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Pages 6 - 16

The subject of the German Solbuch has been considerably under-researched in recent years.  This article is intended to pick up where Eric Tobey left off in Die Neue Feldpost, Numbers 13 and 14 with the page by page breakdown of the quintessential document of the German Landser.

In the style of the previous installments, this article is not meant to be a definitive work on the subject.  There is simply far too much variation from example to example to make mention of each (especially since many of the entries are inter-related and depended on the individual’s specific circumstances), but certain patterns do exist and the more common are noted here.  When a pattern is so common it could be considered the “norm”, the description will be written in bold type.
  
 

These pages were used to record the Soldier’s equipment issue and is the first point in the Soldbuch where there is a distinction between a “first pattern” and “second pattern” Soldbuch.  First pattern Soldbuchs seem to be pre-1940 production (though the earliest books were only issued in the summer of 1939 upon mobilization) by the notation on p.8a-d of “second pattern” Soldbuchs which reads, “H.M.1940 Nr.205” indicating a 1940 addition.  However, as with so many other items in the German Army, old stocks were almost assuredly used up rather than simply thrown away and these first pattern books have been known to be issued later on.  In fact, one example was found that was issued as late as 17.April 1945!

The distinction that can be made from pages 6-7 between first and second pattern is primarily that the earlier had only a single row of pre-formatted text whereas the latter has a second.  Reading a first pattern book will show that many items necessary to a soldier’s field life are missing which is why the majority of first pattern Soldbuchs have a pre-printed addition that was pasted in later, usually obscuring the last column of page 7.  Some of these are fold out and double sided, some narrower strips, and a few even hand-written and hand-ruled.  There was apparently great variation on how the addition of this could be handled (if at all).  No wonder they eventually switched to the two-column system!

In both first and second pattern books, the first column (Grund in the earlier, Truppenteil in the latter) seems to have been used in a number of ways depending on who was filling the entry out that day.  In many cases a unit designation is simply hand-written in.  About as common is to see a unit designation block stamped in.  This seems to be especially true when hospitals took responsibility for inspecting the equipment where the name of the corresponding hospital is block stamped here.  Other entries include “Geprüft”, “Vorgetragen”, “Versetzung”, and “Abstellung”. 

In first pattern books the next column is labeled “Zeit” and lists the date where second pattern books have this as the last column in the second row combined with the signature line.

The equipment lists were fairly self-explanatory.  A number was written in the corresponding column to show how many of each item was issued or what the soldier was found with at the time of inspection.  When an item an individual had was not listed, it would be hand written in one of the empty boxes in the top row.  “Gemaschen” (gaiters), “Eis.Portion” (iron ration), and “Zweibackbeutel.” (zweiback bag) are common entries.  Older entries were supposed to be cancelled out in red ink as newer ones were made but this did not always happen.  Variations include blue or black ink or no cancellation at all.

The last column was meant for the inspector’s signature (date and signature in second pattern books) which was almost always adhered to.

These pages are only found in second pattern books with the 1940 addition.  However, there are documented examples of first pattern books where these pages were inserted, apparently printed separately for just this purpose rather than torn from a later second pattern book.  8a-d records the issuance of weapons and “implements” (as opposed to specifically personal items as in 6-7).  The first column of 8a-B lists in preformatted text the more common entries where 8c-d leaves blank boxes for hand written of stamped additions.  The second column, “Zeichen” is for the “model” or  “type” (such as “K.98” for Gewehr) where applicable.  The third column, “nummer” is for the corresponding serial number, again where applicable.  The fourth, “Tag des Empfangs” is the date of issuance, and the final column, “Namenszeichen des Gerätverwalters” is for the signature of the individual who filled it out.

Older entries were supposed to be cancelled in red ink and quite often are, with the usual sprinkling of odd colors or none at all.

This page was used to record inoculations given to the soldier.  In most entries, the top box was used to record the date, with “day.month.” above “year”, and the bottom to record the doseage.  Huge amounts of variations exist on this page and the author is far from fluent in medical terminology, but certain patterns can be noted from studying the frequency of entries in various books:

In many cases when the boxes in one row were filled up, a separate piece of hand-ruled paper was pasted in on top of previous entries for more room.  In fewer cases lines were ruled to block out and connect pieces of the upper or lower rows to continue entries. 

These pages were used to record optometry information for the soldier.  The researcher has not seen any books with these pages filled out (including books where the soldier is listed as having worn glasses) so an accurate account of the most common entries cannot be given - other than the fact that it was rarely filled out!  However in some cases it was used as an overflow for page 9 when the boxes there were completely filled.  In this case entries were hastily scribbled in without regard to formatting.

These pages recorded any hospital stays the owner was unlucky enough to have suffered.  This page is often heavily filled out, even for individuals who were never wounded but saw a lot of service time (guess they liked the pretty nurses…).

The first column, labeled simply “Lazarett” recorded the name of the hospital.  More often than not this entry was block line stamped in with inks of various colors.  The second and third columns were for the date, separated by day and month in the first then year in the second.

The third column, which spills onto the next page, was used to describe the problem the soldier was having.  The way this was listed was the preference of the individual filling it out and is split about 50/50.  Half the time the condition is written in with a word or very short description.  In more than one book and more than one entry in each “Angina” was written (guess I buy a lot of Soldbuchs of guys with heart trouble!).  Another has multiple entries of “Magen” (stomach) and compound medical terms involving “Magen”.  Another option was sort of numerical shorthand to describe the infliction.  This is especially true of entries involving actual wounds.  Below is a list of the numbers and the corresponding conditions:

The fourth and fifth columns were to record the date the patient was released, formatted in the same “day.month” then “year” pattern.  The sixth column was for special notations regarding the patient’s condition or where he was sent next.  The majority have hand written abbreviations including “dfz.E.Truppe”, “zidfg.z.Tr.”, ”Laz.zg.”,
 “verl.mit Laz.Zug”, and simply “kv” which meant “kriegsverwendungsfähig” (fit for use in war).  The final column was for the signature of the doctor or administrator responsible for the patient.

The original intention of these pages was to record the personal effects of a soldier entering the hospital.  Occasionally this was done on page 14 in a similar fashion to page 8.  Page 15 however was in every book studied used for quite a different purpose.

Each branch of service in the Wehrmacht had a way of conducting periodic inspections of the soldier’s documents.  These so-called security checks were noted in different ways.  Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, and SS books had a rectangular stamp separated into quadrants placed on page 1 where roman numerals would be stamped in each quadrant corresponding to a quarter-year interval.  The Heer did not adopt that method and instead used page 15 for security checks.

In all books the text at the top of the page was crossed out in ink using a ruler.  The format of each security entry seems to be consistent.  A circular unit seal is places at left with the words “Kr.St.R.Nr.” or “Tr.St.R.Nr.” which meant either “Kriegs- or Truppen-Stamm Rolle Nummer” either written or stamped on the line beneath it.  This correlates to the information on page 4 in the right hand column and represented the soldier’s roll number within his current unit.  To the right or the circular seal towards the top the date was either hand written or stamped.  Beneath that (usually taking up multiple lines) was an officer’s signature with his rank and position either stamped or hand written directly below.  If the soldier was on duty in a training or Ersatz unit, the location of said unit would be stamped in to the left of the date (often overlapping the seal) with a stamp similar to the one found on page 4 item D or page 2 above the circular seal at the bottom.  Multiple security checks were usually separated by hand ruled lines.