Meet Dr. Alfred Kästner, born on July 24, 1902 in Dresden. He was a newspaper editor and member of the NSDAP in the last years of the war. Kästner had blue-grey eyes and dark blond hair and favored the same mustache as Adolf Hitler, otherwise called the 'toothbrush mustache'. He was married to Irmgard and had a daughter named Helga. His work took him to a variety of countries, like Bulgaria, Hungary and Austria. He lived in Hamburg with his family, but worked in Athens, Greece, until the German withdrawal of the country in late 1944.
After the war Alfred stayed at his home in Hamburg, in the British Occupation Zone, being employed as the Chief Editor by the Niederdeutsche Zeitung (Lower-Germany Newspaper). On June 16, 1949 he was 'exonerated' by the de-Nazification court in Hamburg. Haha, you can't make this shit up can you?
Anyway, below you'll find a variety of cards and papers from both Alfred and his wife Irmgard, during and after the war.
[Below: NSDAP membership card from early 1940.]
[Below: Reverse showing dues stamps from 1940-41. 'Bezahlt' means 'Paid', but 'Hammer Redder' is a mystery to me. Hmm...]
[Below: Close-up.]
[Below: This is an NSDAP card 'Anhang' or 'Attachment'. Two interesting things about this... 'Wohnung' means apartment or dwelling in a broader sense, also written in is 'Hammerland' and below this is 'Ortsgruppe' which means 'local group' with the words 'Hammer Redder' after it. So now we know what 'Hammer Redder' means, or rather what it is. We still have no clue what exactly it means. Hmm....]
[Below: Reverse. This is interesting. The red dues stamps are overprinted 'Ausland' which basically means 'Abroad', which must have been the dues paid while Kästner was abroad. He seemed to have spent a good deal of time outside of Germany for his job. Also of interest, you'll notice there is a blank area on the Ausland stamp where a value is stamped, this was obviously for usage outside of Germany, and leaves room for whatever value and currency was used. In this case 'Din. 100-200', this stood for Dinar, which was probably from a trip to Yugoslavia.]
[Below: (left) Ausland dues stamps close-up. (right) 1944 dues stamps close-up. I like this little 'NSDAP bezahlt' cancel shown here.]
[Below: This is a Third Reich 'Reisepass', or passport. You can see that this has been 'de-Nazified' after the war, per Allied order, by having the swastika scribbled out.]
[Below: Opening page we see two more de-Nazified swastikas here. This says:
'Begleitet von seiner Ehefrau
und von Kindern
Staatsangehörigkeit'
(Accompanied by his wife
and children
Nationality).
It's interesting that when a child is on the passpost a picture is taken with the child and the adult.]
[Below: Close-up.]
[Below: Here we get our first look at Dr. Kästner and three more de-Nazified eagles. On the ink stamps is 'Athen', which is the German word for Athens (Greece). Also under 'Wohnort' (residence) Athen is listed.]
[Below: Nice Hitler mustache! The doctor looks like a no-nonsense type of guy.]
[Below: This says:
'Geltungsbereich des Passes
Deutsches Reich und Ausland'
(Scope of the Passport:
German Empire and Abroad)
At the bottom this says:
'Der Sonderbevollmächtigte des Auswärtigen Amts für den Südosten Dienstelle Athen'
(The Special Representative of the Federal Foreign Office for the Southeast, Athens Office).]
[Below: This looks like it was an entry into the Vienna airport, with permission to cross over the borders of Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia, Bohemia and Moravia (Czechoslovakia)and return to Greece. It's interesting how he had some very wide-ranging permissions during late wartime. For such a tight grip on journalism, they tell us that Germany had, they sure did let reporters travel very freely.]
[Below: This page of his passport shows he traveled in August/September 1944 to Hungary (left) and Bulgaria. This also shows an interesting Bulgarian tax stamp.]
[Below: Close-up.]
[Below: Blank pages.]
[Below: Back page and back inside cover.]
[Below: This is an interesting booklet not seen very often. It says:
'Die Leitung der Auslands - Organisation der NSDAP. Rückwandereramt'
(The leadership of the NSDAP's foreign organization. Repatriation Office).]
