LarryT

Thank you very much Morten. Here is an even earlier photo. The cap insignia was introduced in 1924 and the "Bahnpolizei" cuff bands that several of the men are wearing changed to "Bahnschutz" in 1927. So the photo was taken between these two dates. Cheers, Larry

Bahnschutz portrait with the man at right wearing a Bahnschutz cuff band. Cheers, Larry

DRB man with his dog. Cheers, Larry

Group of DRB men, some wearing Deutsche Wehrmacht arm bands. On active service and possibly in the act of transferring somewhere. Cheers, Larry

Also looks to have been artificially aged by being screwed up and straightened out. Total fake in my opinion. Cheers, Larry

Great photo. It proves that men with severe disabilities served in the DRB. He looks like he's old enough to be a WW1 vet. Which brings me back to the photo that started this thread. If the young man was invalided out of the war at the front why is he only wearing a black wound badge. Here is a DRB man wearing a side cap. Cheers, Larry

My Pleasure. Found this link to a site over at WA forum. It is about DRB in Paris, France. It is in French but still nice information about DRB in an occupied country. http://www.occupation-de-paris.com/2012/06/die-deutsche-reichsbahn.html Here is another portrait, this one with a WVD Paris arm patch on his left sleeve. Cheers, Larry

Thanks Morten. That kind of information is very useful. Here is another portrait. He wears a WVD Brussels arm patch. Cheers, Larry

Nice photos. I wonder what duties the one-armed man did. ticket collector perhaps or station duties. The second photo is also interesting. Bahnschutz perhaps. Here is another pistol in wear photo. Cheers, Larry

Thanks Paul. How about this old gentleman proudly posing for the camera. Gotta love his goatee and moustache. He wears a Luftschutz cap and insignia, sanitats armband, Sicherheits-u. Hilfsdienst armband, he wears a Weimar-era Red Cross belt and buckle. His boots are the type seen in 1920s-30s photos. I know nothing about his tunic. Cheers, Larry

Hi Paul, The DRB ranking system was kind of complicated and was based on pay scales. His collar insignia shows he is a senior official. See rank chart below. His insignia is third from left, bottom row. Cheers, Larry

Hi Paul, Yes the WB is the black version. Hi Bernhard, His ribbon is for the Kriegsverdienstkreuz (KVK or War Merit Cross.) This was awarded to military and civilians for bravery not directly connected to front line actions. This is the kind of award that would have been issued to DR members who fought off partisan attacks, and other types of attacks behind front lines. At least some DR men received rudimentary weapons training. Here is a photo showing DR men with rifles at a shooting range. Weapons are not often seen in DR portraits. Cheers, Larry

Thank you to all who have replied. Bernhard's explanation makes sense. He must have been indispensable to the DR to have been employed by them after serving at the front. I have a small DR photo collection and I thought I might share more photos with you all to enjoy and discuss. Here is a Deutsche Reichsbahn man wearing a rare Ostbahn cuff band. Cheers, Larry

Hi Bernhard, Thanks for your reply. His hand under magnification looks to be real. I agree, the loss of a limb qualified you to be awarded at least a silver wound badge. I thought his left leg looked a bit strange and with him leaning on the table a leg wound may have been the reason he transferred to DR. However, a closer look shows that he stands on the outside of both feet and a leg wound would have prevented him from performing his duty properly. Most DR men tended to be a lot older than the young chap in the photo. Cheers, Larry

Here is a rare photo of a young Deutsche Reichsbahn (RBT Hamburg) member with combat medals and awards. He must have been in a Heer fighting unit and would have seen front line combat. How he ended up in the DR is a mystery. Possibly an injury prevented him from front line duty, however, he only wears a black wound badge. Cheers, Larry

Here is the pin version of the badge which is on Weitze's site. Cheers, Larry

Obertruppmeister with nice medal bar. Cheers, Larry

Great photo Morten. Cheers, Larry

Hi Larry, I have tried but no luck yet. Here is a portrait I picked up on Ebay a while ago. It was misidentified as a pilot portrait and no-one bid on it. I picked it up for $5.00. Cheers, Larry

Same man.

I would dearly love to find out the rank, branch of service and who this gentleman is. I have been told he may hold the rank of Oberfeldpolizeidirektor - GFP but haven't been able to prove it. Looks like he is wearing a Romanian Order of the Crown medal around his neck which would narrow the search a little bit. Stiil I can't ID him. Cheers, Larry

Hi Morten, I also have a copy of this photo, along with another. Cheers, Larry

Hi Morten, Very nice photos, thanks for showing them. Cheers, Larry

Great photos guys. I especially like photos showing "schmiss" (duelling scars) which were worn with pride. Cheers, Larry

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