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Lexikon der Wehrmacht- find unit information here
Hello Gentlemen and fellow members,
Following the idea launched by our member Matt L, here's a link to access the LEXIKON DER WEHRMACHT data base. It might be of some help for those of us who try to ID Erkennungsmarken.
Link to the general page :
Lexikon der Wehrmacht
My favourite one :
Lexikon der Wehrmacht
I hope it will be useful....
For our members who don't know how to use/search the site, Matt will make a short primer soon...
Thanks
Last edited by Matt L; 02-12-2013 at 03:37 PM.
The sacrifice of life is a huge sacrifice, there is only one that is more terrible, the sacrifice of honor
In Memoriam :
Laurent Huart (1964-2008)
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02-05-2010 12:59 AM
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Re: Link to LEXIKON DER WEHRMACHT
Thanks for posting this- the information is invaluable for researching what can be found about units listed on Erkennungsmarken.
It is all in German, but Google Translator or any other online translator that recognizes German should be able to help since the text isn't terribly complicated and really only some of the terminology may be not so clear- however if you don't know enough about the Wehrmacht yet yourself, folks here can surely help.
Generally the second link posted above is the one to go to since it's the list of all major units and, most importantly, the Ersatz units that every soldier who entered the Wehrmacht after 1. 9. 1939 joined. That is specifically here:
Ersatztruppenteile
Simply find the correct unit type, and you'll get a list of all the units for which information exists.
For example:
A disc marked 3./ J. E. B. 365 woud be 3. Kompanie, Infanterie-Ersatz-Bataillon 365, so under the primary heading Ersatztruppen der Infanterie (replacement troops of the infantry) you would find the subheading Bataillone/ Abteilungen, and there the link Infanterie-Ersatz-Bataillone. From the next page's list, simply choose Infanterie-Ersatz-Bataillon 365 and you have its history.
Generally, a deal of cross-referencing is necessary to learn as much as one can about where a particular unit served, but that's easy enough- once more simply follow the links or search the headings to find the right one. Using the same example, you can see that IEB365 ideally provided replacement troops to Infanterie-Regimenter 239, 280 and 365 as well as later Grenadier-Regimenter 951 and 1032- clicking on each of those links will give service information about those units; the Divisionen listed will give specific location information.
Unfortunately often enough men didn't go to the units that on paper were supposed to be supplied, or otherwise transferred around, neither of which can ever be accounted for, so the validity of information gathered can never be 100%- but it is interesting enough and in cases wher one knows the geographical source of a disc, results can be proven reliable.
Ohhhhh- pillage then burn...
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Re: Link to LEXIKON DER WEHRMACHT
The other useful thing about this site is that it includes both forms of a unit type if, during the war, it changed; for example, initially armoured infantry were called Schützen, and later they were redesignated as Panzergrenadiere- you can find both titles on the major lists, however a specific unit's page will include all appropriate titles. A perfect example is what was originally Infanterie-Ersatz-Bataillon 5. It changed designation or was split into 6 different units through the course of the war:
Infanterie-Ersatz-Bataillon (mot.) 5
Schützen-Ersatz-Bataillon 5
Panzergrenadier-Ersatz-Bataillon 5
Panzer-Grenadier-Ersatz- und Ausbildungs-Bataillon 5
Panzer-Grenadier-Ersatz-Bataillon 5
Panzer-Grenadier-Ausbildungs-Bataillon 5
From the formal lists of any specific one of these units the link will go to the single listing Infanterie-Ersatz-Bataillon 5. Then depending on what one of these you're looking for, you can find in the text just when it became that particular unit and from there judge where to look next.
Ohhhhh- pillage then burn...
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Re: Link to LEXIKON DER WEHRMACHT
Fantastic info Matt and Philip! Thanks alot. Tonight I'm going to dig out all my Erkennungsmarken and do some more research.
Thank again,
Jay
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And for those folks not immediately aware- Google has a translator function that will translate the German text into whatever other language you might want: Google Translate It's not the best, and it can be a little confusing, but should at least give you the gist.
Ohhhhh- pillage then burn...
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Time to bump this thread. All you new Ekm hunters, before you waste your cash on trash check out whether the unit on you item exists, ask here but also check in Der Lexikon!
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Bumpety bump bump!
Check the Lexikon before you buy trash!
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