kustom

I recently acquired this family photo, was doing some research, and found this thread. These men are brothers and are my great-uncles. Enjoy!

Hi everyone,

Do any of you know a good place to find WWII era German veterinary paraphenalia? I work in the veterinary field and am interested in these items, but they are rather hard to come by. I don't currently have anything specific I'm looking for, as long as it's German WWII era. Could be old veterinary tools, uniform insignia, books, etc.

Thanks!

Alexandra

The exact nomenclature for the battalion is:

3.Ldst.-I.-Ers.-Btl. IV A.K. (IV. 21)

Formed in August of 1914, the unit was assigned to general support of fourth Army Corps.

This article might give you some more info on Landsturm.

http://www.pickelhauben.net/articles/Landsturm.html

I hope this is somewhat helpful.

Thank you for helping me with this! The Landsturm article was very informative - I'm definitely bookmarking it to refer back to again. Very cool website also!

Alexandria;

A few more observations. The IV. Armeekorps was from the Magdeburg area, central Germany. Does that jibe with your information?

As a Landsturmmann, he would have been between 35 and 45 years old, unless he was somewhat disabled and he was medically deemed unable, for example, to keep up with the marching tempo of units of units at a higher level of fitness, like reserve units, or line units. Landsturm units usually did not see combat, except possibly on the Eastern Front, but more likely guarded POWs in Germany or guarded lines of communication in occupied France or Poland.

Does the above jib with your information?

If there is handwriting on the reverse, or on other items (postcards are especially informative), there are people haunting this Forum who can read that stuff.

Bob Lembke

Hello Bob,

You are absolutely correct about Magdeburg. My family has deep roots there, and in a neighboring town called Quedlinburg. I have several family members still living in those towns. My great-grandfather was born in 1874 in Magdeburg, so he would have been around 40 years old in the picture. I don't know exactly what he did during the war, but your information has been very helpful and interesting! Thank you!

Taken during the World War. That is the insignia for Landsturm Battalion 21 of the IVth Army Corps.

he is an ordinary private-- Landsturmmann. The tunic is a simplified version with turn-back cuffs, but retaining the pre-war buttons front and front/collar piping-- so probably circa 1915.

He was lucky to get such modern, up to date gear, since they usually made due with outdated cast-offs.

Thank you for your help! I appreciate it very much!

Alexandra

Hello everyone. I was wondering what you could tell me about this picture of my great-grandfather from Germany. I was curious as to what position/rank he held. The jacket is pretty plain except for what appear to be pins on each side of his collar that are:

"IV" and "21".

I don't know exactly when the photo was taken, but judging by my great-grandmother's clothing/hairstyle, I'm thinking early 1900's or maybe WWI era at the latest.

Thank you,

Alexandra

Hello everyone,

My name is Alexandra and I live in Arizona. I've been interested in WWII for a while now, but I'm definitely not an expert by any means! It's a subject that fascinates me and I enjoy reading about it. I want to learn a lot more though. My interest is mainly on the German side of things, due to the fact that my mother is 100% German was living in Germany when the war was going on. The stories that my mother, aunt, and grandmother told about living through the War really peaked my interest. I also have several family members who served in the German military during WWII.

This is my first post on the GMIC. Paul R. recently found me online and we've been discussing a photo of my great-uncle Kurt from WWII. I was always curious to find out out more about his rank, etc. but when I did research on it I wasn't having much success. Paul informed me all about Kurt's rank and it was exactly the info I'd been wanting to know. So I thought I'd post the photo here and some history about Kurt for you all to enjoy. And I apologize in advance for the quality of the scan?

Supposedly this picture was taken in 1943. I don't know where exactly it was taken, because Kurt spent time in Germany, Russia, and Italy during the War, and I do not know where he was at the time of the photo.

Before WWII, Kurt owned an auto dealership and repair shop, specializing in DKW (Dampf-Kraft Wagen) automobiles. It was most likely his mechanical expertise that allowed him to obtain his position as a Sonderfuhrer (war time specialist) in the Luftwaffe. He was at an enlisted NCO level (medium level). After the War, he went back to running the dealership and repair shop. I've asked my mother and aunt if he ever saw combat or received any medals, but they do not know. If he did serve on the front lines, he never spoke of it. Unfortunately, I do not have ANYTHING other than this photo of Kurt. No uniform, no insignia, no documents, nothing. He died in the late-1980's, so I can't even ask him personally all the things I'd like to know. I am lucky enough to have met him several times when I was younger though, and he will always be very special to me.

Anyhow, I hope that you enjoy the picture and I look forward to "meeting" all of you!

And thank you again to Paul R. for sharing all of your expertise with me!

Sincerely,

Alexandra