ORIGINAL: herrmill
Sorry, but I can't buy that explanation when the officer addressing them is less than 1m to their front & the NCO who is on ''higher'' ground is no more than 2m away. And what about the ''giant'' in the distance who's walking towards the staff car? Not to mention anything about the packs & bedrolls they are carrying in relation to photos you see of regular infantry loaded down with their gear.
These ex-panzer crew shown in the photo are definitely short - there's no doubt about it!
There's no height restrictions in the Panzerwaffe as far as I know, so I'm guessing that the panzer crews' height comes in a wide range.
And camera angles can be really deceiving. Here's proof.
That is the same picture, but I copy/pasted the panzer crew member in the foreground and the NCO and put them right next to the Officer. Notice how large they are, compared to the officer.
And look at that "giant" guy that was walking towards the car...take a look at his height if you copy/paste him next to the panzer crews...Mein Gott, he's a tiny little thing.
*Edit* And in regards to the other pic, those German soldiers were carrying, from what I can see were breadbags, canteen, rolled zeltbahn, gas mask canister, and ammo pouches, while those panzer crews seems to be carrying bigger duffel-type bags. I can see some A-pack frames too, if I'm not mistaken.