Wehrpass for Soldier who Committed Suicide

[Stormfighter]

It was slim pickings for ID collectors at the Show of Shows this year. Although the show was expanded (500 more tables I think), bigger isn't always better. Yes, there were more tables, but there was also a lot more junk to sort through. I usually buy a dozen or more "good" IDs, but this year I only purchased one "high-end" example (a member of the Panzer Regiment of the Führer-Begleit-Division) and had to pay for it.

I want to show scans of this Wehrpass for a soldier who decided to commit suicide. Although I am sure thousands did the same, I have never owned a Wehrpass for one of them. Ironically, this soldier's last name was Fröhlich, meaning "happy" in English. No one will ever know why Fröhlich, a farm hand in civilian life, nearing his twenty-fifth birthday, killed himself in Russia, but his action shows a part of the war that is rarely addressed. One can only imagine how his parents grieved when they received his Wehrpass. They couldn't tell their family and friends that he had died in combat for Greater Germany, but had decided to shoot himself, which was looked down upon during the Third Reich. Fröhlich received Waffenmeister (Armorer/Ordnance) training, so he was well-trained with weaponry.

Under the entry regarding his cause of death "Freitod durch Erschiessen" ("Suicide Using A Firearm"), Wolchow is written in pencil. I haven't had time to research his unit (Infanterie-Regiment 489); however, if anyone is interested in helping me determine if this entry is accurate, I would like to know if he killed himself in this area of Russia.

Barry

[Stormfighter]

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[Stormfighter]

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[Gerdan]

And here his Volksbund entry:

His grave could not be found till today.

Bruno Fröhlich

He was burried here: Grjady / Tschudowo - Rußland

Nachname:Fröhlich
Vorname:Bruno
Dienstgrad:Obergefreiter
Geburtsdatum:14.08.1917
Geburtsort:Rehhorst
Todes-/Vermisstendatum:29.07.1942
Todes-/Vermisstenort:1,5 km ostw. Grjadi


Gerdan

[Erwin L]

Very interesting and otherwise sober Wehrpass, Barry. Makes you wonder why commited suicide...

Regards

Erwin

[Jean-Loup]

Perhaps the nazis didnt like him? I have the names of two soldiers who comited suicide in Nice, and managed to find this on google about one of them.

[Tim DC]

Very nice catch, Barry. I have seen a few, but never owned this kind of Wehrpass myself. It must have happened quite often, but I would guess it was not always recorded as such in the Wehrpass, or perhaps blacked out with ink when sent home to the family.

[peterm]

Perhaps the nazis didnt like him? I have the names of two soldiers who comited suicide in Nice, and managed to find this on google about one of them.

I don't think so. He had been promoted 3 times in 1,5 years and that wouldn't have been so with problems of the kind You meant. As often, we will never know why this man comitted suicide.

Kind regards, Peter

[Jean-Loup]

Sorry for the thread highjacking.
Can you please tell me more about this doctor, or of where I can find more info on him?
You are correct, perhaps the wife used the nazi excuse to cover up another reason for suicide.
Or perhaps he changed his mind about national socialism despite of his promotions?

JL

[Gerdan]

On page 34 we do not find any entry dealing with depressions or others mental deseases.

Gerdan

[brooksbz]

Pls Post

I wish Stormfighter would post the "high-end" example from the member of the Panzer Regiment of the Führer-Begleit-Division.

[jmark]

Very interesting, Barry! I too am surprised this entry was left in the Wehrpass. It looks like a good one to research, particularly trying to establish the situation when he killed himself (was his unit in hard combat or in rest positions, did he recently receive bad news from home, ie. death of family in bombing raids, etc.).

I want to show scans of this Wehrpass for a soldier who decided to commit suicide. Although I am sure thousands did the same, I have never owned a Wehrpass for one of them.

During my research, I have come across the names of many officers (at least several dozen, perhaps over one hundred) who committed suicide, some in the homeland, others at the front. Many people take their own lives today, so it's easy to imagine possible reasons being multiplied in a stressful wartime situation.

Jason

[Jean-Loup]

"Many people take their own lives today, so it's easy to imagine possible reasons being multiplied in a stressful wartime situation."

Actualy I believe in times of war, suicide rates (for the entire population) decrease a lot compared to in peace time. It seems paradoxical, but I suspect the fact that you are pressured, living in hard conditions and see death from closer then usual, maybe make you appreciate life more.
In rich countries today people also commit suicide more then in poor contries. When you have to fight to survive, you appreciate life and dont have time to be depressed.

[jmark]

Hi Jean-Loup,

You're probably right about suicide rates decreasing, I based my statement on anecdotal evidence from my own research. I know of several cases (two will be in my next book) of wives who committed suicide because their husbands were killed in action. And I can't forget to mention the hundreds, if not thousands of Germans who committed suicide at the end of the Stalingrad battle.

All the best,
Jason

[Stormfighter]

We'll probably never know why Fröhlich killed himself. I am a little surprised at how early he did so (July 1942). Who knows, maybe he received a letter from his girlfriend saying that she wanted to break off their relationship - people kill themselves for all kinds of reasons. The German dealer from whom I bought this Wehrpass shared a story from his grandfather regarding Wehrmacht suicides. He told me that in 1944, several members of his grandfather's unit decided to end their lives, but not by their own hand. He said that the soldiers (three or more) were in a trench and were under Russian machine gun fire. All at once, they jumped out of the trench and were gunned down. These soldiers chose a quick death. It was indeed suicide, but probably couldn't be officially designated as suicide. Gefallen (Killed in Action) would have been entered in their Wehrpaesse, which was better than Freitod from the standpoint of honor. Their next of kin would only have known that they fell in battle.
One of the first German soldiers I ever met, Erich Podleisky (he changed his last name to Underwood when he immigrated to the U.S.), served on the Russian Front for two years. He told me that during the retreat from the East, he personally saw "many" German soldiers in foxholes and trenches that had shot themselves with their handguns and rifles.
There is no way to know how many Germans took their own lives, but I am sure it was in the ten thousand or more.