[Below: This is interesting in a few ways. First he lists his address as no longer in Hamburg (Germany) but Graz (Austria). Other than that this contains his basic information, except for 'ist anerkannt als Flüchtling aus Griechenland' (is recognized as a refugee from Greece). So this is from Dr. Kästner's return from Greece as a refugee.]
[Below: Okay, here we see he is not with his children (left), but we already knew that. We also learn the date, November 20, 1944 (the German military withdrew from mainland Greece in October 1944). Maybe the Graz address was temporary?]
[Below: Close-up.]
[Below: This is some basic information of how to use the card.]
[Below: This is an area to list support that was paid to the returnee, but apparently the Doctor didn't seek any kind of monetary help.]
[Below: This stamp is interesting. 'Kleidung' means 'clothing' and 'Schuhbezug' means 'shoe receiving'. It has a date very late in the war, January 19, 1945. It looks like the ink stamp with the seal says Graz... so he never returned to his old home address in Hamburg. Maybe his family moved to Graz due to a war situation?]
[Below: This sheet is also from 'The Management of the Foreign Organization of the NSDAP Returnees' Office', based in Berlin. It is entitled 'Information Sheet for Returnees' and is broken up as either 'Refugees from Enemy Countries' and 'Returnees from Neutral Countries'. This sheet provides information on everything from work, ration cards of all kinds, benefits like housing, initial support, help with foreign currency, etc.]
[Below: Reverse of above sheet. This talks about 'Registration of property left behind in enemy countries. Reich German nationals who had to leave their property or assets behind in enemy countries must report this to the Repatriation Office in Berlin. They also should report if they lost anything while fleeing.' This goes on to talk about help with living expenses, help with clothing costs, doctors and pharmacy fees, further stating that any necessary medical treatment, transfer to a health resort, surgery and major dental work should be submitted first for approval. Also of interest, it talks about if relatives of Germans interned in enemy countries, or under 'permanent surveillance' (probably like the thousands of men and women interned in Allied countries for no other reason than their race or their political beliefs), that they will receive 'family support' like the relatives of national comrades drafted into the Wehrmacht. Lastly it informs that retirement homes are available for Germans from abroad, saying 'Old returnees who are no longer able to work can, as long as places are available, find their retirement in a home created especially for these Germans from abroad.' What a beautiful past...]
[Below: This is a very early Allied identification ID. Kästner reports that he is back in Hamburg. This 'Preliminary Identity Card', from October 1, 1945 (strange synchronicity that when I am writing this it is October 1st) states that his identity is proven with his travel passport.]
[Below: Reverse of Preliminary Identity Card above.]
[Below: This is a 'Flüchtlings-Ausweis' (Refugee ID Card). Refugee? Hmm... Let's look inside.]
[Below: Very interesting. We finally meet his wife, Franziska (but she goes by Irmgard)! But strangely this lists her 'prescribed living area' as Regensburg. Why isn't she in Hamburg? This was issued in June of 1946, but she was registered in Regensburg on August 3, 1945.]
[Below: This refugee passport is valid for his wife, Irmgard (born February 28, 1906), and his daughter Helga (born June 22, 1935). It states that their place of residence before 1939 is Hamburg... on the bottom right it lists them as German Reich refugees, and also states that they are not 'evacuated' or 'bombed out'. So why aren't they in Hamburg?]
[Below: This says that their residence on January 1, 1944 was in Waldenburg (Baden-Württemberg). It also informs us that she is an accountant.]
[Below: This shows another 'de-Nazified' ink stamp on the bottom right. In this case they've removed the eagle and swastika entirely.]
[Below: These pages are for donations and support received and ration cards.]
[Below: More space for donations received. It lists that on July 22, 1944 she receieved household and kitchen appliances.]
[Below: Empty pages.]
[Below: These pages are for 'Notes from the health department regarding infectious diseases etc.', which 'Not applicable' is written on both pages.]
[Below: This lists some basic rules for refugees.]
[Below: This is interesting, it says 'Permanent Business Trip Certificate' used for 'obtaining admission tickets for certain trains in the British Occupation Zone' from February 1947, to 'conduct professional business'. This lists Dr. Kästner as a resident of Hamburg, who worked for the Niederdeutsche Zeitung (Lower-Germany Newspaper).]
