German Arbeitsbuch 1935 – Heinz Ramsbrock, Bielefeld Commercial Apprentice IIWW

Description

German Arbeitsbuch 1935 – Heinz Ramsbrock of Bielefeld

This original German Arbeitsbuch 1935 was issued by the Arbeitsamt Bielefeld on 4 November 1935 to Heinz Ramsbrock.

The booklet survives with Ramsbrock’s original handwritten signature, official Arbeitsamt markings and a series of employment entries documenting his professional development with a Bielefeld food wholesaler.

Unlike an unused or minimally completed Arbeitsbuch, DOC183 provides a coherent employment narrative extending from Ramsbrock’s period as a commercial apprentice into his subsequent work as a salaried commercial employee.

The cover carries the standard:

Deutsches Reich

designation, state eagle and the title:

Arbeitsbuch

and belongs to the first generation of work books introduced during 1935.

The Introduction of the Arbeitsbuch in 1935

The date of DOC183 is particularly relevant.

The German government enacted the Gesetz über die Einführung eines Arbeitsbuches on 26 February 1935. The system came into force on 1 April and was progressively expanded during the following months. Wikipedia

The purpose went beyond simply giving workers proof of employment.

Arolsen Archives describes Arbeitsbücher as part of the state regulation of the labour market. Local employment offices issued them and maintained corresponding Arbeitsbuch cards, while employers entered the details of individual jobs. e-Guide

The books could record:

• personal information
• professional qualifications
• occupation
• employers
• dates of employment
• changes of workplace

By controlling this documentation through the Arbeitsämter, the state gained substantially greater oversight of labour mobility.

DOC183 was issued in November 1935, placing it within the very first year of operation of this system.

Heinz Ramsbrock

The holder is identified on the opening page as:

Heinz Ramsbrock

His name is handwritten clearly beneath the Arbeitsbuch number.

At the bottom appears his original personal signature:

Heinz Ramsbrock

The same surname is independently documented in period Bielefeld address material, demonstrating that Ramsbrock was an established local family name in the city, although the currently located directory reference does not provide enough information to identify this Heinz Ramsbrock personally with certainty. Genealogía DES

The responsible catalogue description should therefore rely on the Arbeitsbuch itself rather than attempting to construct an unverified genealogy.

Arbeitsamt Bielefeld

The issue page is dated:

4 November 1935

and bears the circular:

Arbeitsamt Bielefeld

stamp together with the printed Bielefeld employment-office designation and an administrative signature.

The book therefore provides a clear local administrative origin.

This is useful for collectors because named Arbeitsämter can add regional interest to otherwise common employment records.

The occupational coding visible on the issue page appears to include:

Berufsgruppe 25
Berufsart A1

I would retain these codes exactly as written but would not expand their precise meaning without a contemporary classification table specific to this edition.

Gebr. Knöngel – Feinkost-Großhandlung Bielefeld

The employment pages carry repeated purple company stamps reading approximately:

Gebr. Knöngel
Feinkost-Großhandlung
Bielefeld

Feinkost-Großhandlung can be translated as a delicatessen / speciality-food wholesale business.

This is considerably better from a collector perspective than a book containing only generic employment-office entries because the actual employer remains identifiable.

The handwriting shows that Ramsbrock’s relationship with the firm extended across several employment stages.

Commercial Apprenticeship, 1935–1938

The earliest visible employment period begins:

1 April 1935

The occupation is recorded as:

Kaufmann – Lehrling

which corresponds to a commercial apprentice.

The entry appears to end:

31 March 1938

This represents approximately three years of commercial training.

The timing is particularly interesting because Bielefeld’s own 1935 administrative reporting discusses apprentices and the newly introduced Arbeitsbuch system. The city noted that the existence of the new work books was encouraging workers to obtain formal trade qualifications so that their trained professional status could be recorded. Stadtarchiv Bielefeld

DOC183 therefore provides a physical individual example from precisely that historical context.

