[Below: This is a large folder containing paper material of two vacations through German, Austria and Yugoslavia. Schlöbckes Zeichenmappe (Schlöbckes Drawing Folder). Schlöbckes is the last name of the maker, and as you can see here his first name is Johannes from Hannover. The vacationers saved just about everything, from all manner of receipts, like coffee houses and shoe stores, to brochures, tickets and souvenir postcards. It's a very special time capsule from the glorious days of the Third Reich, involving things that were otherwise thrown in the garbage. I can imagine some of these items may be the only ones to survive all these years. Some of you may be bored by a lot of these items (only a few contain swastikas), but the historian in me loves the chance to see stuff like this. Click the image to begin your journey.]
[Below: Opening the folder to see the contents within. They've been safely tucked away here for almost 85 years!]
[Below: The contents.]
[Below: This is a 1941 two page document from Tuschkau (today Czechoslovakia). Some of the details say:
'Amtsgericht
Ich übersende nach Durchführung des Gerichtsauftrages die Verlassenschaftsakten nach der am 29. 1.1941 verstorbenen...'
(Local court
After execution of the court order, I am sending the probate files of the estate of the deceased, who died on January 29, 1941...)
This document contains a rare 20 RM tax stamp. Click to see reverse of document.]
[Below: Tax stamps close-up.]
[Below: This is a citizenship document from June 1941 from the town of Brünn (now a part of Czechoslovakia):
'Staatsangehörigkeitsausweis
Zur Benugung im Inland
besigt die deutsche Staatsangehörigkeit'
(Certificate of citizenship
For domestic use
Certifies German citizenship).]
[Below: This is pretty neat, this four page document has a very interesting tax stamp. It uses the eagle with the 'Gott mit uns' slogan. It reads:
'Die Reichsversicherungsanstalt für Angestellte in Berlin-Wilmersdorf
(im folgenden kurz "Anstalt" genannt), vertreten durch den Leiter,
und
Herr Walter Pahl
schliessen mit Wirkung vom 1.Oktober 1935 folgenden
Dienstvertrag:'
(The Reich Insurance Institution for Salaried Employees in Berlin-Wilmersdorf
(hereinafter referred to as the "Establishment"), represented by the Director
and
Mr. Walter Pahl
conclude the following agreement with effect from October 1, 1935
employment contract:).
Click the images to see the other pages.]
[Below: Stamp close-up. If you look closely you can see the swastika on the eagle's chest and the 'Gott mit uns' slogan above it.]
[Below: This is an odd document that was stuck with the paper above, but obviously has nothing to do with it. I'm unsure what this was for, or rather who wrote it? Is it a draft for a surrender leaflet? It reads:
'Vergilbter Zettel
Bei Kertsch sind 3 sowjetische Armeen zerschlagen. Eure Genossen die
Beendet das sinnlose Blutvergiessen und tretet zu uns über. Die deutschen
Bajonett in die Erde
Mit den Gefangenen gehen wir gut um, mit freiwillig ubergetretenen auf
Propusk (Durchlasschein oder Einlassehein)
Dieser Propusk gilt uneingeschränkt für Soldaten Kommandanten und
Übergehen kann man auch auf die deutsche Seite ohne Propusk nur muss man kräftig schreien:
Die Bajonette in die Erde!'
freiwillig übergehen oder gefangen werden sind von den Deutschen gut
behandelt und von ihnen bestens empfangen worden.
Soldaten sind doch gleich Euch Arbeiter & Bauern. Sie strecken Euch die
Arme entgegen tut das Gleiche.
Befehl Hitler noch besser. Letztere bekommen eine spezielle Bestätigung
welche ihnen eine bessere Verpflegung und andere Begünstigungen zusicher
Denjenigen welche arbeiten wollen, geben wir ihren Beruf entsprechand
Arbiet.
Politarbeitern der roten Armee. Die deutschen Kommanden geben keine
Gefangenenlisten heraus und der Name der Gefangenen wird nur auf persönlichen
Wunsch und nur in jenen Fällen bekannt gegeben, wenn seine
Verwandten sich schon in dem von den Deutschen besetzten Gebiet befinden.
(Yellowed Note
Three Soviet armies are crushed near Kerch [Kerch Peninsula in the east of Crimea]. Your comrades who voluntarily surrender or are captured have been treated well by the Germans and received a warm welcome.
Bayonet into the ground
We treat the prisoners well, and those who voluntarily surrendered to Hitler's orders even better. The latter receive a special confirmation which assures them better rations and other favors. Those who want to work, we give them work according to their profession.
