Reichsbahn Document Lot 1936–1943 – Hermann Rieder Treudienst Group with Dorpmüller Letter & Certificates

Description

This Reichsbahn document lot brings together nine original certificates and letters dated 1936 to 1943. At its heart is a coherent group recording the forty-year career and retirement of Hermann Rieder, a Reichsbahn Wagenwerkmeister (carriage works foreman) from Tübingen. It is joined by a Reichsbahn appointment from Münster, a vocational competition award, a farm-service certificate and a wartime commemorative certificate from Trautenau in the Sudetenland.

What Does the Hermann Rieder Group Contain?

• Letter from the Reichs- und Preußische Verkehrsminister, Berlin W 8, 6 June 1938. It informs Rieder that the Führer has awarded him the Treudienst-Ehrenzeichen for completing forty years’ service and conveys the thanks of the Deutsche Reichsbahn. It bears the blue-ink signature of Reich Transport Minister Julius Dorpmüller and an embossed seal.
• Letter from the President of the Reichsbahndirektion Stuttgart, 6 June 1938, addressed to Wagenwerkmeister Hermann Rieder, Tübingen, adding his own congratulations. Signed and embossed.
• Retirement certificate, Stuttgart, 10 October 1938, issued “Im Namen des Führers und Reichskanzlers” for the Reich Transport Minister by the President of the Reichsbahndirektion, placing Rieder in retirement at his own request and thanking him for his service.
• Ehren-Urkunde of the Reichsbund der Deutschen Beamten, Gau Württemberg und Hohenzollern, Stuttgart, 6 June 1938, marking his forty-year service jubilee, with stamp and signature.
• Württembergische Landesvereinigung der Oberwagenmeister, Wagenmeister und deren Anwärter, Stuttgart – a handwritten collection list (Sammelliste) among railway colleagues.

What Are the Other Documents?

• Berufswettkampf aller schaffenden Deutschen, 1938 – Ehren-Urkunde awarded to Ida Maier for good performance in the trade (Handel) group, Berlin, on the Tag der nationalen Arbeit 1938. The signatures of Robert Ley and Baldur von Schirach are printed.
• Reichsbahn appointment, Münster (Westf.), 1 December 1943 – issued “Im Namen des Führers”, appointing David Barkmeyer, previously a Ladeschaffner, as Reichsbahn-Lademeister, for the Reich Transport Minister by the President of the Reichsbahndirektion.
• Reichsnährstand, Landesbauernschaft Bayern – Ehrenurkunde für ununterbrochene 40jährige Dienstzeit, dated 1936, honouring forty years’ uninterrupted farm service, in red and black calligraphy.
• Wartime commemorative certificate, Trautenau, 14 January 1943 – headed by a large eagle and reading “In Treue und Dankbarkeit begrüßt die Heimat ihre tapferen Söhne, die für Großdeutschlands Freiheit kämpften und siegten”, presented “Zur Erinnerung an diesen Kampf und Sieg”. Trautenau (today Trutnov, Czech Republic) was part of the Sudetenland annexed in 1938.

Hermann Rieder’s gold Treudienst-Ehrenzeichen itself, with its case and the award document of 14 May 1938, is offered separately as our named Treudienst-Ehrenzeichen Urkunde group (INS105).

Why Is the Rieder Group Interesting?

It shows, in four official documents and one private list, exactly how the German state marked a long career on the railways in 1938: the award of the Treudienst-Ehrenzeichen, letters from both the minister and the regional railway directorate, a certificate from the civil servants’ association, and the formal retirement four months later. The Transport Ministry letter, bearing the signature of Julius Dorpmüller, is the highlight. Signatures are catalogued as part of the documents and are not offered as separately authenticated autographs.

Collector’s Note

This Reichsbahn document lot combines a strong single-person railway group with a varied set of certificates from other recipients, so it does not represent one family. For railway collectors, it pairs well with the Reichsbahn calendars in our German historical document lot. For further context, see my guide to WW2 German documents and our other German document lot of identity and membership cards.

Condition

• Folds, toning and foxing to several pieces.
• Edge wear, minor tears, creases and small stains.
• Embossed seals, ink stamps and signatures intact.

Condition varies between documents. Please study all ten photographs of this Reichsbahn document lot, which form an essential part of this condition description. Nine documents, sold together exactly as shown.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many documents are included?

Nine documents, shown in ten photographs.

Is this one person’s archive?

No. Five documents relate to Hermann Rieder; the others were issued to different recipients.

Are the signatures autographs?

Handwritten official signatures are described as part of their documents. The Ley and Schirach signatures on the 1938 competition certificate are printed.

Historical Responsibility Notice

This Reichsbahn document lot is offered as a historical artefact for collecting, preservation, education and research. Several documents bear National Socialist symbols and wording, which are retained because they are an original part of the documents. 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 documents in this lot, as transcribed above.
• Mosler, Die Änderungen im Statut der Deutschen Reichsbahn und Reichsbank, Zeitschrift für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht, vol. 7, 1937 (on the 1937 reorganisation that placed the Reichsbahn under the Reich Transport Ministry).
• Autographs & Militaria, WW2 German documents.