Article about: Hello folks. Another Wehrpaß. Arrived before Christmas, but the house has been too busy for me to photograph and post new acquisitions. Barring the staining on the photograph, this one is in
Another Wehrpaß. Arrived before Christmas, but the house has been too busy for me to photograph and post new acquisitions. Barring the staining on the photograph, this one is in great shape. The spine is a little crooked, but all pages are present and firmly in place.
What I've been able to ascertain by myself: The man's name was Ernst Nelke, born in 1911. Father's name August, mother's name Marta. His mother passed away in 1920.
Mustered in Hildesheim on the 8th of November, 1939. Assigned to an Infanterie (Panzer Jaeger) regiment, Kompanie 71. This last part is an educated guess, based on the abbreviations stamped on page 11.
Ernst seems to have received training in the use of the K98 rifle, and what looks like 'Pak.' Referring to the anti-tank gun? There is a third entry on this page which I do not recognise.
Looking at page 35, it seems Ernst was unfortunately a casualty of Operation Barbarossa, falling on the 10th of August, 1941. I'm not one hundred percent sure on this, but the last word of the first paragraph 'gefallen' seems to indicate this. I believe this entry describes the circumstances of Ernst's death, but I cannot read it myself. Would the German War Graves Commission have any information on this man?
In my rather brief time on this forum, I am glad that I have learnt so much. Already, I can partially translate these identification documents, where before I could only stare at the pages in wonder and confusion. In time, I hope that I will learn enough to be able to read these documents as easily as I'd read a book. After that, I will be able to tell the stories of these individuals, lost in the details to the broader strokes of history.
Ernst Paul Nelke was born on 30 March 1911 in Döhren in the district of Hannover as the son of the laborer August Nelke and his wife Marta (neé Jeratsch). Marta passed away in 1920.
A natural-born German citizen, married and of Protestant faith, Ernst was a working-class man who had a basic-level Volksschule education and earned his living as a farmhand.
Subject to conscription, he had his draft board examination at the Wehrbezirkskommando [Recruiting District Headquarters] Hildesheim on 8 November 1939. Rated as "k.v." [= kriegsverwendungsfähig], he was found to be fully fit for active military duty with combat formations, assigned the Wehrnummer [military identification number] 11/690/1, issued his Wehrpaß [military service record book] and taken into the Ersatzreserve I [Replacement Reserves I, made up of untrained men under the age of 35].
Ernst was called up for active military service during the build-up to the Western Campaign and reported for duty with Infanterie (Panzer-Jäger) Ersatz-Kompanie 71 [Infantry (Anti-Tank) Replacement Company 71] in Hildesheim on 16 April 1940. The following day, he passed his entry medical examination as fit for duty and took his oath on Hitler's birthday on 20 April 1940.
Ernst was trained for the Karabiner 98 k rifle, for Panzerabwehrkanonen [anti-tank guns] and as a gunner for the leichtes Infanteriegeschütz 18 [light field gun M18].
He was with his first unit until 12 June 1940. The next day, he was transferred to a Marschbataillon z.b.V. 4. Rate [personnel replacement transfer battalion for special deployment, 4th contingent].
His next and final transfer was to 13. (Infanteriegeschütz) Kompanie, Infanterie-Regiment 191 [13th (Infantry Gun) Company, Infantry Regiment 191] on 4 August 1940. His unit served as occupation troops in Belgium and Luxemburg until 12 October 1940 and then as a training formation at the Königsbruck training grounds until 29 March 1941. During this assignment, Ernst was promoted to Oberschütze on 1 January 1941. Deployed to the Generalgouvernement [i.e. occupied Poland] from 30 March 1941 to 21 June 1941, his regiment went off on the Eastern Campaign as part of Infanterie-Division 71 [Infantry Division No. 71] on 22 June 1941.
Ernst Paul Nelke's life ended on 10 August 1941, when he was hit by shrapnel to the spine in the "Kirchwald" [Church Forest], 2 kilometers northeast of Chotoff, Russia and buried nearby.
