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Description

German Historical Document Collection, c.1901–1949

This German historical document collection brings together an unusually varied group of original-period civil, employment, financial, organisational, genealogical and wartime papers dating approximately from 1901 to 1949.

Rather than belonging exclusively to the Third Reich, the collection crosses several distinct historical periods: Imperial Germany, the years before and during National Socialist rule, the Second World War and the immediate post-war occupation of Germany.

Among the principal pieces are an early German Arbeitsbuch issued in 1901, a Deutsche Reichspost Postsparbuch later reused in the British occupation zone, a 1942 Kärntner Volksbund membership card, a Meine Ahnen genealogical booklet, a membership book of the Deutschnationaler Handlungsgehilfen-Verband and two American wartime documents connected with U.S. serviceman Herbert Gerson.

This broad chronological range is what gives the group much of its collecting appeal.

Imperial German Arbeitsbuch – Issued in 1901

One of the oldest identifiable items is the blue-grey Arbeitsbuch.

The interior contains an official issue entry dated:

Heepen, 28 May 1901

with police-authority markings and period handwritten employment information.

This is important because the document predates the Third Reich by more than three decades.

Germany already had a legal system of Arbeitsbücher during the Imperial period. The Gewerbeordnung in force around 1900 required work books for certain younger workers and stipulated that local police authorities issue them and employers record employment details.

DOC179 should therefore not repeat the common mistake of describing every German Arbeitsbuch as a product of the Nazi labour legislation of 1935.

The survival of this earlier form makes the group useful for comparison between Imperial and later German administrative systems.

Deutschnationaler Handlungsgehilfen-Verband Membership Book

The brown cloth-covered booklet is a Mitgliedsbuch of the Deutschnationaler Handlungsgehilfen-Verband, usually abbreviated DHV.

The visible entries indicate membership beginning around 1912, placing this item firmly within Imperial Germany.

The DHV represented commercial employees and developed into one of Germany’s largest white-collar organisations. Its outlook was strongly nationalist, völkisch and antisemitic; the Deutsches Historisches Museum notes that Jewish people and women were excluded from membership. After Hitler came to power the organisation was integrated into the Deutsche Arbeitsfront and formally dissolved in 1934. Deutsches Historisches Museum (DHM)

The booklet therefore documents a political and social organisation whose history crosses from Imperial Germany through the Weimar period into the first year of National Socialist rule.

Kärntner Volksbund Membership Card, 1942

Among the strongest WWII-period items is the Kärntner Volksbund membership card No. 66542.

It identifies:

Peter Valentintschitsch
Holzarbeiter
born 19 February 1916

and records the local organisation Zarz, district Krainburg, with the card dated 2 July 1942.

This card has a more specific occupation-history connection than ordinary German membership ephemera.

A German occupation decree of 24 May 1941 created the Kärntner Volksbund in the occupied territories of Carinthia and Carniola. The decree described it as the sole political organisation operating there under the German civil administration.

The card therefore offers direct documentary evidence of the organisational system established in German-occupied Upper Carniola during the war.

Its named recipient, occupation, date, local branch, district and membership number give it particularly good research potential.

Deutsche Reichspost Postsparbuch and the British Zone

The red Postsparbuch No. 3.429.285 is another particularly interesting piece because its history crosses the end of the war.

The cover still carries the printed Deutsche Reichspost designation but has been overlabelled:

BRITISCHE ZONE

and bears later postal markings.

This type of reuse is historically documented. Existing wartime Reichspost savings books continued in circulation after 1945, with occupation-zone labels applied over the former state symbolism and transactions continuing under Allied administration. Comparable surviving books show use into 1948 and 1949. Philaseiten

That creates a useful physical connection between the Third Reich postal system and the practical administrative transition to post-war Germany.

The accompanying red Reichspost booklet “Spare bei der Deutschen Reichspost” and the Anleitung für Postsparer further strengthen the postal-savings theme within the collection.

“Meine Ahnen” Genealogical Booklet

The decorative brown-and-cream booklet titled Meine Ahnen belongs to the genealogy component of the archive.

Genealogical documentation gained considerable importance in Germany during the 1930s, but this piece should be catalogued carefully.

A Meine Ahnen booklet is not automatically an official Ahnenpass.

Without additional interior photographs proving its publisher, date and completion status, the correct description is simply an original-period German genealogical or ancestry booklet.