Propusk (pass or admission slip) [this word is Ukrainian]
This propusk is valid without restriction for soldiers, commanders and political workers of the Red Army. The German commands do not issue prisoner lists and the names of prisoners are only disclosed on personal request and only in cases where their relatives are already in the territory occupied by the Germans.
You can also pass over to the German side without a pass, you just have to shout loudly:
Bayonets in the ground!)]
[Below: Reverse of paper. It says:
'Bei Charkow
Kämpfer der roten Armee! Ihr seid eingeschlossen eure grosse Offensive
Mehr als die Hälfte Eurer Tanks mit welchen Ihr geprahlt habt sind schonerledigt;
Nur desshalb sollt Ihr kämpfen bis zum Tode!
Jetzt greifen deutsche Tank an, die für unsere Offensive vorbereitet
Eure Brüder hinter unserer Front bearbeiten jetzt im Frühjahr die Felder,
Wer mit diesen Schein zu uns kommt erhält:
Der Propusk gilt gleichzeitig für mehrere Kommandanten und mehrere Soldaten Beim überlaufen schreit nur kräftig: Das Bajonett in die Erde!'
(Near Kharkov
Fighters of the Red Army! You are trapped, your great offensive has collapsed!
More than half of the tanks you boasted about are already finished off; the rest are facing the same fate. Your high commands dare not tell Stalin that it is impossible to break through the German front.
That is the only reason why you should fight to the death!
Now German tanks that were prepared for our offensive are attacking. Let them crush you. Russia doesn't need dead fighters, but it does need living manpower.
Your brothers behind our front are now working the fields in the spring that Stalin took from them earlier and which Hitler gave them back.
Anyone who comes to us [...] receives:
The Propusk [pass] is valid for several commanders and several soldiers at the same time.)]
[Below: Here's an odd, interesting document from June 1944. It reads:
'An das
(To the
This is speaking of the actor/director Willi Forst. I'm not sure what it is they are asking for?]
[Below: Close-up of stamps. 'Gerichtsbehörden' (Judicial Authorities).]
[Below: This is from the German railroad from May 1939 from the city of Heilbronn [Heilbronn is a city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany]. It is an employment document. Some of the relevant words read:
'Maschinenamt Heilbronn
Niederschrift über die Vereidigung des
(Heilbronn Machinery Office
Minutes of the swearing-in of the
A 'stoker' is 'a person whose occupation it is to tend the fire for the running of a boiler, heating a building, or powering a steam engine.
[Below: Reverse of document. There is an oath which reads as follows:
'Ich Schwöre: Ich werde dem Führer des Deutschen Reiches und Volkes, Adolf Hitler,
(I swear: I will be faithful and obedient to the Führer of the German Reich and people, Adolf Hitler,
[Below: Close-up.]
[Below: This is a birth certificate issued February 1941 in the city of Sieradz (one of the oldest cities in Poland). Some of the words on the top and bottom read:
'Geburtsurkunde
Der Standesbeamte
In Vertretung.'
(Birth certificate
The registrar
By proxy.)
The Polish words stamped in ink at the top right say: 'Metryka urodzenia' (Birth certificate).]
[Below: Close- up of the odd stamps on the bottom left. I've never seen these before. They say 'Gebühr von -.30 RM
erhoben' (Fee of -.30 RM charged.)
[Below: Close-up.)
[Below: This document is from July 1940. There is something very strange and special about this document. Note the big blue X crossing it out. Insanely, this document has been reused seven years later, in 1947! So much for any privacy or confidentiality in in Allied occupation. Amazing that a paper shortage was so bad that they had to do this. But of course the world had plentiful paper, the truth is the Allied powers-that-be tightly restricted any imports into Germany. They wanted to punish the people for being bad little goyim. Anyway, let's look at the top of this document says:
'Neue ABC-Waren-Kredit-Aktiengesellschaft'
(New ABC Goods-Credit-Joint-Stock Company).]
Moving down the document we see the word 'Rechtsabteilung' (Legal department).
'Klägerin,
Beklagter
Klägerin hat dem Herrn Willy Geweniger in
(Action brought by Neue ABC-Waren-Kredit-Aktiengesellschaft,
Plaintiff,
Defendant
for inadmissibility of compulsory enforcement.
This is strange. How can they charge interest on a loan? The NSDAP abolished usury. Hmm... some sort of measure for punishment? Like a late fee? And this company is taking this minor to court for 27 RM? Damn. Ruthless. Click on images to see the rest of the document.]
[Below: Stamps close-up.]
'Thüringische Landesbrandversicherungsanstalt
(Thuringian State Fire Insurance Institute
[Below: Seal close-up. Note that the lion is holding a swastika.]
