German Soldat

[emo155]

I bought this picture can you help me understand what is written?

what rank was this soldier?

[BrodieBartfast]

Looks like the words on the reverse may be song lyrics of some kind. As for the soldier's rank, going on the stripe visible on his sleeve he would be a Gefreiter, the German equivalent of a Lance Corporal. I may be wrong on this, as I'm not overly familiar with the German ranking system or relevant insignia.

B.B.

[HPL2008]

The text (except for the last line, obviously) is a poem by Marie Freifrau von Ebner-Eschenbach (1830 - 1916). It translates as:

"To know one human being, who understands you like no other, who will always stand by you in hardships, who also loves your weaknesses, for "you" are his/hers; then everything else may fall apart, "you" are never alone!
1943 Russia - on leave"

We'd need a clear look at the man's left sleeve to tell his exact rank (it's not possible to tell if there are any rank insignia there), but he is definitely a private rank.

[Neil Hever]

I don't see any additional rank insignia so this Heer (Army) soldier is just part of the Mannschaften - Soldat, Landser or some such term. Some curious things are visible in this photo. He is a new recipient of the EKII or Iron Cross second class. On the first day of award they were displayed with the medal in the second buttonhole. This was the time to take a photo to show off the award. After that, it was worn as a ribbon in the buttonhole or on a ribbon bar. There appears to be a Verwundeten Abzeichen or wound badge in black. This was the lowest grade awarded and it was placed around other awards on the pocket. In this case, it is next to a Panzerkampfabzeichen or Tank assault badge. He appears to have a lighter colored Waffenfarbe or branch of service color on his uniform - not sure what it is. The badge was also issued in bronze for Panzer support units such as Panzer Grenadier and recon units. I cannot tell if it is bronze so I defer to others with more knowledge. NH

[JPhilip]

Hello,
In addition to what has been said already, i would add that a couple of things.
just an observation, if you remove the Einheitsfeldmütze and the date on the reverse, this photo could have been taken in late 1940....stunning...
It has been taken in 1943, but the soldier was issued with a collarless white shirt that needed the use of the Kragenbinde...
(in 1942 was introduced a grey jersey shirt with collar, in 1943 was adopted the same shirt with breast pockets)

We are sure here that the Hoheitsabzeichen sewn above the right breast pocket is the factory one....and that it was sewn before the pocket flap, as the latter is sewn over the half of the swastika....nice

tough to say if the Panzerkampfabzeichen is the silver or bronze version....the shadow is real
Thanks

[emo155]

Thank you all!