The online database of the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge [German War Graves Commission] lists the following information on his final resting place:
"Ernst Nelke has presumably been transferred to the war cemetery at Kiev as an unknown soldier. Gravesite: Probably among the unidentified. Unfortunately, not all German casualties could be retrieved from the original gravesite and taken to the cemetery at Kiev during the transfer of remains. However, there is the possibility that Ernst Nelke is one of the German soldiers whose mortal remains were retrieved but could not be identified despite all efforts."
Thank you for taking the time out of your day to be so in-depth with your translations. I've been printing them off and storing them with the associated documents, and it really brings the whole collection to life.
Had he not been killed during the assault on Kiev he might well have seen the horror of Stalingrad as the 71st got caught in the Kessel as part of the 6th Armee a year later
Had he not been killed during the assault on Kiev he might well have seen the horror of Stalingrad as the 71st got caught in the Kessel as part of the 6th Armee a year later
Perhaps fate was kind to him after all. He may very well have ended up spending the rest of his life in a Russian work camp. At least this way, his family knew what happened to him and could make peace with it in time.
What surprises me is that Ernst earned not a single medal or award during his active service. Unless he was awarded something posthumously, and it didn't make it into his Wehrpaß.
What surprises me is that Ernst earned not a single medal or award during his active service. Unless he was awarded something posthumously, and it didn't make it into his Wehrpaß.
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It's not that surprising, really, if you think about it.
His entire military service from call-up to getting KIA was as a humble private and lasted only 14 months, most of which was spent in the homeland and on occupation duty, offering little opportunity to earn a decoration.
Due to the timeframe and duration of his service, he was simply not eligible for any commemorative-, campaign- or long service awards and did not even live to see the institution of a number of wartime decorations.
(Sure, he could have qualified for a combat award during his participation in the Eastern Campaign, but not everybody did.)
It's not surprising, really, if you think about it. His entire military service from call-up to getting KIA was as a humble private and lasted only 14 months, most of which was spent in the homeland and on occupation duty, offering little opportunity to earn a decoration. Due to the timeframe and duration of his service, he was not eligible for any commemorative-, campaign- or long service awards, either.
Makes you wonder how many men there were like Ernst, who went to unmarked graves and whose identity documents have since been destroyed or lost. So many lives, not only lost, but forgotten. Hammers home the importance of preserving the documents that have survived.
I may begin collecting Wehrpaß in earnest. Each one is like a mini biography, and now I'm getting a little better at reading them I can enjoy them all the more.
Wait until you get into Soldbücher. Harder to read especially with regards to forming a timeline but every bit as interesting especially as they were carried in the top pocket at all times (not aircrew or at sea).
Wait until you get into Soldbücher. Harder to read especially with regards to forming a timeline but every bit as interesting especially as they were carried in the top pocket at all times (not aircrew or at sea).
Been on the lookout for one for a while. Never managed to find one that wasn't either blank or messily denazified. Volkssturm soldbuchs are something I also find very interesting, but again, all the ones I've seen for sale were blank.
Oberschütze Ernst Nelke of 13./Infanterie Regiment 191.
Name: Ernst Nelke
Date of birth: 30.7.1911
Place of birth: Hannover
Death/missing date: 10.8.1941
Death/missing place: Kirchwald 2km nordost Chotoff
Gefallen: artillerie geschuß rücken
Chotoff was around 15km south of Kiev in Ukraine.
It is not written where Ernst Nelke was buried. The dead from many of the other regiments fighting at Chotoff were buried in the cities of Kryglik, Jankowitschi, and Pirogowo. Chotoff and Jankowitschi do not appear to exist anymore although Kryglik and Pirogowo can still be found in the southern suburbs of Kiev. Kryglik is the village of Kruhlyk while Pirogowo is the village of Pyrohiv.
Wehrpaß - KIA
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by BlackCat1982
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