Original WWII Luftwaffe Soldbuch – Paul Moldenhauer, Luftnachrichtenschule 6, Dievenow/Wollin, Unteroffizier

Description

This original Luftwaffe Soldbuch (Soldbuch zugleich Personalausweis, No. 768) belonged to Paul Moldenhauer, born on 22 October 1899 in the district of Stolp in Pomerania and a brickmaker (Ziegler) by trade. It records his service in 1943–1944 with Luftnachrichtenschule 6, the Luftwaffe signals school, first in its 11th training company and then in its 2nd Fliegerkompanie at West-Dievenow on the island of Wollin. His uniform photograph is still fixed in place and stamped, and the book records his promotion from Gefreiter to Obergefreiter and then to Unteroffizier.

Who Was the Holder of This Luftwaffe Soldbuch?

The personal pages give the following details:

• Name: Paul Moldenhauer, with his signature.
• Born: 22 October 1899, Kreis Stolp in Pommern.
• Religion and trade: Protestant; Ziegler (brickmaker).
• Description: height 1.63 m, oval face, dark blond hair, brown eyes, with a scar recorded on the left forearm.
• Wehrnummer: Stolp 99/1/158; Erkennungsmarke: 768 – Ln. Schule 6.
• Responsible Wehrbezirkskommando: Stolp in Pommern.

The details were certified on 10 May 1943 by Luftnachrichtenschule 6, 11. Schülerkompanie, and signed by an Oberleutnant as company commander. Born in 1899, Moldenhauer was already 43 when these entries were made.

What Units Are Recorded?

• 24 April 1943: Luftnachrichtenschule 6, 11. Schülerkompanie.
• 11 June 1943: Luftnachrichtenschule 6, 2. Fliegerkompanie.

Luftnachrichten was the Luftwaffe’s signals and communications branch. A later stamp of the 2. Fliegerkompanie of Luftnachrichtenschule 6 names its location as West-Dievenow auf Wollin, on the Baltic coast of Pomerania (today Dziwnów, Poland). The same unit stamps recur on several pages, which gives the book a consistent internal record.

What Promotions and Other Entries Does It Contain?

• Promotions: Gefreiter on issue; Obergefreiter with effect from 1 May 1943; Unteroffizier with effect from 1 April 1944, each confirmed on the certification page.
• Clothing and equipment: entries under Besondere Bekleidungsvermerke, with stamps including the Waffen-Technische Gruppe.
• Vaccinations: dated entries from 1943 and 1944.
• Pay: completed Kriegsbesoldung and Kriegsgebührnisse sections from 1943 onwards, with accounting stamps.
• Leave: several leave entries from 1943–1944 with large Luftwaffe unit stamps and signatures.

No combat service is recorded in the pages photographed; the book documents service within a Luftwaffe training establishment.

Collector’s Note

When I assess a Luftwaffe Soldbuch, I look first at whether the photograph, unit stamps, signatures and dates agree with each other. Here they do: the photograph is stamped across its edge, the Soldbuch number matches the identity-disc entry, and the Luftnachrichtenschule 6 stamps appear consistently from the certification page to the hospital and leave sections. A named holder, a specific school and a clear rank progression make this a good research example. To understand how the Soldbuch differs from the Wehrpass, see my article Wehrpass vs Soldbuch and the Soldbuch entry in our encyclopaedia.

Condition

• Cloth cover with wear, rubbing and staining.
• Age toning and handling marks to the pages.
• Punched fastening holes and creases, as usual for a carried Soldbuch.
• Original photograph and stamps intact; numerous handwritten entries.

Please study all nine photographs of this Luftwaffe Soldbuch, which form an essential part of this condition description. Sold exactly as shown.

Frequently Asked Questions

Whose Soldbuch is this?

Paul Moldenhauer, born 22 October 1899 in Kreis Stolp, Pomerania.

Which unit is recorded?

Luftnachrichtenschule 6: the 11. Schülerkompanie from April 1943 and the 2. Fliegerkompanie at West-Dievenow auf Wollin from June 1943.

What was his final rank?

Unteroffizier, with effect from 1 April 1944.

Does it record front-line service?

No combat service appears in the pages photographed.

Historical Responsibility Notice

This Luftwaffe Soldbuch is offered as a historical artefact for collecting, preservation, education and research. The Luftwaffe eagle and stamps bearing the swastika are retained because they are an original part of the document. Autographs & Militaria does not endorse or glorify National Socialist ideology. For our approach to this material, see collecting Third Reich material responsibly.

References & Further Reading

• Original Soldbuch entries, as transcribed above.
• Bundesarchiv, Wehrgesetz und Wehrdienst 1935–1945: Das Personalwesen in der Wehrmacht.
• Autographs & Militaria, Wehrpass vs Soldbuch.