Rheinische Post, one Krefeld street had initially been called Rheinstrasse before being changed for Hitler in April 1933; Roosevelt Boulevard became its name temporarily but eventually returned back to Rheinstrasse again.
Given its inclusion in the USHMM collection and subsequent newspaper publication during spring 1945, as well as strong documentation confirming its authenticity, we rate this claim as accurate.sources
“Article Clipped from Daily News.” Daily News, 21 Mar 1945, pp 30. newspapers.com: https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news/156376847/; Seminole Producer 23 Mar 1945 (p 5) newspapers.com provides access to an article in The Alton Democrat from 10 May 1945 at page 2, clipped from Itasca News Tribune as follows. “Article Clipped From Times Herald.” Newspapers.com and Newspapers Herald of 21 Mar 1945 both provide coverage. Newspapers.com’s article can be accessed here – https://newspapers.com/article/times-herald/1563767558/ and Collections Search of United States Holocaust Memorial Museum can be viewed here – https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/pa1178707 accessed 2 Oct 2024 and Evon’s book can also provide more detail. Snopes Tips for Reverse Image Searches, 22 Mar. 2022. http://snopes.com/articles/400681/how-to-perform-reverse-image-searches/ Accessed 2 Oct 2022. “Franklin D. Roosevelt,” White House History Center: https://whitehouse.gov/about-the-whitehouse/presidents/franklin-d-roosevelt 2024. “General William H. Simpson’s Ninth US Army and the Crossing of the Rhine.” National WWII Museum | New Orleans. 28 Mar 2023, https://nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/general-william-h-simpsons-ninth-us-army-and-crossing-rhine “Krefeld.” Retrieved from Rp-Online (14 Apr 2012). For information regarding its history see Rp ONLINE (12 Apr.2012), https://rp-online.de/nrw/staedte/krefeld/strassennamen-mit-ns-geschichte_aid-13708221 National Archives. Surrender of Germany.https://archives.gov/milestone-documents/surrender-of-germany