From Apprentice to Employee

The next employment period begins:

1 April 1938

at the same company.

Ramsbrock’s status changes from Lehrling to:

Kaufmann / Angestellter

or a commercial salaried employee.

The visible end date appears to be:

31 March 1939

The transition is one of the strongest features of the book:

apprentice → commercial employee

within the same Bielefeld company.

That gives the document significantly more narrative value than an Arbeitsbuch containing isolated unrelated job entries.

Closure and Reopening in 1939

The Arbeitsbuch was subsequently marked:

geschlossen

or closed, around 30 March 1939.

The printed warning explains that employment subject to Arbeitsbuch requirements could only be resumed after the booklet had been reopened by the Arbeitsamt.

The book was later formally:

wieder eröffnet

by Arbeitsamt Bielefeld on 15 November 1939.

A further employer entry with the same Gebr. Knöngel stamp begins on approximately:

16 November 1939

and again records Ramsbrock as a commercial employee.

The following date appears to be 20 November 1939.

This administrative sequence demonstrates another important characteristic of the Arbeitsbuch system: employment status was not simply privately recorded between employer and employee. Changes could require direct intervention by the local labour office.

Employment Control Under the Third Reich

The Arbeitsbuch increasingly became part of a wider system of labour management.

Arolsen Archives notes that German employees could only change jobs under increasingly regulated conditions and that employment offices could direct labour where authorities considered workers more urgently needed. e-Guide

The individual Arbeitsbuch therefore served two simultaneous functions:

it documented a worker’s actual career
and
it enabled government oversight of that career.

DOC183 illustrates this clearly through its employer entries, Arbeitsamt stamps, closure and later official reopening.

Not a Military Document

Although the cover bears German state symbolism, this is not a Wehrmacht document.

An Arbeitsbuch concerns civilian employment.

It should not be confused with:

• Wehrpass — military service record
• Soldbuch — active military pay/identity book
• DAF membership book — organisational membership
• Kennkarte — civilian identity card

Correct terminology is important both historically and for SEO.

Standard German Arbeitsbuch – Not Arbeitsbuch für Ausländer

DOC183 is the standard form used for German workers.

Arolsen Archives notes that a dedicated Arbeitsbuch für Ausländer was only introduced in May 1943 for foreign workers. e-Guide

DOC183 predates that version by almost eight years.

Nothing visible in the supplied pages suggests foreign or forced-labour status.

Collector Interest

The strengths of this German Arbeitsbuch 1935 are not rarity alone.

Standard Arbeitsbücher survive in considerable quantities.

DOC183 is attractive because it combines:

• first-year 1935 issue
• named holder
• holder’s original signature
• clear Arbeitsamt Bielefeld origin
• identified Bielefeld employer
• repeated company stamps
• commercial apprenticeship
• transition to salaried employee
• several dated entries
• document closure and reopening
• coherent local employment history

It therefore works well as an example of commercial apprenticeship and civilian employment administration in 1930s Germany.

It may appeal particularly to collectors of Bielefeld history, labour documents, commercial history, German civilian paperwork and Third Reich-era social history.

Condition and Authenticity

DOC183 remains in good used period condition.

Visible characteristics include:

• light rubbing to the cover
• minor edge and corner wear
• natural paper toning
• occasional spotting
• original handwriting
• repeated employer stamps
• Arbeitsamt Bielefeld stamps
• official signatures and administrative markings

The binding appears sound in the supplied photographs.

The principal employment information remains clearly visible.

The item is offered as an original period German Arbeitsbuch issued in 1935.

The photographs show the actual document offered and form part of the condition description.

Historical Responsibility Notice

This item is offered solely for historical, documentary, educational and collecting purposes. Political symbols visible on the document form part of its original 1935 administrative design. Autographs & Militaria does not endorse National Socialism or any ideology represented by the item.