| Documents
kept on the Individual: |
|
| There
were two pieces of documentation which were
habitually carried by members of the German
military: the Erkennungsmarke and Soldbuch: |
| |
| 1.
Erkennungsmarke (Identification Tag): |
| Not
made of paper, but still an important piece
of documentation. The ID disk, of
aluminum (early war), zinc or zinc alloy
(mid to late-war), or steel (late war only)
was supposed to be carried by every member
of the German Armed Forces and worn by a
string around the neck. Despite the
regulations, however, some soldiers kept
them in their wallets, in their pockets, in
their packs, or even lost them completely.
They were generally issued by the training
unit that originally inducted the soldier,
and only bore the name of the man's combat
unit if he had lost his original tag and got
a replacement from the field unit. Click
here for detailed information
about ID tags. |
| |
| 2.
Soldbuch (Paybook): |
| Not
only a paybook but an identification
document, equipment inventory, and detailed
service record book. Carried by all
soldiers in the left breast pocket.
Soldiers in some cases turned in their books
temporarily, for instance if they were on
patrol, doing duty in a secruity-risk
station, or in the hospital. Click
here for information describing
the entire book page-by-page. |
|
|
There
were also other identification documents
which were occasionally carried by the
individual soldier:
|
|
| |
| 3.
Ausweiß (statt Soldbuch) (ID
substitute for Soldbuch): |
| This
was a temporary document to replace a lost
or destroyed Soldbuch. As its name
implies, it was only a short-term document. |
| |
| 4.
Vorläufiger Ausweiß (Temporary
Soldbuch): |
| Same
as number 3, above, but laid out more like a
4 or 8 page Soldbuch without the cover.
Could also be entirely type-written. |
| |
| 5.
Ausweiß Nr..... (ID number ....): |
| This
was a document printed on oilcloth, with a
serial number. It was meant to be used
as a more secure form of identification than
the Soldbuch for air crew, paratroopers, and
other personnel who could be trapped and
captured within enemy lines. |
| |
| 6.
Personalausweiß (Personal ID): |
| This
was the certificate required by the Geneva
Convention for medical non-combatants.
It gave them authorization to wear the
red-cross armband, and was printed on white
oilcloth with a red cross at the top. |
| |
| 7.
Truppenausweiß (Military ID): |
| ID
certificate which was used in peacetime but
was generally replaced by the Soldbuch upon
mobilization in 1939. |
|
|
There
were a large number of different driver's
licenses that could be found on the German
soldier:
|
|
| |
| 8.
Wehrmachtführerschein (Armed Forces
Driver's License): |
| This
was a gray oilcloth four-page certificate
which was issued to all services in the same
format. They came with or without a
photograph of the bearer. If they were
without a photo, a note printed on the spot
for the photo would be exposed which stated:
"only good in conjunction with a
Soldbuch!", in which case the photo or
detailed physical description in the
Soldbuch served the same purpose.
Licenses issued before the advent of photos
in Soldbuchs will therefore normally have a
photo in them. |
| |
| 9.
Militärführerschein (Military
Driver's License): |
| This
was the pre-war version of #8, and was
almost identical in layout and appearance.
A few were carried during the war. |
| |
| 10.
Militär-Fahrlehrerschein (Driver
Instructor): |
| This
document looks basically like #8 above,
except it is printed on yellow oilcloth. |
| |
| 11.
Civilian Driver's License: |
| It
is surprising at how many of these were
carried by military personnel.
Apparently, they were carried over into
military service. They are generally
laid out the same as the military ones and
printed on oilcloth as well, but as many
variations exist as there were
municipalities that issued them. Cars
were rare in pre-war Germany (and even rarer
during the war), so licenses were not
common. |
|
| The
German Soldier could also have carried any
number of official orders, some of the more
common of which would include: |
|
| |
| 12.
