DIARIES...New Thread Idea

[Rick White]

Hi,

Here is an idea for a new thread (unless I have missed one already)....diaries!

I have been collecting diaries for some time now. My idea of a perfect group is one with medals, documents, a photo album, and a diary. I am fortunate enough to have several groups like this.

I also collect single diaries. Below is my favorite. It covers the man's service during the Poland campaign. It is absoultely beautiful. The guy must have been an artist. The pics speak for themselves.

Sadly, I have not had the time to translate it yet! One of these days....



















How about you guys? Have any to share??


Rick

[Rick White]

okay...surely I am not the ONLY diary collector here!




Rick

[Rick White]

Man, I feel like I am talking to myself in here!

Here is another nice little diary. This one is to a Lt. who was WIA while serving with the 19. Pz. Pio. Bat. (part of 19. Pz. Div.) on Dec. 11, 1942. He records that 13 shell splinters were removed from his body in the field hospital but 28 were still left when they shipped him out. He recovered and later went on to serve with the Pz. Div. "Feldherrnhalle."



Rick

[François SAEZ]

Sorry Rick, no diaries on my side, I whish I had one.

[Akira Takiguchi]

I have some, I'll post a few images during the weekend, if I can spare some time

[Rick White]

Ahh...nice to see some life in here

Look forward to seeing what you guys may have.

François, I thought for sure you would have a good LW diary with some of your more extensive groups. But then, when you have Flugbucher and photo albums, that is as good as a diary!

Rick

[Stijn David]

Diaries

Hello,


Im sorry i do not have any in my possesion but Please Akira show us one of your nicest ones ( you know wich one im talking about )


Great thread anyway .


Friendly Greetings,

[Akira Takiguchi]

OK, let's start with an "armored" one (Stijn stay calm, you'll get what you want to get... probably by Sunday ). Here's a photo album and a typed diary of a soldier from <i>Panzer-Aufkl&auml;rungsabteilung</i> 57 (6.<i>Panzer-Division</i>). They describe the battle from the beginning of <i>Barbarossa</i> to the assault into Leningrad.

Diary and photo album
<img src="http://www.history.jp/PzAA57/PzAA57-1.jpg">

A page from the diary
<img src="http://www.history.jp/PzAA57/PzAA57-2.jpg">

It includes a map
<img src="http://www.history.jp/PzAA57/PzAA57-3.jpg">

Photo album includes many interesting pictures
<img src="http://www.history.jp/PzAA57/PzAA57-4.jpg">

[Rick White]

Hi Akira,

Okay! Now we are rolling!

That is a great diary. You can tell the owner went to great lengths to put it together. Is it an operational diary, or the man's diary of his personal experiences? I don't think I have seen the vehicle you have pictured there. It looks like a Sd.Kfz. 222, 232, or 233....?

Nice one!

Rick

[Akira Takiguchi]

Dear Rick, it is his personal diary. As you may have read in the pictured page, diary seemed to have been an important part of his life in russia.

The vehicle is an Sd.Kfz.231 (8 wheeler), with an interesting "mouse" marking (not visible in the scan). Some loose photos from this grouping were split off before my purchase. I managed to restore a few. I know where some still are, I hope I'll get them in the future

Well, here goes the next one --- this one's pretty official; a copy of <i>Kriegstagebuch</i> personalized for Oberst Enno Erich von Limburg-Hetlingen (RK May 3, 1945). He was the commander of II./<i>Infanterie-Regiment</i> 6, 30.<i>Infanterie-Division</i> during the Poland campaign in 1939. Contact prints are pasted on to the KTB pages, making the diary very much "colorful" (Stijn, I hope you have a bit more patience, I'm posting these from my already-scanned library ).

Cover
<img src="http://www.history.jp/IR6/IR6-1.jpg">

A diary page
<img src="http://www.history.jp/IR6/IR6-2.jpg">

[Richard]

Guys, these are really great! I must admit that in my years of collecting, I have never run across any diaries, only photo albums that may have had some personal notations made in them. These look very interesting and have to be a blast to read and go through. Rick, I really like the first one you have listed. It seems to cover this individual's entire history in the campaign up to and including the EK2 he won. Really nice artwork and looks very professional.
Richard V

[Rick White]

Akira - another great one! I like the photos that are added. Are they official photographs from the unit or ones von Limburg-Hetlingen took personally? You can certainly see that they had a lot more time on their hands during the Poland campaign to make pretty little diaries like mine and yours. I couldn't imagine somthing this elaborate, say, during the later months of the war.

Do you specialize in collecting diaries?

Richard - thanks for the kind comments. They are tough to find but a real joy when you can get a good one.

Rick

[Stijn David]

another great one

Hello Akira ( + the rest offcoarse )


Thanks for sharing these great pieces with us , you really know how to make people wait i must say +> and yes im trying to be patient to see the one we are talking about , altough it is not easy .



Friendly greetings,

ps : Akira, can you send me a email at : stijnd@gmx.net , it seems that some persons are having problems with contacting me so i would like to know if this is also the case with you , have you received my last email ?

[Akira Takiguchi]

Hello everyone, weekend at last (at least in Japan )!

Richard, I agree with you, Rick's first diary is very decorative, something I would try to complete if this is an auction!

Rick, the photographs are of very good quality and I would say they are taken by <i>Bildberichters</i> of the unit. I believe that usual KTBs do not come with photos (aside from <i>Anlagen</i>), so one can say that this is rather a rare find.

I do collect <i>Tageb&uuml;cher</i> whenever possible. My main collectable is photo lot and photo albums, but if they come with <i>Wehrp&auml;sse</i>, <i>Soldb&uuml;cher</i> or such diaries... That's my true pleasure. Identification of photos are really interesting hobby with these additional paperworks.

Let's move on, first from a <i>Panzer-Aufkl&auml;rer</i>.

Already described to a certain degree in <a href="http://www.ne.jp/asahi/wwii/panzer/images">my webpage</a>, these photo albums and a diary of an NCO is a quite interesting lot.

Photo albums and diary
<img src="http://www.history.jp/Tagebuch/PzAA92-1.jpg">

He started the war as a member of <i>Aufkl&auml;rungsabteilung 4</i>, then moved to <i>Panzer-aufkl&auml;rungsabteilung</i> 92 (20.<i>Panzer-Division</i>).

The diary describes his life in Pz.A.A.92 (private diary).
<img src="http://www.history.jp/Tagebuch/PzAA92-2.jpg">

As seen in the earlier picture, the diary has a <i>Stahlhelm</i> on its cover. This was actually something sold for the soldiers from renowned <i>Gro&szlig;deutschland</i> division --- yes, he was again transferred to G.D.

[Akira Takiguchi]

I wasn't sure if I should show this one, because I haven't done any real research on this one, but what the hell,

A photo album from a panzer <i>Generalmajor</i> S. and his 1943 pocket schedule.

<img src="http://www.history.jp/Tagebuch/GenmajS-1.jpg">

This pocket book is filled with entries like this and his friends' <i>Feldpostnummern</i>.

<img src="http://www.history.jp/Tagebuch/GenmajS-2.jpg">