During my years of collecting Sodbücher, I have seen examples of a Soldbuch-Ersatz (Replacement Soldbuch), but never owned one. I acquired this example from a friend this weekend. These replacement Soldbücher were issued as a temporary replacement for lost, damaged, worn-out or destroyed Soldbücher.
Before I explain the entries in the Soldbuch-Ersatz, I wanted to ask if others have any examples and if they know how many pages comprised the full Soldbuch. My example is comprised of six pages. The page with Soldbuch-Ersatz printed at top is a single page and the reverse has Truppenteil oder Dienstelle printed at the top. Next are four pages that are attached to each other: first is the awards page (Orden und Erhrenzeichen), then a record of what unit the soldier received his payments (Gebührnisse) from, then the clothing issuance page (Empfangene Dienstbekleidung) and finally, the leave page (Beurlaubungen über fünf Tage)
This example belonged to Gefreiter Hans Wielgosch who was born on 31 October 1923 (his date of birth, that is 3 October, is incorrect as I found his obituary, which gives his correct date of birth - Wielgosch died on 13 June 2011 in Meeden, Germany). Wielgosch was born in Marienhof, Germany. His father, Johann Wielgosch who lived in the district of Herzogshufen (today Ołtaszyn) in Breslau, is listed as his next of kin. Wielgosch's Soldbuch-Ersatz was issued on 20 October 1944 when he was assigned to the 1. Kompanie (1st Company) of Fallschirmjäger-Ersatz-Bataillon Stendal (Paratrooper Replacement Battalion Stendal). On that day, he received a full clothing issuance. Wielgosch received two leaves to Herzogshufen, the first was a Fronturlaub (Leave from the Front) from 16 - 24 August 1944 and the second was a Genesungsurlaub (Recuperation Leave) from 24 October to 9 November 1944. Wielgosch received the following awards: 28 June 1944, Iron Cross IInd Class; 30 June 1944, Infantry Assault Badge; 30 September 1944, Wound Badge in Black. The Iron Cross IInd Class and Infantry Assault Badge were awarded by the renowned Fallshirmjäger-Regiment 6 (Feldpost Number 49323), so he received these awards for fighting at Normandy from D-Day and beyond. After his brief assignment to Fallschirmjäger-Ersatz-Bataillon Stendal, he was assigned to the 2. Kompanie (2nd Company) of Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 2 (Paratrooper Regiment 2), which was part of the 2. Fallschirmjäger-Division (2nd Paratrooper Division). Printed at the bottom of the awards page is a statement that reads as follows: The replacement Soldbuch is valid until [a soldier's] arrival at his new unit.
Before I explain the entries in the Soldbuch-Ersatz, I wanted to ask if others have any examples and if they know how many pages comprised the full Soldbuch. My example is comprised of six pages. The page with Soldbuch-Ersatz printed at top is a single page and the reverse has Truppenteil oder Dienstelle printed at the top. Next are four pages that are attached to each other: first is the awards page (Orden und Erhrenzeichen), then a record of what unit the soldier received his payments (Gebührnisse) from, then the clothing issuance page (Empfangene Dienstbekleidung) and finally, the leave page (Beurlaubungen über fünf Tage)
This example belonged to Gefreiter Hans Wielgosch who was born on 31 October 1923 (his date of birth, that is 3 October, is incorrect as I found his obituary, which gives his correct date of birth - Wielgosch died on 13 June 2011 in Meeden, Germany). Wielgosch was born in Marienhof, Germany. His father, Johann Wielgosch who lived in the district of Herzogshufen (today Ołtaszyn) in Breslau, is listed as his next of kin. Wielgosch's Soldbuch-Ersatz was issued on 20 October 1944 when he was assigned to the 1. Kompanie (1st Company) of Fallschirmjäger-Ersatz-Bataillon Stendal (Paratrooper Replacement Battalion Stendal). On that day, he received a full clothing issuance. Wielgosch received two leaves to Herzogshufen, the first was a Fronturlaub (Leave from the Front) from 16 - 24 August 1944 and the second was a Genesungsurlaub (Recuperation Leave) from 24 October to 9 November 1944. Wielgosch received the following awards: 28 June 1944, Iron Cross IInd Class; 30 June 1944, Infantry Assault Badge; 30 September 1944, Wound Badge in Black. The Iron Cross IInd Class and Infantry Assault Badge were awarded by the renowned Fallshirmjäger-Regiment 6 (Feldpost Number 49323), so he received these awards for fighting at Normandy from D-Day and beyond. After his brief assignment to Fallschirmjäger-Ersatz-Bataillon Stendal, he was assigned to the 2. Kompanie (2nd Company) of Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 2 (Paratrooper Regiment 2), which was part of the 2. Fallschirmjäger-Division (2nd Paratrooper Division). Printed at the bottom of the awards page is a statement that reads as follows: The replacement Soldbuch is valid until [a soldier's] arrival at his new unit.
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