Fuehrer Grenadier Division Wehrpass Part 2

[Doug Nash]

Now that I'm back home (for the moment) I've made some higher-res scans of the Wehrpass in question.
It would seem that his home replacement unit was Pz.Pion.Ers.Btl. 29 and had been temporarily discharged for medical reasons from 26 Jan 44 until 1 July 44, when he was assigned to Marsch-Kp. Pz.Pion.Ers.Bt. 29 prior to rejoining his field unit, Schwere-Panzer Bruecken Kolonne 843 somewhere on the Eastern Front. Incidentally, this type of unit was not a rear-echelon, ho-hum kind of unit - they built assault bridges for Panzer Armies and often were located quite close to the front line - literally, a Panzer Armee could go nowhere without them.
Anyway, he was with this unit from 7 July to 18 November 1944, a period of service which include combat in the Carpathian foothills and combat against Slovak partisans, for which he recieved close combat credit (pretty unusual for a soldier in a bridge laying unit!). He then was recalled for some reason or another (could be medical, but there are no entries on page 34) on 18 November 1944 to his home depot unit, where he remained until 14 February 1945. On 15 February 1945 an entry states that he was assigned to Stab/Pz.Pio.Btl. "Fuehrer Grenadier Division." No further entries follow.
The anomaly to which I refer is found on pages 26 and 46, shown below. Both of these entries show him being medically cleared for discharge (page 26) on 18 Feb. 45 by 2./Kraftfahr-Park Ers.Abt. 9 and then on page 46 he is shown having recieved discharge pay on the same date by the same unit.
Now, this would seem to indicate that either he was assigned to the FGD on 15 Feb 45 or was discharged from the Wehrmacht 3 days later. Which is it???? Since the soldier and the Wehrpass travelled separately (the Soldier was only allowed to carry the Soldbuch while on active duty while the Wehrpass was mailed from one unit to the other, not hand-carried) it is possible that a clerical error has occurred here and that he in fact WAS assigned to the FGD, where he possibly finished out the war. Or that the entry for the FGD on 15 Feb is a fake, but i doubt it. I think it's legit, but only the WaSt can clear this matter up - I've already sent an inquiry. In the meantime, take a clearer look and judge for yourself. This is graduate-level Wehrpass interpretation, and I'd welcome your thoughts and opinions.
Regards,
Doug

[Doug Nash]

Here's another page

Here's the results of a medical exam - if anyone can translate what the reasons for his discharge are, I'd appreciate it.
Doug

[Doug Nash]

Last Page

Hi - Here's the last page showing his discharge pay.

[Edward]

Doug, he was medically discharged and received pay to that effect on Feb 18, 1945 from 2./Kraftfahr-Park Ers.Abt. 9 in Kassel. Prior to that he was with Pz.Pion.Ers.Btl. 29 in Munden. Both belonged to Wehrkriess IX. Also, he would not have received the discharge pay if he had not been actually medically discharged. Discharges on medical grounds occured up to and well past the end of the war.

[Doug Nash]

Hmmmm....

Yes, I thought that as well. So then it's quite possible that he WAS assigned to the FGD on 15 Feb 45 but did not join that Division because he was medically discharged before he actually reported to Pz.Pio.Btl. "FGD"...interesting. I wonder if he was in collusion with the inspecting physician at Kraftfahr-Park Ers.Abt. 9, bribing him, for instance, to make him "Unfit for duty." That's why it would be nice if I could access the WASt database directly rather than have to wait 4 or 5 months. There is a good chance then that though he was assigned on paper to the "FGD", he never physically reported in, since you'll note he never had a unit Stammrollenummer assigned (one has not been entered in his Wehrpass for that unit).
Also, here's another thesis to consider: I've noted that there's a marked tendency for the paperwork on late-war Wehrpasses to be sloppy or incomplete - this Soldier's Wehrpass could well have been kept at his depot unit and was never mailed out to his new unit when he was transferred, like it was supposed to. Or it could have been waylaid or lost in transit. This Wehrpass came out of Sweden, so there's no way of knowing for sure. Also, by late February 1945, the Ersatzheer was essentially rounding up any soldier who could remotely shoulder a weapon and was sending them to the front as cannon fodder. This particular Wehrpass could have been an instance where the home depot was overruled, resulting in an unfit soldier being sent to the field army. After all, his unit entries page in his Wehrpass has not been closed out, which was required if he was medically discharged or separated from active service. Unfit soldiers were in fact sent back to the front before their wounds were healed - there are too many reports in US Army POW interrogation records of captured convalescing veterans who had been rounded up out of hospitals and sent to the front with open wounds still healing and swathed in bandages.
Let's hear some more - this is getting interesting.
Doug

[Gary T]

Where exactly in Sweden did this come from? PvL?

If you have sent a request to WaST and this soldier was born less than 90 years ago and was not KIA then they will not give you any information if you are not a relative.

