Original Item: One-of-a-kind. This is a fantastic genuine WWII German Soldbuch, issued to Obergefreiter Emil Winkelmann, a Flak NCO in the Luftwaffe during World War II, eventually assigned to Flak Regiment 40.

The cover appears to be missing the Luftwaffe insignia originally applied, as there is a heavy shadow of it. On the interior cover is a photograph of Gerhard Kremberg, double stamped and attached with the correct period staples. His Kragenspiegel (collar tab) insignia for Obergefreiter are visible, with three "gull wing" insignia. Date stamps show he used this Soldbuch from the 4th Quarter of 1941 up until the 3rd Quarter of 1944. He was born on July 18th, 1922. All pages of the Soldbuch are intact minus a page in the middle that has become detached, and the rest of the pages are disconnected at the bottom staple but still holding on at the top. The first date in the stamp section at the end is December 12th, 1941.

Also in the book was a Luftwaffe Flak Artillery Trade badge patch, in good shape with some light staining.

The Soldbuch is in good shape overall and provides for a great deal of research into the soldier’s service during World War II. There is also a small printout with a biography on Kremberg including his unit’s movement, very interesting. Comes ready for further research and display.

Of note: the persons filling out the book and the service record wrote using Kurrentschrift, an older form of Germanic script writing, which is why the all the "u" letters are written as "ŭ". In this script the lowercase "n" and "u" are identical, so the latter gets the arc shaped mark over it. This is not indicative of an umlaut or other diacritical marking.

More on the German Soldbuch:
The Soldbuch served the soldier as a personal identification document in wartime and as an authorization to receive pay from his own or outside pay-stations. In addition, it was identification for rail travel, detached service, leave, and for receiving mail. The Soldbuch was always carried by the soldier on his person in a tunic pocket. Leaving the book in one's baggage or in one's quarters was not permitted. The careful preservation of the book was in the best interest of the owner. The Soldbuch had to be kept in an orderly fashion. The owner must see to it, that all changes in pay due to transfer or promotion are immediately entered by his responsible duty station. The Soldbuch was an official document. Entries were only to be made by a Wehrmacht duty station. Making unauthorized changes is punishable as falsification of official documents. The loss of a Soldbuch was to be reported as soon the loss is discovered to the holders unit or duty station, and the issue of a new Soldbuch will be requested.