Valkyrie

Very nice addition to the collection, Colin.  

Thank you for the link, Colin. Have not been around the forum in a while and just saw the below post. It would have been nice to have someone still around with the 70th anniversary of the plot approaching. RIP Clarita.

Obit for Clarita von Trott zu Solz. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/clarita-von-trott-activist-whose-husband-was-executed-for-plotting-to-assassinate-hitler-8583564.html With the passing of Clarita von Trott zu Solz, the wife of Adam von Trott, the last living link with the German Resistance and the July Plot has gone.

RIP

Colin

Dr. Hans Bernd Gisevius (July 14, 1904 - February 23, 1974)

Yesterday I received a parcel containing a first 1947 edition of a memoir titled "To the Bitter End," being the first English translation of the post-war memoir of Hans Bernd Gisevius, a central figure in the German Resistance and one of its very few survivors. The memoir suffers from serious flaws well-known to historians in the field, not the least of which is his consistently jaundiced view of Stauffenberg, likely the result of Gisevius own resentments and jealousy. Gisevius' memoir is considered to be one of three key insiders’ accounts of the various plots and machinations of the various factions that plotted against the Nazis from 1933 to 1944, the others being "The von Hassell Diaries" by Ulrich von Hassell and the "Secret War against Hitler" by Fabian von Schlabrendorff. Gisevius’ book has the advantage of covering the history of the resistance from the Nazi seizure of power to July 20, 1944 and the period following.

Terrific addition, Colin. Congrats.

End of an era -Ewald Heinrich von Kleist, last survivor of the Stauffenberg bomb plot, passed last Friday March 8.. RIP Herr von Kleist!

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-03-12/von-kleist-last-survivor-from-plot-to-kill-hitler-dies-at-90

His was the only signature in my collection that was signed for me personally and for that reason it will always gave a special place.

Colin

Sad indeed. I had not heard. Thanks to you, my friend, I can echo that last sentiment. RIP.

I just received this urkunde for the War Merit Cross Second Class with Swords, signed by Eduard Wagner as Deputy Chief of Staff and Quartiermeister General of the German army. It is unclear how early Wagner became heavily involved in the conspiracy. Specialist historians count his involvement from as early as the Oster conspiracy in 1938 when he joined the conspiracy with Stuelpnagel. Other historians looking to cast Wagner in a less favourable light claim that he was a late addition, joining in early 1944 and only when the Russians began to threaten German borders.

Very nice piece, Colin. I love those award docs! Thank you very much for sharing it with the forum.

AMAZING COLLECTION! BEST IN THE WORLD!

I hope you are putting all this in a book, I love to buy a copy. Thank you for all your hard work on this topic we most Honor them

Lorenzo

I will second that!

As always, superb collection, Colin!

Great research Rick..many thanks Ulster and Christain....as to the French connection the only WW2 notation is this...

I read that as Wehrbezirkskommando Kempten finding him unfit for service as of 10th July 1944.

Another famous photo of the Tresckow resistance cell in Army Group Centre (Kleist is second from the left leaning over the table). Oberst Berndt von Kleist was one of Treckow's staff officers who volunteered to shoot Hitler at lunch - the plan was vetoed by von Kluge.

Colin

Holy cow! Count me as part of the envious crowd!!

Thank you for sharing all of those fabulous photos with us, Colin. I would love to visit all of those places one day.

Colin,

I just found my new favorite thread! Thank you so much for taking the time to post your collection. And thank you for the biographical pieces as well. A wealth of material here. Thank you again for sharing these with us, my friend.

Paul

My wifes grandfathers Wehrpass is the same dead end. A Heeres Pionier in 1938. To the Navy the same year as a doctor. It ends there.

Luckily I have all the other documents to add to it. On its own the Wehrpass did not do the man justice.

It is great that you have the other info.

best

Chris

Hi Chris,

Perhaps one day the missing pieces to this man's service will surface. I have seen it happen a few times. I might try and make a WASt request for further information. I know that they ordinarily do not release information to non-family, but it is worth a try. :)

I think the cahnces of finding out are zero from the limited info given in the Wehrpass :-(

Hello Chris,

Thank you for chiming in. I appreciate the response.

A Schieferspalter is a slate splitter. That is, he was trained as craftsman who made slate roofing tiles. My great grandfather was a slate roofer-- I still have his "mountaineering" hammer which had a long blunt "pick" opposite the hammer head to tap out the holes by which each such "blank" tile was individually fastened.

I'm quite surprised that he could have risen to the Police equivalent of Feldwebel in less than 4 years of service. If the entry showing he volunteered for Police service in February 1940 wasn't there, I'd have suspected that he already WAS a career policeman. I'd have expected at the least 6 years to reach that rank, especially in somebody with NO apparent military or police service before 1940. Perhaps he had belonged to the S.A. or some other Party uniformed branch whose service gave him a seniority edge?

Hi Rick,

So that is what a Schieferspalter is. Thank you very much.

You make a very good point regarding his rank. I recall reading that the great majority of NCOs (at least in the case of the Feldgendarmerie) were recruited from within the existing Police NCO ranks. I am not sure, however, if S.A. men would receive the similar benefit of having their ranks honored upon transitioning to the Polizei. It certainly sounds reasonable.

Do you have any idea which unit this man could have possibly served with at the time of his death?

Hello Fellas,

I recently acquired a Wehrpass to a man that served in the Polizei. The Polizei Dienstpass, unfortunately, was not part of the acquisition. The only details of this man's service that I have are limited to those contained in the Wehrpass and the information provided via the Volksbund. I wish to somehow determine, if possible, which of the Polizei Regimenter this man may have served with at the time of his death.

Info from the Wehrpass:

Wehrpass issued from Wehrbezirkskommando Koblenz on February 15, 1938. (Wehrbezirkskommando Koblenz was located within Wehrkreis XII)

The man, Philipp Pinger, was born February 9, 1912 in the municipality of Welling, which is in Western Germany.

Philipp's father, Josef, was a miner. Philipp's civilian occupation is listed as Schieferspalter? I am not familiar with that term.

Philipp was a recipient of the SA Sportabzeichen.

He was found fit for combat duty on October 31, 1939 and classified as untrained, not called up, under age 35.

In an entry dated February 21, 1940, it appears that Philipp chose to enter the Schutzpolizei instead of active military duty.

Info from the German War Graves Site:

Rank at death: Polizei-Zugwachtmeister

Date of Death: March 12, 1944

Place of Death: Northwest of Newel, Russia

http://www.traveljournals.net/explor...057/newel.html

Buried: Sebesh, Russia

http://www.maplandia.com/russia/psko...-rayon/sebezh/

I believe his place of death puts him within the operating zone of Army Group North.

Well, that's about it. I will post images of each page in the Wehrpass that contains any writing. I will also post a screen shot from the German War Graves site.

If anyone could help me determine or at least narrow the possible Polizei units that Philipp served with at the time of his death, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you.

Glad I could assist.

Those are Cossack soldiers. The items in question are ornamental cartridges.

Quite the interesting career. Not your ordinary path. Thank you for sharing your fine set.