Chilling early photographs of Adolf Hitler and Joseph Goebbels inspecting Luftwaffe and air crew at the start of World War Two have been unearthed.
The previously unseen images taken by an unknown Luftwaffe pilot show Hitler and his right-hand man days after the Nazis invaded Poland.
The 23 photos were taken by an unknown Luftwaffe pilot on September 14, 1939, when Hitler flew into 'Airfield Yellow' - a temporary airstrip possibly in Poland
Days earlier the Allies had declared war on Germany yet the photographs show Hitler and Goebbels laughing and posing with the air crews.
The visit was a closely guarded secret and no exact records exist of Hitler's movements in the early days of the war.
The grainy black-and-white snaps show Hitler and Goebbels in full uniform chatting to air force commanders while inspecting the planes.
Other photographs reveal Luftwaffe crews wearing just shorts posing next to a fearsome man-sized bomb under the wing of a huge plane.
The 9cm x 6cm photographs were uncovered inside a battered leather bound pocket-sized photo album with annotations on the back.
Fourteen other images show bomb damage, aircraft (Bf 109, Heinkel 111, Fiesler Storch, Ju52), Luftwaffe ground crew and a shot of Hitler's FW200 Condor 'Grenzmark'.
The owner of the album is now putting the pictures up for auction and they are tipped to sell for hundreds of pounds.
Military antiques expert Adrian Stevenson, on Hansons Auctioneers, said: "This is a unique, private album of unseen photos of Hitler and Goebbels and I expect interest to be strong.
"Yellow Airfield is a code name for what would have been a temporary airstrip, possibly in Poland but we cannot be sure.
"Interestingly, if you research Hitler's movements around September 14, 1939, it is not clear where he was, which makes these photos even more historically significant.
"The owner is a private collector from the East Midlands who is now liquidating his collection.
"He purchased the album at auction.
"The previous seller may not have fully appreciated the historical significance of the contents of this little pocket album.
"There is a deep fascination with all aspects of wartime history and items relating to Hitler attract intense bidding from collectors all over the world.
"These grainy, black and white images capture the Nazi leaders at a pivotal point in history - just a few days after the start of the deadliest conflict in human history, the Second World War.
"It lasted until 1945, involved more than 30 countries and led to 70 to 85 million fatalities
"On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland.
"The UK and France declared war on September 3 after Hitler ignored an ultimatum to withdraw forces from Poland.
"Despite the dramatic world events, Hitler and Goebbels appear in good spirits on the photos."
The photo album will go under the hammer on August 7.
