Soldbuch Issued in August 1939 with 3 Kompanie, Nachrichten Abteilung 3.  Born in 1904 in Oberbayern Germany, he was in civilian life a technical salesman. Operated as a Radio Man, (Funker) with: Kraftfahr Ersatz Abteilung 23  in Sorau – Later moved to Rathenow (Berlin). Faas was married to Erika Faas they lived together with their two sons both children during the war in Frankfurt Oder. He had two awards during the war, a War Merit Cross with Swords and an October 1938 Medal.  By January 1945, he was in the C Positions with Division Raegener on the Oder River. He even had leave granted for the later two weeks of January 1945, likely the last time he ever seen his family at their wartime home. Interestingly, he was sent home in 1943, due to the emergency with the harvests to help. Faas would only see real combat with General Holstes last attempt to relieve Berlin in the last days of the war, along with Steiner in the North and Wencks 12th Army south of them (See Below).  Found fit for service at the Garde Füsilier Kaserne in Rathenow on the 3rd of April 1945. Faas was issued a full list of equipment, including iron rations in Rathenow on the 21st of April 1945.  Armed with a FN Pistol (Personal Pistol). On the 26th of April 1945, Faas arrives at the Korps San Komp, Stab General Holste with a 31b – meaning grenade fragments from artillery, mortar or hand grenade. What we know about the movement of this ad hoc unit set up to try and break the ring around Berlin, which failed. “On 22 April 1945, Holste became part of a poorly conceived and incredibly desperate plan that Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel and Colonel General Alfred Jodl proposed to Adolf Hitler. The plan envisaged for the few remaining German forces in central Germany to attack the Soviet forces encircling Berlin. The plan called for General Walther Wenck’s Twelfth Army on the Elbe and Mulde fronts to be turned around and to attack towards the east, then linking up just south of Berlin with General Theodor Busse’s Ninth Army. Then both armies would strike in a northeastern direction towards Potsdam and Berlin. Wenck’s objective would be the autobahn at Ferch, near Potsdam. Holste’s directive was to attack from the area northwest of Berlin with his XLI Panzer Corps across the Elbe between Spandau and Oranienburg. To give Holste as much punch as possible, Obergruppenführer Felix Steiner (who had been himself the subject of another desperate attempt by Hitler to save Berlin, a few days earlier) was to turn over to Holste his mechanized divisions (the 25th Panzer-Grenadiers and the 7th Panzer). Wenck’s army did make a turn around and attacked towards Berlin, but was soon halted outside of Potsdam by strong Soviet resistance. Neither Busse nor Holste made much progress towards Berlin. By the end of the day on 27 April, the Soviet forces encircling Berlin linked up and the forces inside Berlin were cut off. Late in the evening of 29 April, General Hans Krebs contacted Jodl by radio from Berlin and requested an immediate report on the whereabouts of Holste’s spearhead. On 30 April, Jodl replied that Holste’s Corps was on the defensive. Early on the morning of May 1, Holste is reported to have appeared at Twelfth Army HQ having abandoned his troops. A day later, on 2 May, the Battle for Berlin came to an end when General Helmuth Weidling unconditionally surrendered the city to the Soviets. Holste surrendered 8 May 1945. In 1947, he was released.” https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/6868/Holste-Rudolf-Generalleutnant.htm Faas was moved to a different hospital, although he was captured by the Soviet Army.     This is where it takes an unusual twist, according to his Heimkehrer Bescheinigung – A form of identification issued to people who have fled either from the Eastern Zone of Germany, or those suffering the aftermath including refugees of the war. This ID was issued in Berlin Marienfelde in 1954 – it clearly states he was a Prisoner of the Ostzone KZ – meaning German Eastern Zone Concentration camp – from 1948 till 1954. What his alleged crime was we will not be able to find out, maybe he tried to escape to go towards his family and was caught in December of 1948? The NKVD Speical Camps in Germany NKVD special camps (German: Speziallager) were NKVD-run late and post-World War II internment camps in the Soviet-occupied parts of Germany from May 1945 to January 6, 1950. They were set up by the Soviet Military Administration in Germany (SMAD) and run by the Soviet Ministry of Internal Affairs MVD. On 8 August 1948, the camps were made subordinate to the Gulag. Because the camp inmates were permitted no contact with the outside world, the special camps were also known as silence camps (German: Schweigelager). The Soviet occupation authorities did not admit to the existence of the camps until the Western press led the Soviet Union to respond with a moderate propaganda campaign of their own admitting and defending the camps’ existence.No inmates were released before 1948. On January 6, 1950, the camps were handed over to the East German government, who tried the remaining detainees. Officially, 157,837 people were detained, including 122,671 Germans and 35,166 citizens of other nations, at least 43,035 of whom did not survive. The actual number of German prisoners was about 30,000 higher.   For more information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NKVD_special_camps_in_Germany_1945%E2%80%931950 Today the location Faas crossed into West Berlin is a museum, commemorating the long history of the building. (Erinnerungsstätte Notaufnahmelager Berlin Marienfelde) He was found not guilty of the alleged crimes and the German Government helped  him and his two sons as refugees in their own country find a home again.   Final Comments Max Faas passed away in the 1970s,  a record exists in the German Archive along with his marriage certificate. His story is quite incredible, what he endured and of course what we will never know. But he was very…

Annalu Leopold was born on the 19th of November 1924 in Bremeb, she entered the BDM on the 6th of July 1935. Original Membership ID issued in Berlin 7.3.1942 – Original Photo, quite hard to find these types of IDs.

