In the past few days, I have been posting some German IDs I acquired at this year’s Show of Shows. I did not buy this Soldbuch at the show, but recently bought it from a person in Germany and when I returned from the Show of Shows, it was here waiting for me. Many of us have seen battle-damaged Soldbücher. This example is not battle-damaged, but is unique in its own way.
The Soldbuch belonged to SS-Obergrenadier Werner Zimmermann, who had basic training with the 7. Stammkompanie of SS-Panzer-Grenadier Ausbildungs und Ersatz Bataillon 12 (7th Cadre Company of SS Armored Infantry Training and Replacement Battalion 12) in Arnheim in the Netherlands. This is the same unit to which SS-Panzer-Grenadier Albert Elflein was assigned nine days earlier. There is a very good chance that these two young soldiers knew each other:
http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=902021
During Zimmermann’s basic training, he was issued a Zielfernrohr (Scope) for his K-98 rifle, suggesting that he was being considered as a candidate to become a sniper. After Zimmermann completed his basic training, he was assigned to SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 22 of the 10. SS-Panzer-Division “Frundsberg” (10th SS Armored Division “Frundsberg”). It’s unclear when Zimmermann joined SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 22, but it was probably sometime in September or October 1944 when the division was fighting in Arnheim.
This Soldbuch especially intrigued me because of its large, clear photo of Zimmermann and because the top of pages 2 and 3 were covered with mud from World War II. Zimmermann’s birthdate, birthplace, religion and occupation were unreadable because of the dried mud, but I still hoped I could determine whether he survived the war or was killed. My only clue was his year of birth listed within his Wehrnummer (Service Number) written at the bottom of page 1, that is, 1926. As luck would have it, I found a photo of Zimmermann’s grave on Find A Grave, which shows that he was killed on 5 December 1944. According to my research, he was killed somewhere between Geilenkirchen and Linnich on the same day his unit was withdrawn from the Western Front - Zimmermann was one of the last members of the “Frundsberg” division to lose his life there. On pages 246 and 247 of Panzers East and West: The German 10th SS Panzer Division from the Eastern Front to Normandy, there is information regarding the division's fighting on 5 December 1944 and its withdrawal that same day.
The heavy mud on pages 2 and 3 tell a story. Most likely, after Zimmermann fell in battle, an American soldier approached his lifeless body, rifled through his pockets and pulled out his Soldbuch. The GI may have looked at it and then tossed it in a muddy terrain next to his body - the mud speaks for the terrain east of Geilenkirchen on 5 December 1944. When the Soldbuch was tossed in the muddy terrain, it opened to pages 2 and 3; as you can see, a significant amount of mud adhered to it. Because the Soldbuch was acquired from a person in Germany, I do not believe it was brought back to the U.S. as a souvenir by an American soldier. I think a German citizen or soldier most likely picked it up from the battlefield, perhaps in hope of returning it to his family. Today, Zimmermann is buried in Ysselsteyn in the Netherlands. Zimmermann never received a leave during his brief military service. When he left his parents’ home in Leipzig sometime in April 1944 to report to his basic training unit, they didn’t realize it was the last time they would see each other.
Curiously, Zimmermann wrote "Psalm 46” on the inside cover of the Soldbuch below his photo. You can refer to this psalm in English and German in the following links:
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage...46&version=KJV
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage...ersion=SCH1951
Psalm 46 addresses "Confidence in God’s Protection and Power;" unfortunately, Zimmermann noting this psalm in his Soldbuch was of no help to him. Zimmermann was just 18 years old when he fell in battle.
Barry
The Soldbuch belonged to SS-Obergrenadier Werner Zimmermann, who had basic training with the 7. Stammkompanie of SS-Panzer-Grenadier Ausbildungs und Ersatz Bataillon 12 (7th Cadre Company of SS Armored Infantry Training and Replacement Battalion 12) in Arnheim in the Netherlands. This is the same unit to which SS-Panzer-Grenadier Albert Elflein was assigned nine days earlier. There is a very good chance that these two young soldiers knew each other:
http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=902021
During Zimmermann’s basic training, he was issued a Zielfernrohr (Scope) for his K-98 rifle, suggesting that he was being considered as a candidate to become a sniper. After Zimmermann completed his basic training, he was assigned to SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 22 of the 10. SS-Panzer-Division “Frundsberg” (10th SS Armored Division “Frundsberg”). It’s unclear when Zimmermann joined SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 22, but it was probably sometime in September or October 1944 when the division was fighting in Arnheim.
This Soldbuch especially intrigued me because of its large, clear photo of Zimmermann and because the top of pages 2 and 3 were covered with mud from World War II. Zimmermann’s birthdate, birthplace, religion and occupation were unreadable because of the dried mud, but I still hoped I could determine whether he survived the war or was killed. My only clue was his year of birth listed within his Wehrnummer (Service Number) written at the bottom of page 1, that is, 1926. As luck would have it, I found a photo of Zimmermann’s grave on Find A Grave, which shows that he was killed on 5 December 1944. According to my research, he was killed somewhere between Geilenkirchen and Linnich on the same day his unit was withdrawn from the Western Front - Zimmermann was one of the last members of the “Frundsberg” division to lose his life there. On pages 246 and 247 of Panzers East and West: The German 10th SS Panzer Division from the Eastern Front to Normandy, there is information regarding the division's fighting on 5 December 1944 and its withdrawal that same day.
The heavy mud on pages 2 and 3 tell a story. Most likely, after Zimmermann fell in battle, an American soldier approached his lifeless body, rifled through his pockets and pulled out his Soldbuch. The GI may have looked at it and then tossed it in a muddy terrain next to his body - the mud speaks for the terrain east of Geilenkirchen on 5 December 1944. When the Soldbuch was tossed in the muddy terrain, it opened to pages 2 and 3; as you can see, a significant amount of mud adhered to it. Because the Soldbuch was acquired from a person in Germany, I do not believe it was brought back to the U.S. as a souvenir by an American soldier. I think a German citizen or soldier most likely picked it up from the battlefield, perhaps in hope of returning it to his family. Today, Zimmermann is buried in Ysselsteyn in the Netherlands. Zimmermann never received a leave during his brief military service. When he left his parents’ home in Leipzig sometime in April 1944 to report to his basic training unit, they didn’t realize it was the last time they would see each other.
Curiously, Zimmermann wrote "Psalm 46” on the inside cover of the Soldbuch below his photo. You can refer to this psalm in English and German in the following links:
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage...46&version=KJV
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage...ersion=SCH1951
Psalm 46 addresses "Confidence in God’s Protection and Power;" unfortunately, Zimmermann noting this psalm in his Soldbuch was of no help to him. Zimmermann was just 18 years old when he fell in battle.
Barry
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