Uncategorised Wehrpass Entry

[Andwwils]

In one of my Wehrpasses, on page 4 in box twelve dealing with qualifications, the person it was issued to has "reiter" listed. Does this mean that he would have qualified for some grade of the Reiterabzeichen?

[Chris Boonzaier]

Hi,

no, you could be a Reiter but still not have met the qualifications for the Reiter badge... same way you could be a rifleman and still not have the Marksmann Lanyard.

All the best

Chris

[PKeating]

Absolutely. The German Army relied heavily on horsepower and requisitioned horses in various theatres, especially the East. So a man who could ride a horse could be very useful when, for instance, the cooks needed to replace or obtain more horses for hauling their wagons. A commander would send the unit's riders off out into the countryside to bring back horses, donkeys or mules.

PK

[Andwwils]

I assumed that there was no true way of knowing whether or not the entry in the book is meant to impy that he qualified for an Equestrian Badge of some-sort or not. I have seen SA and Reich sport badges listed in box 12 on page 4, but never an Equestrian Badge or Horse Driver's Badge. In response to the Eastern-Front, oddly enough this book is for a Major d. R. in IR 67 that was killed in action 2 days into Operation Barbarossa...in Lithuania! I'm hoping to get a scanner soon so that I can post some of my collection online for the enjoyment of others. Thank you both for your help.

Edited June 17, 2007 by Andwwils

[Naxos]

I assumed that there was no true way of knowing whether or not the entry in the book is meant to impy that he qualified for an Equestrian Badge of some-sort or not. I have seen SA and Reich sport badges listed in box 12 on page 4, but never an Equestrian Badge or Horse Driver's Badge. In response to the Eastern-Front, oddly enough this book is for a Major d. R. in IR 67 that was killed in action 2 days into Operation Barbarossa...in Lithuania! I'm hoping to get a scanner soon so that I can post some of my collection online for the enjoyment of others. Thank you both for your help.

Am I understanding that this Wehrpass is to a Major - if so the remark "Reiter" in Qualifications would indeed be an abbreviation for Reiterabzeichen. Is there a roman numeral behind like: III, or letter b or s?

Regards, Hardy

Edited June 17, 2007 by Naxos

[Naxos]

12 Berufliche, technische oder sportliche Bef?higungsnachweise:

Section 12: trade, technical qualification or an accomplishment in sports:

To have the entry "Reiter" in section 12 an officer would have qualified as a Horseman by having accomplished one of the classes of the Reiterabzeichen.

Hardy

Edited June 17, 2007 by Naxos

[Andwwils]

Hi Hardy,

There appears to be no suffix behind the word "Reiter." He lists it first however, followed by "Schwimmeren" and then "Fuhrershein 3b" in box 12 on page 4.

It is indeed an officer's wehrpass. It makes sense that officer's would be held to a higher-standard when making qualification entries of this sort, but I can't find any other place within the book.

Edited June 17, 2007 by Andwwils

[Naxos]

Hi Hardy,

There appears to be no suffix behind the word "Reiter." He lists it first however, followed by "Schwimmeren" and then "Fuhrershein 3b" in box 12 on page 4.

It is indeed an officer's wehrpass. It makes sense that officer's would be held to a higher-standard when making qualification entries of this sort, but I can't find any other place within the book.

I apologize for not having scans. I know how much we all like looking at these sorts of things, or at least I know I do. Frustrating, I know. Forgive me comrades.

You say "followed by Schwimmeren" (Schwimmeren is not a German word) could the word be "Rettungs-Schwimmer" or "Retter schwimmen"?

Hardy

Edited June 17, 2007 by Naxos

[Naxos]

It would make your Major a certified Lifeguard

Edited June 17, 2007 by Naxos

[Andwwils]

There is a comma between "Reiter" and what I think is "Schwimmern." There is only one "e" in the word on closer inspection. The two words are not connected.

[Naxos]

We need a scan to solve this.

a comma between Retter, schwimmen would be right, but so would be Reiter, Schwimmer

Are you sure it is Reiter and not Retter?

Is it Schwimmer or schwimmen,

have a close look if it is Schwimmer or Schwimmen, only these two words would be correct spelling

Retter

http://www.sitecenter.dk/corysan/duelighedstegnside2/

Reiter

Edited June 18, 2007 by Naxos

[Andwwils]

We need a scan to solve this.

a comma between Retter, schwimmen would be right, but so would be Reiter, Schwimmer

Are you sure it is Reiter and not Retter?

Is it Schwimmer or schwimmen,

have a close look if it is Schwimmer or Schwimmen, only these two words would be correct spelling

Retter

http://www.sitecenter.dk/corysan/duelighedstegnside2/

Reiter

The first word has to be "reiter," the "t" is distinct from the "i." The second word is "Schwimmen," the two m's in the middle of the word run together badly. The man whos book this was, was one for understatement. He does not list his wound badge entry nor his Honor Cross for Combattants, but he clearly got the wound badge in WWI based on his wounds for that conflict which are listed in the book. I' m going to get a scanner within the next couple of weeks. I can't get a good shot of the book with my digital camera. Stay tuned...

[PKeating]

Can you post scans of the pages in question? If you have them but are unsure about posting here, we'll happily help you. It would also make sense to record a man's swimming abilities. It would be interesting to find that he qualified for both badges but wouldn't a Reiterabzeichen be entered as just that: Reiterabzeichen? It's a bit like the Kraftfahrbew?hrungsabzeichen, which you can see on this awards page. The KBA was a military award but I would have thought that the Reiterabzeichen as awarded to a soldier would count too, given that it was worn on uniform tunics by recipients.

PK

[Naxos]

The Major must have both qualifications Reiterabzeichen and Rettungsschwimmer.

Have a look here: http://home.clara.net/percy/personal.htm

Hardy

[PKeating]

Looking forward to seeing this WP. The scanner will "change your life"! I have scanned many of my documents and paybooks and can enjoy looking through the files of high res repros while the sometimes fragile originals rest in the safe. Means other people can look at them too, for research and reference purposes without compromising the old paper.

PK