Can anyone translate a document in Japanese ?

[Martin W]

Hi guys,

i recently picked up a large grouping of documents and photo's that came from Kriegsberichter Heinz Tischer.

Tischer served on the 2nd cruise of the Hilfskreuzer Thor and documented the cruise,photographically.

He produced a book on the subject.

Within the grouping is this one document in Japanese.I do not know the language and i wondered if we have some members here from Japan,or others who can read Japanese that could translate the script ??


I would be extremely grateful for any help with the translation.

Many thanks,Martin.

[Torpedomaat]

It's a very nice historical material about the explosion accident on November 30, Showa 17 (1942). Thank you for sharing.

Best regards,
Haruki

[Martin W]

Hi Haruki,

that is just ecxellent.

Thank you for taking the time to translate the document and presenting it the way you did.

I really appreciate this.

I knew that some of the officers from the Thor were billeted in the "Hotel New Grand" after the Thor was destroyed by fire in Yokohama Harbor.

It is nice to see this confirmation.

He is an image of some of the Thor crewman that was taken in Japan.

Again,many thanks,Martin.

[Eric JB]

Great document Martin !, and quiclky translated by Haruki (thanks for that too !)

As I see "picked up a large grouping" .... is it possible to show more of it ?

Best regards

Eric-Jan

[Martin W]

As I see "picked up a large grouping" .... is it possible to show more of it ?

Best regards

Eric-Jan

Sure E-J.more than happy to.

I would like to start with a couple of paragraphs from a letter that Heinz Tischer wrote back in the late 1980's,to a collector here in the U.S that he corresponded with.

In the first part of this this letter he responds to a question in regards to what happened to the traditions cap badges that were worn by the crewmen on the Thor.
As we can see it appears that most of the badges were destroyed in the "Yokohama" fire.

The Thor "traditions" badge consisted of a fist and hammer emblem.i will post some images of the badge in wear later.

What i find interesting in this letter is how Tischer describes the destruction of his negatives in the latter part of the War.

I do have a couple of photographs by Tischer that i consider to be original prints,most of the other images i have appear to copies that he had made from his original prints,but still valuable to me for their content in regards to the Thor.




Regards,Martin.

[Martin W]

Hi EJ,

in the letter above Heinz Tischer refers to his book.

The book titled "Die Abenteuer des letzen Kapers" was published in 1983.

It contains about 200 of Tischer's photo's that he took on the cruise of the Thor 2.

I was lucky to pick up a copy on Amazon a few months ago from a bookshop in Germany.

When i received the book i could not beleive my luck.

There was a written dedication in the front of the book from one of the Thor crewmen,Hellmut Osten.

Regards,Martin.

[Martin W]

Now this photo is one i beleive to be an original print and is the only one i have that shows Heinz Tischer in the shot.

He is standing second from the left and wearing glasses.The Officer on the right ,with the dagger is Dr. Kurt Sudan, the Thor's Administrative Officer.

The photo was taken on Balikpapan,Borneo in Sept.1942.

Although you cannot see in detail,note that the crewman on the far left wears the Thor traditions badge on the left side of his cap.

Regards,Martin.

[Eric JB]

Martin,

That must be a fantastic grouping !

The book did have a great bonus for you, with that dedication (in Norwegian / Swedish ?) from one of the crewmembers.......turning that already interesting book into a one of a kind one.

Looking forward to see more from your grouping.

Thanks for showing.

Best regards

Eric-Jan

[Martin W]

Hi Eric-Jan,

most of the documents in the grouping are from the Heimstab Ausland,informing the family in Germany of the "well-being" of Tischer while he was "stranded" in Japan.

The best part of the group,besides the photographs are a couple of pages from his Soldbuch.

I have no idea why he did not keep his Solbuch intact and why he removed the pages i am showing below ??

The one page shows his awards.

He was awarded the EKII on 24-12-42.
He was then awarded the HK abz. on 25-1 43.

The signature next to the HK abz.entry,is that of F.Kapt,Dr Karl Bohme of the Heimstab Ausland.His signature can be seen on many documents in regards to crewmen from the Thor and Michel.

After the fire and destruction of the Thor in Yokohama he was awarded the EKI on 22-2-43.

Heinz Tischer made it back to Europe on the Blockade Breaker,"Pietro Orseolo".
The ship departed from Kobe,Japan on 25-1-43 and arrived safely at Bordeaux on 2-4-43.
As we can see he was awarded the Blockade Breaker abz. on 21-7-43 and it appears that he was awarded the EKI while in service on this ship ?

Note the stamps on the pages below from the "1.Marine-Kriegsberichter-Kompanie".

Fascinating stuff for me personally.

Regards,Martin.

[pauke]

pages

I might be able to offer an explanation of the removed pages from the Soldbuch. An old long-time soldier I knew was the I-A Schreiber in several units, at the end of the war surrendering in the Ruhr Pocket with Pz. Gren. Lehr Regt. 902. Just prior to the surrender he tore the "critical" pages out his Soldbuch, including awards received as he figured (correctly) that no one would notice it at the end of the war in a mass of prisoners. And he still proudly had the pages up until his death in 2011.

[Martin W]

Thanks for that Pauke.

An interesting explanation and it may well be the case here.

Many thanks,Martin.

[Eric JB]

Martin,

"Fascinating stuff for me personally."

I can clearly understand that.

Great material, and fascinating for me too !

Best regards

Eric-Jan