I picked up this fantastic Fallschirmschützenschein (Parachute Jump License) at the Allentown, PA, gun and militaria show this past weekend. After obtaining the license, I wrote the following to author Eric Queen:
I was at the show in Allentown, PA, this weekend and picked up the Fallschirmschützenschein for Oberleutnant Hans Wiesniewski. The photo is stamped II./Fallschirmjaeger-Regiment 1 and the inside is signed by Hauptmann Fritz Prager. Do you think this soldier jumped in Poland, Hommand, and Crete? Do you happen to have any information on this officer? Any idea what the cipher is on his shoulderboard?
Eric replied:
Interesting license. Clearly back dated to the date in which Wiesniewski would have originally qualified (in July 38) not when this particular license was issued (which would have had to have been after March 1939 when the army paratroopers were first issued Lw. uniforms. I have seen this before. Not an uncommon practice when the FIB guys had to turn in their army license in exchange for a Lw. one. Depended on the clerk. Some captured the date of the original qualification (as in this case) and some captured the date the new license was issued. Prager signs on 23.6.38 as Capt. and Bn. commander. There wasn't even a 2nd Bn. in June of 38. All perfectly legit but misleading unless you know the back story. I have his name on my master list of army paratroopers but no other information that I can find. Until finding out otherwise I would assume that he was at least at Wola Gulowska and Moerdijk. Crete, etc. no way to say at this point. Interesting that the promotion section has been updated but not the qualification section.
Here is some basic information about Hauptmann (later Major) Fritz Prager:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_Prager
I may be wrong, but I think it is possible that Wiesniewski became a bomber pilot. Horst Schiebert's books show that on 10 August 1942, an Oberleutnant (First Lieutenant) Johann (Hans is the abbreviated version for Johann) Wiesniewski was awarded the Ehrenpokal (Honor Goblet) and on 23 November 1943, was awarded the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold (German Cross in Gold) while serving as a pilot in a Kampfgeschwader (Bombardment Wing). On the Internet, I found a second mention of an Oberleutnant Johann Wiesniewski receiving the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold:
http://www.ww2awards.com/person/27750
This Web page states that he served with the 2. Staffel (2nd Squadron) of Kampfgeschwader 3 (Bombardment Wing 3) and received the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 5 November 1942.
I haven't been able to identify the cipher on his shoulderboard, but I have a feeling that it is from a flight training school.
If anyone has any additional information regarding Oberleutnant Wiesniewski, I would like to hear from you.
Barry
I was at the show in Allentown, PA, this weekend and picked up the Fallschirmschützenschein for Oberleutnant Hans Wiesniewski. The photo is stamped II./Fallschirmjaeger-Regiment 1 and the inside is signed by Hauptmann Fritz Prager. Do you think this soldier jumped in Poland, Hommand, and Crete? Do you happen to have any information on this officer? Any idea what the cipher is on his shoulderboard?
Eric replied:
Interesting license. Clearly back dated to the date in which Wiesniewski would have originally qualified (in July 38) not when this particular license was issued (which would have had to have been after March 1939 when the army paratroopers were first issued Lw. uniforms. I have seen this before. Not an uncommon practice when the FIB guys had to turn in their army license in exchange for a Lw. one. Depended on the clerk. Some captured the date of the original qualification (as in this case) and some captured the date the new license was issued. Prager signs on 23.6.38 as Capt. and Bn. commander. There wasn't even a 2nd Bn. in June of 38. All perfectly legit but misleading unless you know the back story. I have his name on my master list of army paratroopers but no other information that I can find. Until finding out otherwise I would assume that he was at least at Wola Gulowska and Moerdijk. Crete, etc. no way to say at this point. Interesting that the promotion section has been updated but not the qualification section.
Here is some basic information about Hauptmann (later Major) Fritz Prager:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_Prager
I may be wrong, but I think it is possible that Wiesniewski became a bomber pilot. Horst Schiebert's books show that on 10 August 1942, an Oberleutnant (First Lieutenant) Johann (Hans is the abbreviated version for Johann) Wiesniewski was awarded the Ehrenpokal (Honor Goblet) and on 23 November 1943, was awarded the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold (German Cross in Gold) while serving as a pilot in a Kampfgeschwader (Bombardment Wing). On the Internet, I found a second mention of an Oberleutnant Johann Wiesniewski receiving the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold:
http://www.ww2awards.com/person/27750
This Web page states that he served with the 2. Staffel (2nd Squadron) of Kampfgeschwader 3 (Bombardment Wing 3) and received the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 5 November 1942.
I haven't been able to identify the cipher on his shoulderboard, but I have a feeling that it is from a flight training school.
If anyone has any additional information regarding Oberleutnant Wiesniewski, I would like to hear from you.
Barry
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