[Below: This is a marriage certificate (Heiratsurkunde) from October 1940. What's particularly interesting is the rare tax stamp. It says:
'Gebührenmarke
(Fee stamp
The marriage tax was a whole whopping .60 pfennig (cents). The bear is the symbol of Berlin. Click to enlarge.]
[Below: Tax stamp close-up.]
[Below: This is a marriage certificate (Heiratsurkunde) from September 1940. Like that above, here is another interesting Berlin tax stamp, except this time it is for .30 pfennig (cents). The groom is a Kapitänleutnant by the name of... Darko? What an odd name. He's marrying a kindergarten teacher (Kindergärtnerin) named Olga. Olga Darko. Click to enlarge.]
[Below: Tax stamp close-up. Click to enlarge.]
[Below: Ink stamp Close-up. Click to enlarge.]
[Below: This is a 'Sterbeurkunde' (death certificate) for Raymund Lehnhofer, who died on September 22, 1940 and had a 'Gottgläubig' (belief in God). Herr Lehnhofer died of 'Magenkrebs' (stomach cancer), a particularly painful way to go. Being shot in the stomach is said to be one of the worst places to be shot (in a non-lethal way). In the past a 'gut shot' was almost always a guarantee of a slow and very painful death. Even today a cure for stomach cancer is only 20 to 30% of all stomach cancer cases. Only a small percentage of people survive beyond five years. Click to enlarge.]
[Below: The death certificate has two rather strange tax stamps from Vienna that I've never seen before. Click to enlarge.]
Stop the senseless bloodshed and join us. The German soldiers are just like you workers and peasants. They stretch out their arms to you and do the same.
ist Zusammengebrochen!
die restlichen erwartet das gleiche Schiksal. Eure Oberkommandos
wagen es nicht Stalin mitsuteilen, dass es unmöglich ist die deutsche
Front zu durchbrechen.
waren. Sollen sie Euch zermalmen. Russland braucht doch keine toten
Kämpfer, aber es braucht lebendige Arbeitskraft.
welche Stalin ihnen früher weggenommen hat und die. Hitler ihnen wieder
zurückgab. Sie lachen über die Lüge, dass die Deutschen die Kriegsgefangene
n erschlagen, oder dass sie Kollektivwirtschaften nur den Deutschen
abgeben.
1.) gute Behandlung und Verpflegung
2.) nach dem Kriege sowjetischen Grund und Boden.
They laugh at the lie that the Germans are killing the prisoners of war, or that they only give collective farms to the Germans.
1.) good treatment and food
2.) Soviet land after the war
Amtsgericht Berlin
Handelsregister
Hiermit bitte ich um Erteilung eines Auszuges betreffend:
Deutsche Forst-Film Produktions
Vorsorglich füge ich 2. RM in Gerichtskostenmarken bei.
Sollten höhere Kosten entstehen, bitte ich um Aufgabe.'
Berlin Local Court
Commercial Register
I hereby request the issue of an extract concerning:
German Forst-Film Production
As a precaution I enclose 2. RM in court cost stamps.
Should higher costs arise, please let me know.)
Lokomotivheizer.'
locomotive stoker.)
Much of the job is hard physical labor, such as shoveling fuel, typically coal, into the boiler's firebox.']
treu und gehorsam sein, die Gesetze beachten und meine Amtspflichten gewissenhaft erfüllen,
so wahr mir Gott helfe.'
observe the laws and conscientiously fulfill my official duties,
so help me God.)]
Gegen
den minderjährigen Willy Gerhard Uhlig
vertreten durch den Bürgermeister Franz Wendt
wegen Unzulässigkeit der Zwangsvollstreckung.
Streitwert: RM 27.77
Berlin (...)
einen Kredit bewilligt, welcher in sechs Monatsraten
rückzahlbar war. Aus diesem Kreditverhältnis
hat Klägerin noch RM 27.77 nebst 4%
Zinsen aus RM 17.96 ab 1.6.40 zu fordern.'
represented by the Management Board...
Against
the minor Willy Gerhard Uhlig
represented by the Mayor Franz Wendt
Amount in dispute: RM 27.77
Plaintiff has granted Mr. Willy Geweniger in Berlin
a loan which was repayable in six monthly installments. The
plaintiff is still entitled to claim RM 27.77 plus 4% interest
from RM 17.96 from 1.6.40 from this credit relationship.)
[Below: Everything was cool in the Third Reich, even car insurance! Haha. This 1933 document reads:
Fahrnis=Abteilung
Veränderungschein
zum Versicherungsschein.'
Vehicle department
Modification certificate
to the insurance policy.)]
der
Reichshauptstadt
Berlin'
of the
Reich capital
Berlin)
