Wehrpas Austrian Reservist

[humble collector]

Among the death cards I found more Wehrpases . The handwriting inside this one is a bit more challenging than usual for me. It appears his name was Viktor Probuch and was called up 24 May 1944 , from Vienna Austria, and born October 9 1890. He was definitely in the WW1 era of soldiering. I cannot read his parents name, but appear to be different. Placed in the Landsturm II category I suppose due to his age he was mid 50s . Appears to have served in WWI for he received a medal I do not recall the abbreviation

[HPL2008]

His name was Werner Proksch, a barber from Vienna. His parents' surnames were not different to his; below their first names are the father's occupation [Friseur = barber] and the mother's maiden name [Nenninger]. He was not called up; 24th May 1944 was when he had his medical examination and the Wehrpass was issued. The WWI entry has nothing to with decorations; it merely says he served with Infanterie-Regiment 4 from 1915 to 1918.

[BrodieBartfast]

Is it possible he may have received the Ehrenkreuz des Weltkriegs 1914/1918? I recall a similar document I posted here, where the soldier had given service in both World Wars, where that was the case.

B.B.

[HPL2008]

Is it possible he may have received the Ehrenkreuz des Weltkriegs 1914/1918? I recall a similar document I posted here, where the soldier had given service in both World Wars, where that was the case.

He certainly became eligible for this award upon the Austrian annexation in 1938 (prior to this, he would already have been eligible for the Austrian commemorative medal for WWI). If he held any decorations, they would be listed on page 23.

[humble collector]

Thank you gentlemen. I honestly have a great deal of trouble reading this style of writing. I was going to ask if the 24th of May was a medical examination? After posting I did manage to pick it up.

[humble collector]

Page 12 the 1915-1918 plus the abbreviation after the dates made me wonder what it was Award wise

[BrodieBartfast]

Sütterlin is indeed very difficult to master, but the more of these documents you look at the easier it becomes. It helps that the same words and terms are used very frequently, meaning you can pick up on the meaning just from the way the word in question looks on paper.

One thing is certain: We'd be lost without Andreas and his innate mastery of it.

B.B.

[BrodieBartfast]

Page 12 the 1915-1918 plus the abbreviation after the dates made me wonder what it was Award wise

It reads 'I.R.4', which as Andreas has already stated is an abbreviation for 'Infanterie Regiment 4'. Any awards he received would be recorded on page 23.

B.B.

[humble collector]

Your right Brodie the man is a wealth of knowledge, and can definitely decipher this atrocious hand writing! 😜

[BrodieBartfast]

Your right Brodie the man is a wealth of knowledge, and can definitely decipher this atrocious hand writing! ��

It's actually very beautifully written, so much so that most of us modern folk struggle to read it. Compare modern handwriting to period handwriting, and you can trace the loss of quality as we have inched into the digital age. Why bother to learn such intricate penmanship anymore, when we have keyboards and laser printers? It is a great shame, really. Although being left handed, my own handwriting is atrocious anyway!

B.B.