Heer Help with Soldbuch findings

[Spasm]

Gents and Gentesses

I obtained this Soldbuch just the other day and have been painstakingly translating and trying to find the history behind it.

The Soldbuch is for a Karl Goetzmann originally fron Berlin but it seems lived in Wuppertal with his wife Hedwig. He was awarded, as can be seen on the awards page the Ost Medal, KvK with swords and the Spange to the EKII as he had already been awarded the EKII in WW1, the awards can also be seen on his photo, along with the Hindenburg Cross with swords. (The photo was before he was awarded the Spange.)

I think his unit was 2nd Company Nachschub (Supply) Battalion, as can be seen on the following photos, which (correct me here please) was attached to the Army Group Centre.

Anyway, this is the bit I could do with some help. On page 8a, equipment issue, you can see from the photos that he was issued with rifle, pistol, bayonet, compass etc but that they have all been crossed out and alongside the date 11 May 1945. And then to my shock (when I looked it up in the German Military Abbreviations, MIS War Dept book) the word "gest" which is short for gestorben or died.

The surrender of German forces was complete in Europe on 7th May with some pockets still holding out. The Battle of Prague and then Slivice continued for a while as German forces frantically tried to surrender to nearby American forces while defending against the Soviet massed armies. The last German force capitulated in the early hours of 12 May with 6000 captured by the Soviets.

Could Karl have been killed on the very last day of the war after joining up in 1939 !!!!!! Please tell me I'm wrong.

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Karl's unit (in the light blue pen) Supply Battalion 557, 2nd Company. His wife Hedwig of Wuppertal which coincidentally is the title of his last leave in 1944.

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Karl's awards - Ost 1942, KvK 1943 and EKII Apr 1945

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And lastly the crossed out equipment all dated 11 May 1945 (I think) and with the word "gest" clearly seen against the Seitengewehr (Bayonet) entry and repeated on most of the other entries. Did Karl really die on the last day of the war? I've sort of become attached to him the last couple of days, I really rather he hadn't :(

Edited August 26, 2011 by Spasm

[Naxos]

Hi Spasm, I believe the abbreviation "gest." stands for gestrichen = crossed out.

Note on the top the abbreviation "gestr. W" (another abbrev. for gestrichen) and on the Doppelfernrohr line the word is spelled out as gestrichen

BTW, very nice Soldbuch to a man that fought in both WW's with distinction.

Edited August 26, 2011 by Naxos

[Spasm]

Naxos

Phew, thanks for that. First one of these I've owned so got too involved with trying to translate everything in babelfish and the military abbreviations book

I'd like to think Karl had the chance to sit with his grandchildren on his knee saying "..and there I was, surrounded."

Thanks

Spaz

[hucks216]

I used to own that soldbuch until either last year or earlier this year! Funny how every now and then the same ones crop up.

[Spasm]

Hucks

Did you do any investigation work on it? If so can I have it? I'd really like to try to get some more history on this guy. I'd like to put a bit of a display together with his medals (obviously not his actual ones), photo, bayonet, etc etc. Any advice would be good

Spaz

[hucks216]

I'm afraid that is one of the ones that sat in my 'to do' pile and which I never got round to doing before I had a little spring clean and shifted 10 or so of my Wehrpasse/Soldbucher.