Wanted to share this with you folks, as there are a few things about it that make it out of the ordinary and (I believe) interesting! It is a passport/ID booklet issued by the Deutsches Konsulat to Yokohama Japan. The two-Axis connection itself makes it unique, but the date on which it was issued is also interesting: December 9, 1941......Just 2 days after Pearl Harbor was attacked! Do you think maybe the staff of the German Consulate had a clue that things might be getting busy soon? The Waffenampt stamps are very crisp & clear, the first being dated in '41. Another interesting thing is that big purple stamp from the "Tokyo International Business & Trade Bureau", which is stamped "June 27,1950." Okay.....the girl is not bad looking either .

Now I must confess: I don't read German or Japanese, so when I first saw this was issued by the German "Konsulat" I thought perhaps the woman might be some high-ranking SS or Gestapo person, and started thinking "$$$$ B " for Jim, but when I showed it to a German speaking friend, she told me there was a word there that indicated she was probably just some kind of domestic helper, like a Nanny or something ..............

Dogdaddy

Cool. I've been interested in those Soldbuchs but never been able to get my hands on one. The only paper items I have are "Death Cards" or death announcements.

Steve

Marion's note: I have copied this to our server so we can still see it.

Death Card (front view) of Pvt. Franz Dullinger

Member of an Artillery Regiment

Killed in Action on September 5, 1944,

during the heavy fighting at the GOTHIC Line, Italy.

He is wearing the M-43 cap and on his uniform he

displays an Iron Cross 2nd Class(EK II) ribbon and a

radio operator's patch.

Franz Dullinger is buried in Pomezia, Block 23 Grab 20, just south of Rome.

Both Front and Back sides of the Death Card of

Sgt. Sigfried Ebner - Luftwaffe Field Division, killed 27 June 1944.in Italy.

The Luftwaffe Field Division was an infantry figthing unit made up of

Luftwaffe personel. Twenty(20) divisions were formed and the 19th

and 20th served in Italy.

Sgt Ebner is wearing sergeant's rank and appears to have an Army

branch eagle on his breast pocket. The NCOs and Officers for the

Luftwaffe Field Divisions were selected from Army units.

Can always count on you guys to display great collectables. Hey Dogdaddy, sorry she was only a Nanny or something, not a mistress of a Wafen bigwig... That could have fetched a far prettier penny.

Such young faces on those men. War is such a stupid waste of life.

Brooke

I agree. I collected these and a few more because they were either artillerymen who fought in Italy just like my Dad OR they were killed in action in the same area where my Dad served.

The first guy was a radio operator for an Artillery unit. Maybe he was a forward observer just like my Dad. Maybe he served in a HQ receiving the messages and plotting the fire missions. Maybe he also listened in on Americans' radio traffic.

It puts a face to the enemy.

Steve

Speaking of those young men....here's a V-mail which was sent for Mother's Day of 1944, by a Sgt. William "Brick" Featherstone of Idaho to his Mom, complete with the Censor's stamp. I also have a Christmas V-mail from 1943 marked "Somewhere in Britain". For those who have never seen one of these, they are a little bit smaller than a modern postcard.

Jim

I just love V-Mail. Will have to scan the few that I have and place them on the site too.

small card Dad had kept