Marschbefehl (Travel Order): |
| This
would have been more commonly in the
possession of officers, NCOs, or vehicle
drivers. It would show the
destination, route, units, and vehicles
involved. |
| |
| 13.
Benachrichtigung: |
| This
was a travel order given to a soldier when
he was transferred from a training unit to a
field unit. Equivalent to a
"Field Assignment". Could
also take the form of a "Kennzettel". |
| |
| 14.
Fahrbefehl Nr.... (Motorized travel
order number...): |
| Order
to travel by motor vehicle. Shows the
name of the driver, destination, reason for
trip, and signature of the commanding
officer. |
|
| There
were a large number of miscellaneous
military papers as well... |
|
| |
| 15.
Besitzzeugnis: |
| The
small half-sheet document authorizing the
possession of a decoration or special
insignia. When carried by the soldier,
they were usually carried inside the Soldbuch. |
| |
| 16.
Bescheinigung: |
| This
means "certificate", and may refer
to almost anything. Sometimes refers
to the award of a decoration (like #15), an
official "atta boy!", or official
statements (so-and-so worked for me...).
Could also be the equivalent of a pass. |
| |
| 17.
Empfangbescheinigung (receipt): |
| This
is a receipt normally given out when certain
items of equipment were transferred from
person to person. |
| |
| 18.
Ausweiß für die Truppe: |
| Long
printed slip to be made out by a medical
officer. Shows the holder's name,
rank, and unit, and officer's signature. |
| |
| 19.
Meldeblock (message form): |
| Message
and sketch pad. NCOs and officers had
a pad of these in their map cases, and
individual sheets could be found on soldiers
as well. |
| |
| 20.
Wachbuch (Guard Book): |
| This
was commonly found on non-commissioned
officers, and shows time of watch, name of
guard, and object or place to be guarded. |
| |
| 21.
Merkblatt: |
| Printed
instruction sheet, one or more of which
usually are found inside the rear cover of
the Soldbuch. Many kinds:
anti-chemical warfare (the most common),
recognition and prevention of malaria, VD,
and frostbite. Others gave soldier's
information on how to behave during their
leaves in Germany and abroad. |
| |
| 22.
Erklärung (Certificate of Aryan
Descent): |
| A
certificate that tells what percentage of
Jewish blood the holder has. One
strange thing here: most of them are not
signed or notarized by anyone. Rare
for an official German document!
Although they could be occasionally found on
the soldier, the more common place to file
one of these was at the company office, with
the man's Wehrpaß and other records. |
| |
| 23.
Schießbuch (shooting record book): |
| Score
book for small arms. Often tucked
inside the Soldbuch. Early war
versions are actually a small, 6, 8, or
12-page book. Late war
"books" were actually just a
4-page paper folder. |
| |
| 24.
Laufzettel (checklist): |
| These
small sheets were usually given to a soldier
upon transfer into or before transferring
out of a unit. Their purpose was to
ensure that the soldier visited every
official or department before being deemed
fully integrated into a unit or ready to
leave. Basically, it consisted of a
list of titles followed by a place for the
officer or NCO to put his initials.
There would have been and entry for the unit
CO, the Spieß, medical NCO, anti-gas
NCO, supply room clerk, etc... |
| |
| 25.
Feldgendarmerie Tagebuch (Daybook for
Military Police): |
| This
was a small 34-page book carried by every MP
to record the performance of his duty.
Every entry gave the time, place, persons,
and reason for intervention. |
| |
| 26.
Freischwimmerausweiß (swimming
certificate) |
| |
| 27.
Kriegurlaubschein (Military Leave
Pass): |
| Issued
much like our own Army's passes. |
| |
| 28.
Entlausungsschein (De-lousing
certificate): |
| Also
called the "E-schein", this
small document testified that the soldier
was de-loused. Presentation of one of
these was often required along with a leave
pass if the soldier wanted to board a train
home from the Eastern Front. |
| |
| Documents
found on Vehicles, Weapons, and Equipment: |
|
| Some
of the following documents, although they
were supposed to be kept with the vehicle or
piece of equipment, were also occasionally
carried by the soldier in charge of it. |
| |
| 29.
