How did they count 25 years civil service time?

[webr55]

This question has been puzzling me for some time: When did the 25/40 years civil service time start? I have seen that for teachers, they started counting when the guy turned 17 - which means that someone born 1898 would have had the Treudienst 25 at 42, in 1940, right?

Chris

[Guest Rick Research]

Starting from when they got their state job, with previous military service, or war service 1914-18 counted regardless of whether a military long service award was bestowed for that time also. The length of service and not how old they were for their first paycheck. I never heard of any minimum age.

War Volunteer 1914, Provisional Reichswehr 1919-20, government job 1920 on = military XII 1920 and Treudienst 25 in 1939.

Drafted 1898-1900, government job 1900-1914, war service 1914-1919, government job 1919-38 = probably LD2 in 1910 and Treudienst 40 in 1938.

Career officer 1899-1920 = military XXV. Government job 1920-1938 = Treudienst 25 in addition to military XXV, replaced by Treudienst 40 in addition to military XXV in 1939.

The NAZIS screwed around with reckoning civil service time, counting time they "should" have been employed (they thought) under Weimar-- but that was usually the Golden Pheasants increasing pensions, not ordinary people. The final Chief of Staff of the SA was one-- fired as a tecaher in 1927 or so, he was given the Treudienst in addition to his Party long services as this sort of a pension cheat.

I have seen photos of teenagers doing Reichsbahn service during the First War-- but were they 16? 17? I've never seen any documented groups that showed minimum age, just how they look.

[webr55]

Thanks. I've got this calculation of civil service time for a teacher. It is postwar, but I bet they had the same method of calculation during the TR. He was born in 1898, went to the teacher's seminar in 1915 - that's where he started adding up service time, although they counted only three years for 1915-20. But would he have made it to the Treudienst 25?

Edited January 1, 2008 by webr55

[Guest Rick Research]

Looks like they simply left out WW1 military service-- the difference between "1915-1920" and his credit of "3 years." But I don't think time as a STUDENT counted at all--

his JOB started in 1920, so that meant no Treudienst for him--suspended after 30.1.43--his "25" would have been in 1945.

This appears to count time as a soldier (1916-19?) that is not actually specified, from his school years. ... ??? If THAT is so, he would have qualified for a Treudienst probably right after they stopped handing them out!

[webr55]

He did not serve in WW1.

Actually, it has until very recently always been the practice to count student time as three years, regardless of how long it took. There are still 25year and 40year documents (but no medal) being awarded for civil servants.