It would have had to reach FGD for that information to be entered. As it stands I would say there is more possibility that it was the Kraftfahr-Park Ers.Abt. 9 entry (or release office) that hasn't been entered due to the administrative issues at the end of the war. Without confirmation from Wast that this man served with FGD I would not pay the extra for the FGD entry...especially if it's passed through certain hands shall we say.

[Doug Nash]

FGD Wehrpass

Gary,
I've had no trouble at all dealing with the WASt - they've answered every request I have asked of them - I just submit the request, wait for the response and pay the fee. Maybe you pissed them off?
Look, I paid only 100 Euros for this item. I would have paid that much just for the rather interesting campaign credit and close combat days that have been entered inside. If someone REALLY wanted to hump this up, you would have wanted to do it in such as way as to be able to ask 200 Euros or higher. But let's just say for the sake of argument that if I was an unscrupulous dealer and was to fake a FGD entry, I would have done it up with everything - give him a FGD Stammrollenummer, perhaps a sexy Silesian battle entry or two, some fake stamps and an award or two. There is nothing like that in this book. What I now believe is that this individual had recieved orders to join the FGD, but was probably medically discharged before he could physically arrive there. Only the WASt can tell, so when I get my response, I'll let you know.
Cheers,
Doug

[Gary T]

Pissed them off? What are you talking about? I've dealt with them many times.

If a man was born less than 90 years ago and is not reported as being KIA then by law they are not supposed to provide you with information unless you can prove you are a relative. Sometimes they do, yes but more often than not no...depends who deals with the query and how much they stick to the rules. Just like if you say you are a relative you'll get back photocopies of wehrstammbuch's, soldbuchs, career files etc. Mention you're just researching the individual but aren't a relative and you'll just get back a couple of sides of A4.

I'm not sure what price has to do with anything. Do you think if PvL actually thought the DKiG WP on his site was original he'd be selling it for 475 Euros?

Personally, I think the entry could well be original - a mistake - or it could be a fake done by who knows. What adds up more - the discharge entries or the FGD entry? And, more importanly, why do I even care?

[Doug Nash]

Fgd

Like I said, I've had no problems getting material from the WASt - I just say I'm doing research, which we all are. I've heard that if you tell them you're a collector, they'll shut you down. Just got back a response from them last week regarding a rather neat SB from a fellow who had been in the 17th Pz.Div., then Afrika-Div. 999, then Sturm-Div. Rhodos and finally Pz.Gren.Div. Brandenburg. I was merely seeking opinions from a variety of collectors on this highly respected website about this particular piece who might have an interest in the research aspects of this case. So far the response is about 50-50. Will post the results of the WASt request later to let folks how it all turns out though. See you back in 4 or 5 months!
Cheers,
Doug

[Edward]

Yes, I thought that as well. So then it's quite possible that he WAS assigned to the FGD on 15 Feb 45 but did not join that Division because he was medically discharged before he actually reported to Pz.Pio.Btl. "FGD"...interesting. I wonder if he was in collusion with the inspecting physician at Kraftfahr-Park Ers.Abt. 9, bribing him, for instance, to make him "Unfit for duty." That's why it would be nice if I could access the WASt database directly rather than have to wait 4 or 5 months. There is a good chance then that though he was assigned on paper to the "FGD", he never physically reported in, since you'll note he never had a unit Stammrollenummer assigned (one has not been entered in his Wehrpass for that unit).
Also, here's another thesis to consider: I've noted that there's a marked tendency for the paperwork on late-war Wehrpasses to be sloppy or incomplete - this Soldier's Wehrpass could well have been kept at his depot unit and was never mailed out to his new unit when he was transferred, like it was supposed to. Or it could have been waylaid or lost in transit. This Wehrpass came out of Sweden, so there's no way of knowing for sure. Also, by late February 1945, the Ersatzheer was essentially rounding up any soldier who could remotely shoulder a weapon and was sending them to the front as cannon fodder. This particular Wehrpass could have been an instance where the home depot was overruled, resulting in an unfit soldier being sent to the field army. After all, his unit entries page in his Wehrpass has not been closed out, which was required if he was medically discharged or separated from active service. Unfit soldiers were in fact sent back to the front before their wounds were healed - there are too many reports in US Army POW interrogation records of captured convalescing veterans who had been rounded up out of hospitals and sent to the front with open wounds still healing and swathed in bandages.
Let's hear some more - this is getting interesting.
Doug

Doug, did some checking into this and could find nothing on a Pi Stab Marsch Komp for the FGD. The FGB may have had one, but could find nothing. FGB was very quickly enlarged to a division on Jan 30, 1945 in the Koblenz area. It was then sent to Stargard, Pommerania between 6-10 Feb. Fully 5 days after the Feb 15., 1945 join date in question!

Imo, if his medical discharge was overruled then both the medical discharge and pay entries would not have been entered, or at least an entry would have been made showing that they had been voided. Imo, it seems more likely that he left his replacement battalion in Munden and was discharged on Feb 18, 1945 in Kassel ending his military service. Not an unusual occurence late in the war.