Soldbuch vs Wehrpass

[Phil_C]

Cheers Findis,

I've looked at Garys site and it is very infomative and I've learned a lot from it, although I can't remember half the info when I go looking at fairs, thats why if I consider buying a wehrpass on the internet I go to Gary's site as well as a few other sites, before I consider buying it. The same goes for a soldbuch although I've lost the link for the site with the info about the soldbuch on as I've just changed my internet server. The unit page and the medal pages are the first one's I look at in both the books.

Regards
Phil

[David F]

hi,the unit page is always the first page i check.medals dont always count i feel.i would rather have a wehrpass from a regiment than one with medal awards.
just my opinion
David

[Ian Jewison]

I personally prefer the Soldbuch as this is more personal and was carried by the guy unlike the Wehrpaß. However to get a true picture you need both these documents!!!.
If you get the chance to buy both it is worth while getting them in my opinion......however the Wehrpaß may not have everything filled in!

I have one to a DKiG holder and I was happy from the description, when it arrived there were not any entries at all on pages 20 (training with weapons) and 21 (further training and courses)...to me this was a bit of a let down...the combat pages were filled for 1939-41 but only "Campaign in the East" for 3 years Russian Front Service!!!

Both documents have their good and bad points......for me the more entries the better!!!

/Ian

[Jeremy G]

Just to add another opinion from the opposite side of the pond, I would tend to agree that both SB/WP are unique and important in their own ways. To Ians point, the ulitimate goal is obtaining as much detail as possible for the soldier being researched. That said, if pushed I would probably weigh in on the side of the Wehrpas. My personal area of collecting is Luftwaffe SB/WP, and one of the things that makes the Wehrpas a bit more desireable (in my mind) is the listing of missions flown, victories (if any) and at times the type of aircraft shot down. To date I have not seen anything similar to that in a Soldbuch, though I would imagine exceptions do exist. Ian?

Just one more colonials humble opinion.

Cheers

Jeremy

[JYN]

Hi,

For my point of view : Soldbuch.
I think Wehrpass is for lazy people.
They don't have not too much to search about the owner.
I would love to have them both because often some units or decorations are listed in the WP and not in the SB.
Jean-Yves

[Willi Z.]

I prefer the Soldbuch over the Wehrpass also. But, the Wehrpass includes some good information on the campaigns the Soldat/Flieger took part in. I find it fascinating to compare what the Germans called the various campaigns during WWII, to what we call the battle today.

But, as several have mentioned, the Soldbuch contains more personal information.

Willi

[Chrvip68]

I like both of them, but if i must choose which i prefer i choose the Soldbuch because was carried by the soldier and was responsible for this.

[Ralph A]

I like them both.

As well as the Gesundheitbücher and the Wehrstammbücher.

Anyone have all four for ONE soldier? Never seen that...

I weighed in for the Soldbuch though, as far as the poll goes. I like the "personal" aspect of them. I've never found personal notes and/or folded documents tucked away in a Wehrpass...

[Gordon Williamson]

I tend to prefer the Soldbuch to the Wehrpass because it was carried by the soldier and it has the photo in uniform as opposed to civvy dress like most Wehrpasses. On the other hand as I collect U-Boat docs, their Soldbücher were left behind on shore in a box anyway !

Have to agree though that there is generally far more info in a good Wehrpass than a Soldbuch, but best of all is the Führungsbuch. Photo in uniform, almost all the info you'd find in a Soldbuch, plus the Wehrpass, plus hand written reports by the c.o., 54 pages, hard cover. Absolute treasure trove of information, worth its weight in gold.

[Ian Jewison]

As well as the Gesundheitbücher and the Wehrstammbücher.

Anyone have all four for ONE soldier? Never seen that...

I actually have one group like this which includes Truppenausweis, Soldbuch, Wehrpaß, Wehrstammbuch, Gesundheitsbuch, Arbeitsbuch, Wehrstammkarte, Kriegstammrollenblatten and more....
I would imagine this is pretty unique as normally either Soldbuch or Wehrpaß is missing.

If still in the Wehrmacht then he would be carrying his Soldbuch, the Wehrpaß with his unit and Wehrstammbuch at his home recruiting unit (Wehrbezirks or Wehrmeldeamt).
Normally if discharged the Soldbuch would inserted in the rear pocked of the Wehrstammbuch and his Wehrpaß issued to him......
To have all documents would mean he either was discharged and the clerk never closed off the documents correctly or he raided his recruiting office!?!?!?

Nice to have anyway!!!

Most of the other Wehrstammbuch that I have actually also have the Soldbuch as they were to those that were discharged from the Wehrmacht as a result of injury.

I do have any pretty unique one which is a Kriegsmarine Wehrstammbuch.....only a few pages are actually filled in as these were not widely used....as Gordon mentions above the Kriegsmarine made use of a Führungsbuch which basically cover the same and I too find them very interesting.

/Ian

[Christian Breuer]

Gary,

would you be so kind and send me a list too? Many thanks in advance!

Christian

[Gary T]

Gary,

would you be so kind and send me a list too? Many thanks in advance!

Christian

I haven't got a list at the moment...this thread is a year old. But I'll see what I can find.

[Christian Breuer]

Ooops, didn't notice that!! But yes, please have a look what Luftwaffe Wehrpasses you would be willing to sell. Thanks in advance!

Cheers,

Christian

[Si1964]

Both have their merits - I slightly prefer the Wp over the SB, but I think SB's seem to get the £ advantage. In my own collection Wp's must be 60/40 split.


However, like a lot of us, I started collecting most arms of the service, I must now reduce my collection, to get the cash back in, so I can concentrate on the fields that I want to specialise in.

Gary can you advise me of your site address

Thanks

[W Petz]

Soldbuchs vs. Wehrpasses

Hi All,

I tend to like Soldbuchs for the reasons many others have said...carried by the soldier but I have many Wehrpasses as well. I suppose it comes down to what you collect overall as it is always nice to find one that fits into your collection. I collect anything Panzer, Fallschirmjaeger, Hermann Goering Division, and LW Field Division which can be expensive. The entries into Soldbuchs and Wehrpasses can be diverse and I try to find them with the urkunde to match.....that makes it even more intriguing. Luckily I started collecting many years ago before they got expensive. One interesting thing....I found the wooden box marked for Wehrpasses to an Infantry unit at a flea market in Germany. Now that would be a life long project....filling the box with wehrpasses from that unit. Bill