Kraftfahrzeugschein (Vehicle
registration): |
| A
green-linen, four page folder.
Contains the number of the license plate and
data concerning the vehicle, together with
the Feldpost-number of the unit which owned
it. |
| |
| 30.
Begleitheft für Kraftfahrzeuge (Vehicle
data sheet): |
| Printed
form containing technical data on the
vehicle. |
| |
| 31.
Vorläufiger Kraftfahrzeugbrief (temporary
vehicle data sheet): |
| Temporary
form of the above, and normally typewritten. |
| |
| 32.
Kraftfahrzeug Stammrolle (vehicle
roster): |
| Printed
form containing a list of motor vehicles
belonging to a unit. This document had
to be kept by all units having motor
vehicles and was sometimes found at unit HQ
instead of on a vehicle. |
| |
| 33.
Bestandliste für Kraftfahrzeuge: |
| A
bound book, similar in purpose to the Kraftfahrzeug
Stammrolle, but handwritten. |
| |
| 34.
Betriebsstofftagebuch (daily fuel
record): |
| Also
called the B.-liste or Tankliste.
Listed the vehicle by license plate number,
and the amount and date of fueling. |
| |
| 35.
Ersatzteilliste (spare parts list): |
| Printed
manual on vehicle spare parts, with
illustrations and detailed technical specs. |
| |
| 36.
Rohrbuch (gun-barrel record): |
| Was
attached to every crewed gun of whatever
caliber or type, or was carried by the chief
gunner or technical official. Listed
the dates that rounds were fired, the number
and types of rounds, and the unit that fired
the piece. |
| |
| 37.
Berichtigungsheft: |
| A
handwritten booklet containing info. on the
performance of a weapon, name of the unit,
and roster of the crew. May also
include an accessory list. |
| |
| Documents
kept at Squad Level: |
|
| |
| 38.
Gerätebuch (Equipment List): |
| This
small book was one of the few documents kept
at squad level and was normally carried by
the noncommissioned officer in charge.
It contained a list of equipment which the
squad was responsible for, outside of
equipment normally issued to individual
soldiers and therefore listed in their
Soldbuchs. Such equipment would
include bikes, radios, AT projectors,
telephones, etc.. Such books were more
common to squads which possessed a large
amount of specialized equipment. |
| |
| Documents
at Platoon Level: |
|
| |
| There
are presently no known documents which were
specifically kept at platoon level. |
| |
| Documents
at Company Level: |
|
| |
| 39.
Kriegstammrolle (Personal Service
Record book): |
| A
loose-leaf binder-style roster book
containing a Kriegstammrolleblatt for
every man in the company.
Incidentally, the style of binder books used
in the German military are still in general
usage in Europe: they are characterized by a
"finger hole" in the spine to
facilitate pulling the book from a
tightly-packed bookshelf. |
| |
| 40.
Kriegstammrolleblatt (Personal
Service Record Sheet): |
| A
very important one-page sheet on which all
pertinent personal data for an individual
was listed. There were slightly
different forms for officers and enlisted
men. When a man entered a unit, a
sheet was filled out for him and put in the
book. When he left the unit for some
reason, it was notarized and sent back to
the man's respective conscription office in
the interior. |
| |
| 41.
Wehrpaß (military registration
book): |
| This
small book is well known to most collectors
and reenactors. It was kept by the
individual until enlistment, then exchanged
for a Soldbuch. It followed the man
from unit to unit until he was discharged
(when it was given back to him), or he was
killed, when it was eventually sent to the
family as a momento. |
| |
| 42.
Strafbuch and Auszug aus dem Strafbuch (Punishment
book and extract sheet from the punishment
book): |
| The
Strafbuch is the unit record book of
punishments, and it stayed with the company,
of course. The Auszug was a
one-page extract from this book that
detailed the soldier's infraction and
punishment, and was forwarded along with the
Wehrpass if a man was transferred to another
unit. |
| |
| 43.