[Below: Reverse of above card showing uses into March 1948 with tax stamps.]
[Below: Close-up.]
[Below: This is made of a very durable fabric sometimes called oilskin. It is a press ID card for the Northwest German Journalists' Association. This shows the reverse of the pass and the middle reverse as well as the cover. Of interest it says:
'The holder of this ID card is authorized to use the public telephone stations at the post, telegraph, and the telephone offices of the German Reichspost for urgent press calls...'
It also says:
'The officials of the railway police are requested to facilitate the holder's task in every way, especially to allow him passage through barriers... [they are also] requested to facilitate the holder's mission in every way...'
Very interesting freedoms granted. Quite frankly I'm shocked he was granted such powers in postwar Germany, especially since he was an NSDAP member.]
[Below: This Press ID is number 1139, which seems like a pretty low number and was issued on November 1, 1948. I think these passes are pretty rare.]
[Below: Close-up.]
[Below: Front and reverse of an 'Inter-Zonal Travel Permit', in Russian, French and English. The languages of the 'victors', nevermind France was completely conquered, Britain would have been conquered without the help of the USA, and the same can be said of the Soviet Union. Without Lend-Lease the Soviet Union would have crumbled, not to mention the American blockades against Germany. This was issued on March 4, 1948.]
[Below: Reverse. This gives the doctor permission to visit Berlin and Dresden for a business trip. This is an interesting paper, I've never seen its like before. It also shows a fairly scarce tax stamp.]
[Below: Close-up.]
[Below: An odd little piece of paper... this is from October 1949 detailing how the doctor broke regulations of carrying 10 Deutsche Marks over the border.]
[Below: This is a Hamburg, British Zone, savings book from the Doctor's wife, Irmgard, from 1948. The account was closed on April 8, 1957.]
[Below: Pages within savings book.]
[Below: Pages within savings book.]
[Below: Pages within savings book.]
[Below: Pages within savings book.]
[Below: Pages within savings book.]
[Below: Pages within savings book.]
[Below: Pages within savings book.]
[Below: Pages within savings book.]
[Below: Pages within savings book.]
[Below: Pages within savings book.]
[Below: Pages within savings book.]
[Below: Pages within savings book.]
[Below: Pages within savings book.]
[Below: This is a Dock Pass/Hamburg Port Permit.]
[Below: Dock Pass reverse.]
[Below: Reporter booklet issued by the Control Commission Headquarters in Berlin, February 1949. This refers to the Allied Control Council, the Allied occupation organization that ruled post-WWII Allied Occupied Germany and had its central headquarters in Berlin. This council was established by the Potsdam Agreement in 1945 and was the supreme authority for Germany, overseeing the four occupation zones.]
[Below: Inside.]
[Below: Close-up.]
[Below: A Hamburg 'Refugee ID' card for Alfred Kästner. I'm unsure why he would still need a refugee ID card four years after the war.]
[Below: Inside.]
[Below: Irmgard's Hamburg 'Refugee ID' card of the same type.]
[Below: Inside.]
[Below: This is the fabled 'de-Nazification' certificate. This hereby certifies you to be a slave without a mind of your own and without the interests of your people at heart. Or more likely you hid your beliefs from the occupier.]
[Below: Close-up.]
[Below: Oilskin press ID used from 1951-1953.]
[Below: Close-up.]
[Below: Reverse.]
[Below: 1955 identification booklet from the Spanish Embassy. The Doctor was a member of the press within the embassy.]
[Below: Inside.]
[Below: Close-up.]
[Below: 1962 identification booklet from the Uruguay Embassy. The Doctor was a member of the press within the embassy. This shows the ID book and folded down paper from the inside.]
[Below: Inside.]
[Below: Close-up.]
[Below: 1967 identification booklet from, again, the Uruguay Embassy. This shows the ID book and folded-down paper from the inside.]
[Below: Inside.]
[Below: Close-up.]
[Below: This strange paper was included and basically says food taken from Hungary, unless to be eaten immediately on the trip, is not allowed, unless permitted by the National Bank. National Bank? Wtf?]
