HEINE, Otto. 01.02.45 Stabsintendant (RDA 01.08.33), on LPA Seniority List for TSD (V). He served with the Truppensonderdienst (TSD)  On 25 Apr 1944, the Luftwaffe Special Troop Services was formed due to manpower shortages in the Luftwaffe. This branch was to be a compilation of Luftwaffe Officials with certain specialities who were brought into the Regular Luftwaffe and were give the status of regular Luftwaffe Officers. This was strictly a voluntary lateral move from the status of an Official to that of Regular Luftwaffe Officer. There were stipulations based upon speciality, age, and physical standards. Officials who did not choose to be a Regular Luftwaffe Officer or were not qualified for other reasons kept their status as Officials. By 01 Oct 1944, the transition was to be complete. The TSD was open only to officer rankings. There were two Branches of the TSD. These branches were Administration and Judicial. Insignia: The Officials traded in their administrative collar tabs and boards for the standard Luftwaffe types. Rank was reflected on the collar tabs by the use of the wreath and gulls. The double layered shoulder boards were removed and replaced by the boards with the single underlay. By April 1945 – he was assigned to Kampfeinheit Tietze – sadly I was unable to find anything for this unit. 

This document is a congratulatory letter from Adolf Hitler’s office to a German couple celebrating their Golden Wedding Anniversary. It acknowledges their 50 years of marriage and encloses an honorary certificate (Ehrenurkunde). Additionally, the couple was awarded an honorary monetary gift of 50 Reichsmarks, a considerable sum at the time. Translation: The State Minister and Chief of the Presidential Chancellery Berlin W 8, Voßstraße 4 5 Dec 1939 The Führer sends you, on the occasion of your “Golden Wedding,” the enclosed certificate of honor. At the same time, the Führer has granted you an honorary gift of 50 Reichsmarks, which will be sent to you by post. Heil!

Here we have something quite rare and unique. The Death Notice and Map of where he died and was buried created by the Wehrmacht and sent to the family. Interestingly, his Award Document for the Panzer Assault Badge was sold here: https://www.lakesidetrader.com/item.php?ID=20437 He is not listed on the German Website for War Dead. Translation – Death Notice  Russia, 9 March 1942 Dear Mrs. Heyl, When you receive this letter, I ask you to hold yourself very firm and stay strong. Your son, my Lieutenant Heyl (Walter), was severely wounded on 28 February 1942, around 16:00 hours, by a headshot during the heroic defense of the village of Medwenke, while serving as platoon leader of Company S.R.73. According to the medical company 2/19, he was treated at the main dressing station in Miljatino and passed away on 2 March 1942 at 4:45 without regaining consciousness. The circumstances of his heroic death are as follows: Since 23 February, my battalion has been in the focal point of Russian attacks on the Roslavl–Juchnow railway and had to defend several villages, including Medwenke. Since 26 February, the Russians attacked Medwenke incessantly with infantry and heavy tanks and sought to unite all their forces there. Your son immediately took over command of the 7th Company upon his arrival at the battalion and led it from then on, defending the village of Medwenke. Under his dutiful and reliable leadership, all attacks broke down, and the number of dead Russians grew ever greater in front of our defensive line. The Russians then dug themselves in and began concentrated infantry fire. A shell struck him. He was immediately unconscious; under no circumstances could he have suffered pain. Shortly after he was wounded, I myself went to Medwenke, as the situation was critical (another company commander had just fallen), to check on matters. I found him lying unconscious, protected by a snow wall. He did not recognize me. I immediately ordered his evacuation. The attached document gives further details about his death. Dear Mrs. Heyl! I know it is pointless to try to comfort you. I only wish to say this: that your deep pain is bound together with pride for your son, who fell as a hero. The Iron Cross Second Class, which he had earned, will undoubtedly be awarded to him posthumously — may it be for you a token of his bravery and self-sacrifice. My officer corps and I valued him highly for his modest, kind, and trustworthy character. I too have lost much. Please accept, as his mother, my deepest sympathy. With most respectful regards, Your very devoted [signed] Bruns Commander II/S.R.73 Translation – HV1440  Red Cross Letter sent from Soviet Gulag by Walther Brother to his mother. 22 January 1948, Nr. 32 Mother! Dear ones at home! Since confirming my card 23, I have had no message from you! Now Christmas is approaching — it will be the saddest of my life. My 51st birthday again marked by separation for the 10th time! Bitter facts for us all. We can only cling to anxious hope in our thoughts, but only actual events can convince us. On 16 January, I had a strong inflammation on my right thumb operated on; it went well. The medical care is excellent and must be especially praised. How are the parents? Today, many motherly admonitions from my youth come back as true words of remembrance. Birthday greetings have arrived. Hopefully, fate will grant me the time to be with you again. Letters may still be permitted for you. If so, I will write more extensively to you. Quiet and lonely it is here around me. In my thoughts, I am gratefully with our cheerful family days again; father is no longer there. The harshness of fate struck us mercilessly — there is no solution. Learn to hate war! This realization must be a reminder for our political thinking and actions. Stay healthy and study diligently. Warm greetings to Gretchen, parents, Anna, and you, dear Mother. Yours, Kurt      

This leaflet is a Nazi propaganda poster in Russian from World War II, highly antisemitic and targeted at people under Soviet control. It uses caricatures and text to incite hatred against Jews and to link them with Stalin and Bolshevism. Front Side Translation Text around the caricature: “Jews are your eternal enemies! Stalin and the Jews – one gang of criminals. Down with Jewish power!” Back Side Translation It consists of a list of rhetorical questions blaming Jews for every problem under Soviet rule. After each question, the answer given is always: “Jews!” (ЖИДЫ). Examples (clean translation): Who ruined your rich country and turned you into beggars? – The Jews! Who seized the best housing for themselves? – The Jews! Who pushed the people into war, while staying safe themselves? – The Jews! Who drenched your land with blood and tears and brought you famine? – The Jews! Who supported your executioner Stalin? – The Jews! Who dishonored and committed violence against your wives and daughters? – The Jews! Who robbed you of your last possessions and drained your strength? – The Jews! Who attacked the capitalists the most, but then greedily took your money? – The Jews! Who sent millions of people to concentration camps? – The Jews! Who tortured millions of you in the cellars of the NKVD? – The Jews! Who started the war? – The Jews! Who invented Stakhanovism to exploit you better? – The Jews! Who, under Stalin’s orders, destroyed your crops and killed your cattle? – The Jews! Who, under Stalin, destroyed your machines and tools? – The Jews! Who, under Stalin, destroyed the roads to make delivery of supplies impossible? – The Jews! Who invented the sadistic tortures of the NKVD in which your brothers died? – The Jews!