Personal-Nachweiß: |
| A
four-page printed folder containing service
history on a soldier. |
| |
| 44.
Beurteilung: |
| An
efficiency report, used particularly in the
case of officer candidates. |
| |
| 45.
Kompanieliste: |
| Typewritten
company roster. Names, ranks, and unit
components. |
| |
| 46.
Kompanieaufteilung: |
| Typewritten
company roster showing distribution of
duties. |
| |
| 47.
Verwendungsliste: |
| Similar
to above. |
| |
| 48.
Erkennungsmarkenverzeichnis: |
| Record
of all ID disks for members of the company.
Click
here for a more detailed
description of this item. |
| |
| 49.
Soldbuchverzeichnis: |
| Record
of all Soldbuchs for members of the company.
Laid out basically like #46, above. |
| |
| 50.
Auszahlungliste: |
| Pay
record (printed folder) kept by the company Rechnungsführer
(accountant). Incidentally, pay
was not normally distributed or audited on
the company level. The basic unit for
issuance of pay was at battalion staff level
where the paymaster was located. |
| |
| 51.
Truppenkrankbuch: |
| Record
of wounds and illnesses of members of the
unit. |
| |
| 52.
Velustmeldung: |
| List
of causalties in the company. A
casualty report also followed the soldier,
along with his "crime sheets" and
Wehrpaß |
| |
| 53.
Veränderungsbuch: |
| A
printed book in which is kept a record of
all changes pertaining to personnel, such as
furloughs, sickness, transfers, and rations. |
| |
| 54.
Kriegsstärkenachweisung: |
| A
printed table of authorized organization and
equipment for the unit, issued by the High
Command. |
| |
| 55.
Soll- und Iststärkemeldungen: |
| Statements
of table-of-organization strength compared
with actual strength. These are
submitted at prescribed intervals and take
many different forms, depending on the type
of unit and the orders of higher
authorities. |
| |
| 56.
Tagesmeldung (Morning strength
report) |
| |
| 57.
Formblatt für Anforderung von Gerät: |
| Printed
form for requisitioning equipment.
Shows ordering unit and supplying unit, with
proper shipping addresses of each, as well
as description and quanties of equipment
ordered. |
| |
| 58.
Empfangsschein-Nr ....: |
| Printed
form for receipt for equipment. Shows
sending and receiving unit and description
of equipment. |
| |
| 59.
Waffen- und Gerätenachweiß (Record
of weapons and equipment) |
| |
| 60.
Bestandsliste: |
| Inventory
of articles on hand and record of changes. |
| |
| 61.
Bestandbuch G.u.M.: |
| Inventory
of equipment and ammunition. |
| |
| 62.
Kriegsausrüstungsnachweisung: |
| Tables
of basic allowances. Numbered
similarly to Kriegsstärkenachweisung. |
| |
| 63.
Kriegstagebuch (War Journal): |
| In
this important document, which is kept by
every unit and staff having a separate table
of organization, all significant activities
and events are recorded. Eventually,
it is sent back to the Army Archives Office
as a permanent historical record. |
| |
| 64.
Eingangsbuch: |
| Folder
containing typewritten and mimeographed
communications from higher echelons. |
| |
| 65.
Brieftagebuch: |
| Printed
form for recording incoming and outgoing
mail. |
| |
| 66.
Posteinlieferungsbuch: |
| Field-post
record of the receipt of parcels. |
| |
| 67.
Correspondence Files: |
| These
are kept in a variety of forms and contain
communications between the unit commander
and outside civilian and military agencies
and persons. |
| |
| 68.
Verwendungskarten: |
| These
were large cards, made out for an individual
and used to describe his training and
potential employment in a unit.
Normally kept with a man's other records in
the company office, but sometimes found on
the individual. |
