Franz Fahrentholz was born in 1900 in the small town of Altrüdnitz (Today: Stara Rudnica) on the banks of the Oder River. He served in the First World War during the end phases of 1918 and was lucky to have missed the horrible bloodshed seen by the men only a few years older than him. From early 1932 Franz was an employee at the AEG Cable Works in Berlin Schöneweide. Franz continued to work there throughout the war, leading teams that produced items directly linked to the war industry and used slave labour.  Franz was not immune to the war effort in another form, defence. These large structures of the AEG were prime targets for Allied bombing raids. The large buildings on the banks of the river Spree would have been an easy target from above.  By July 1941, Franz was sent an order to report to a large gym hall in Berlin-Neukölln to be considered for military duty, he was found fit for duty in the Landwehr, also known as a home army. Although he was not sent to a home army unit he could have been called up anytime. By early 1943, Franz was ordered to take his Wehrpass and report for a further inspection, by June he was enlisted into a home guard Anti-Aircraft unit known, Heimatflakbatterie 28/III. Franz was trained on a captured French light machine gun, the FM 24/29 and received instruction on an anti-aircraft searchlight (Flak-Sw 36 – 60cm). The 60cm searchlight was operated by one person and was built on a small turntable equipped with a seat and trailer, it allowed for a 360-degree reach and was deployed very fast. If an allied aircraft was spotted and followed with such a search light it would mean the spotters firing had a clear target to aim at.  Franz was given the rank of Flakwehrmann, which was a civilian rank given to those that completed a standard course designed in 1943. The objective of which was to train civilians on anti-aircraft related equipment for the purpose of defending the home front.  On successful completion of the course the rank of Flakwehrmann was reached and the soldier was awarded a civilian badge. The badge was worn on the left side of the lapel, the eagle of the Luftwaffe holding the swastika inside the cog symbol the symbol for German workers.  He fought with: 1st Flak Division, Leichte Flak Abteilung 979 (o) Stationed at the Berlin Tempelhof Airport.  By April 1945 during the advance of the Soviet army, Franz was found on the banks of the Landwehr Canal on the Maybachufer in Berlin Neukölln. The Maybachufer a 1.47 kilometre long street with one side running parallel to Canal. Comments: an extremely rare set for central Berlin, the wounding tag completing the picture on what happened to him.

98Very rare Berlin Soldbuch, for the infamous RLM Building which still stands in Berlin. Flieger-Hauptingenieur Walter Breitkopf was born in 1908 in Breslau (Today: Wroclaw in Poland). Breitkopf, an engineer that joined the Luftwaffe in 1938 worked in the RLM from the early days till the end of the war. Breitkopf was a member of the Fliegeringenieur-Korps (Flight Engineer Corps) admission to the Corps meant having had done a prior two year military service, be commissioned as an officer whilst holding a degree in engineering and whilst having the state exam for aircraft design. Breitkopf was assigned to the department GL4 (later TLR/B) responsible for testing new aircraft. Work was done inside the RLM building and in 1942 Breitkopf was moving back and forth from an airbase in near Paris. When on duty for the RLM in Paris in late 1943 he was sent home to Berlin due to his apartment being damaged due to an allied bombing raid. On the first of March, Breitkopf was promoted to Flieger-Hauptingenieur, a head engineer with the rank equivalent of a Capitan. In the final days of the war he was captured in Rostock, (2nd Belo Fr) likely at the Heinkel aircraft plant. The first page of his Soldbuch is stamped by the Soviet Command in Rostock. His prewar Dienstausweis (entry pass) into the RLM made of waterproof paper displays usage right the way till February 1945. His matching Erkennungsmarke (Dog Tag) and Luftwaffe issue Soldbuch. Interestingly, Breitkopf lived with his wife next to Germany’s oldest airport in Berlin-Johannisthal the many streets around there were home to all the top names in the German aircraft industry. It was from there that the first planes and Zeppelins took to the sky over Germany. The scene of one of the world’s first air disasters. A test flight of a Zeppelin exploded and crashed killing all 28 crew members. Today the former Johannisthal airport is an abandoned place slowly falling apart, the runways are now a nature park, the paths around it a popular spot for runners. Please note: This Soldbuch will feature alongside many other Berlin Soldbücher in a Book currently in he end phases.   

Truppenausweiss for Oberst Max Röhrs, born on the 26.01.1893 in Brake, Germany. Röhrs served as a Judge in the Reichskriegsgericht (German War Court). Super rare to find anything for the Reichskriegsgericht in Berlin-Charlottenburg. Röhrs was a Judge that sent Paul Winzer to death, the leader of the Winzengruppe. As well as that, Röhrs was a judge in other high profile cases such as the case against Werner Engel another German Resistance member. This Identification paper was used right up to 1944. He is wearing the WW1 Marine Wounds Badge as well as the Iron Cross First Class with WW2 Clasp. Paul Winzen * November 24, 1911 in Dortmund Paul was born as the youngest child of the Winzen family. It is no longer possible to determine when he left his parents’ house. In the Dortmund address book from 1941 he is still listed under this address, his profession is given as a stationer. Paul Winzen was a member and leading figure of a resistance group that had emerged from free-thinking/free-religious organizations. People met to go to the theater, visited exhibitions and discussed a wide variety of topics. Politically, they rejected both Soviet communism and social democracy. They advocated a humanistic social order. After 1933, the Dortmund group, which was also called the Winzen Group after its founder Paul Winzen, met in various places and organized the resistance: leaflets against the Nazi regime were printed and foreign radio stations were listened to. When an informer finally crept into the group in 1940 and betrayed the members, they were arrested as members of the Winzen group. The trial of Paul Winzen took place in February 1942 in Berlin before the People’s Court. He and another head of the group, Josef Kasel (see Stolperstein Gneisenaustr. 89) were sentenced to death for “undermining the military force” and “preparing for high treason”. Winzen was also convicted of “broadcasting crimes”. The judgment was carried out on June 12, 1942 in Berlin-Plötzensee.