Walter Braun was born in Neunkirchen Austria on the 6th of April 1907, was employed before the war and married to his wife Johanna living in Tirol Austria. Enlisted in 1944, his Soldbuch was issued in October of 1944 with a Mountain troop Nebelwerfer replacement unit. After a short stint of training which lasted till February 1945, he was promoted to Oberkanonier and sent to his frontline unit: Stab/Werfer Regiment 89 – 17 Volks Werfer Division – IV. SS-Panzerkorps 03/05/45: The Stuhlweißenburg area, the 5th and 6th batteries were tactically assigned to I./89 for the upcoming deployment. The department now had 174 pipes. The department was led by the commander of II./ 89, as the commander of I./ 89 represented the regimental commander during the operation. Until the attack began, the positions were expanded, ammunition was brought in and the B points were explored and occupied. For reasons of camouflage – the enemy could see the terrain from the heights east of Stuhlweissenburg – all movements were only allowed to take place during darkness. All trips were carried out without lights. 03/06/45: Start of the attack on Seregelyes.03.52-04.04, preparatory fire of heavy weapons, artillery and launchers. Our own VBs advanced with the infantry. I./ 89 fired four volleys into the Seregelyes area (366 explosives and 15 smoke). 07.20 a.m., I./ 89 fired a volley with 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th batteries at the castle park of Seregelyes. 07.43 a.m., I./89 fired a salvo with 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th batteries on the northwest part of Seregelyes. 12.45 p.m., I./89 fired a volley with 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th batteries into the area 500 m northwest of Seregelyes train station. By the afternoon most of Seregelyes was in German hands. 03/21/45: 4.15 p.m., battery volley (30 cm) by I./89 subordinate with 7./89. On the orders of the regiment, the 7./89 was pulled out after the ammunition was exhausted and moved to the rear. 5.30 p.m., commander I./89 made contact with the commander of the artillery regiment and found out that he was changing positions at 7 p.m. in the area north of Füle. Infantry left Stuhlweißenburg at 7 p.m. After the commander returned, a brief briefing took place. The department was supposed to fire the remaining ammunition except for a hand volley, after which the batteries were supposed to change positions. Papkesci was agreed upon as the meeting point. Only the Urhida-Jenö-Küngös route was open as a route. Issued a full set equipment including a Helmet and a Rifle – with the designation russ – meaning he was given a Russian made Mosin Nagant Rifle. Braun arrived in Hospital on the 17th of August 1945 – suffering from kidney problems. Walter Braun died a few days after arrival in the hospital in Peuerbach Austria.  I was unable to find out an more information on Braun, and if he even has a marked grave.

Stabsgefreiter Ferdinand Stocker Builder from Tirol, born in February 1910. He was married to his wife Rosa and they lived in Salzburg. Soldbuch Issued with Gebirgsjäger Regiment 137 (replacement unit) Gebirgsjäger Regiment 137 – ( 14th MG Company ) –  Following the Anschluss, the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany in March 1938, the 2nd Mountain Division was formed on 1 April 1938, with personnel of the 6th Division of the Austrian Army. Based at Innsbruck, part of Wehrkreis XVIII, most of its men were from the Salzburg and Tyrol region of Austria. Commanded by Generalleutnant (Lieutenant General) Valentin Feurstein, it fought as part of Army Group South during the Invasion of Poland and then took part in Operation Weserübung, the Norwegian Campaign in 1940. It carried out a cross country march to rescue the 3rd Mountain Division, which was under siege from British forces during the Battles of Narvik. The division moved into Lapland as part of Mountain Corps Norway in 1941, to participate in Operation Silberfuchs (Operation Silver Fox), the attack on the Soviet Arctic as part of Operation Barbarossa. It drove for Murmansk but was unsuccessful in the face of strong Soviet defence. It continued to serve in the Arctic region until late 1944, when the Finns negotiated the Moscow Armistice with the Soviet Union. The division had to withdraw to Norway, fighting off Soviet forces as it did so. Back in mainland Europe, its depleted infantry regiments were brought back up to strength. In 1945, the division was transferred to the Western Front, where it fought in the Saar-Moselle Triangle against US troops. During this period, its commander, Generalleutnant Hans Degen, was wounded and had to be replaced by Generalleutnant Willibald Utz. While earlier in the war it was considered an elite unit, the 2nd Mountain Division was well below strength and combat effectiveness. It finished the war in Württemberg where it surrendered it to the Western Allies. Awards 14.12.1942 – Eastern Front Medal 17.3.1943 – Infantry Assault Badge 1.9.1944 – War Merit Cross with Swords – 2nd Class Issued  Winter – Pelzmütze fur hat. Windjacke – Wind Jacket – Berghose – Mountain Trousers. Fully Gebirgsjäger kit – Cap, trousers, climbing shoes, Close Combat Knife – Maker “cof” – in May 1944 – Rare Entry  Führerpaket – given in late 1943. It seems he was taken Prisoner – at the rear of the Soldbuch his POW Number – 563354   Interesting Soldbuch, comes with a portrait photo of Stocker in a uniform of a NCO. Suggesting he had a higher rank at the end of the war, not entered into his Soldbuch.