That is both more accurate and more credible to specialist collectors.

American Wartime Documents – Herbert Gerson

Two pieces change the character of DOC179 from an exclusively German archive to a broader wartime paper collection.

A Seattle Area Station Hospital Permanent Pass, dated 10 November 1943, is made out to:

S/Sgt. Herbert Gerson

The accompanying Masonic service card is also issued to Herbert Gerson, identifying him in connection with the Ancient Craft Lodge No. 907 in Chicago and noting his service in the United States armed forces.

The matching name strongly suggests these two documents belonged together.

They provide an Allied-American counterpart to the German civilian and organisational papers elsewhere in the group.

Souvenir from Berlin

The small string-bound photographic booklet titled:

Souvenir from Berlin

was offered by M. H. Nasch GmbH, a Berlin arcade or passage shop.

One visible photograph shows the Brandenburg Gate, with contemporary political banners visible on the monument.

The booklet represents tourist rather than administrative ephemera, adding yet another documentary category to the group.

Similar M. H. Nasch Berlin souvenir books are recorded in institutional travel collections. Montgomery County

Cooperative, Savings and Everyday Civil Papers

Other pieces include statutes and membership documentation associated with cooperative organisations such as:

Spar- und Darlehenskasse

and:

Konsumverein für Hann.-Münden und Umgegend

These are modest objects individually, but collectively they broaden the collection beyond militaria.

They document employment, savings, consumer cooperatives, insurance, genealogy, organisational membership, tourism and military leave — all ordinary elements of personal life recorded through paper.

That variety is the real strength of DOC179.

Collector Interest

This German historical document collection works particularly well as a study group rather than simply as thirteen unrelated pieces.

It allows a collector to compare different administrative formats over almost half a century:

• Imperial employment control
• pre-1933 nationalist association membership
• savings and cooperative documentation
• National Socialist-era genealogy
• occupation-era political membership
• wartime postal finance
• American military paperwork
• post-war British Zone reuse of German documents

Several pieces contain names, dates, membership numbers, addresses, signatures or official stamps, creating opportunities for further research.

The group may appeal to collectors of German documents, paper militaria, postal history, civilian life, occupation history and social history.

Condition and Authenticity

Condition varies across the group, as expected for documents of different ages and uses.

Visible characteristics include:

• age toning
• foxing and staining
• handling marks
• worn and rounded corners
• original folds
• cover wear
• edge fraying on some cloth booklets
• handwritten period entries
• postal cancellations
• ink stamps and administrative markings

The Herbert Gerson Masonic card shows particularly heavy handling and surface wear.

The Postsparbuch, Arbeitsbuch, membership books and other booklets retain their principal covers and internal records.

The photographs show the actual material being offered and should be considered an integral part of the condition description.

The group is represented as period historical material based on the supplied items; no claim of forensic examination is made.

Historical Responsibility Notice

This collection is offered solely for historical, documentary, research and collecting purposes. Political symbols appearing on some pieces are preserved because they form part of the original historical documents. Autographs & Militaria does not endorse National Socialism or any political ideology or organisation represented by the material.

What is included in this German historical document collection?

The group includes an Imperial Arbeitsbuch, Reichspost Postsparbuch with British Zone markings, a 1942 Kärntner Volksbund card, genealogy and association booklets, Berlin souvenir material and two U.S. wartime passes, among other civilian papers.

Is the Arbeitsbuch a Third Reich labour book?

No. This particular Arbeitsbuch was issued in 1901 and belongs to the Imperial German system regulated by the Gewerbeordnung. It predates the Nazi Arbeitsbuch system introduced in 1935 by several decades

Why does the Deutsche Reichspost Postsparbuch say “Britische Zone”?

Existing Reichspost savings books were reused after Germany’s defeat. British occupation-zone labels were placed on surviving books and transactions continued under the post-war administration.

What is the Kärntner Volksbund card?

It is a provisional membership card issued in 1942 to Peter Valentintschitsch. The organisation operated in German-occupied Carinthia and Carniola and was established by occupation decree in 1941.

Is “Meine Ahnen” the same as an Ahnenpass?

Not necessarily. Meine Ahnen is a genealogical booklet. Unless the exact format and interior entries establish otherwise, it should not be described as an official Ahnenpass.