Original Item: Only One Lot Available. This is a particularly interesting four-piece German WWII veteran autograph grouping centered on Josef Hollekamp, a Heer Knight’s Cross recipient, and Hans Jacob Goebeler, a member of the crew of German submarine U-505. The group consists of a signed portrait of Hollekamp wearing his Knight’s Cross, two signed photographs of Goebeler, and a separate autograph card signed Sepp Hermann.

The Hollekamp photograph is especially appealing, showing him in uniform with the Knight’s Cross prominently worn at the neck. His large signature appears across the lower portion of the image, while the reverse carries extensive later collector annotations identifying his birth date, award date, and service with 2.(Radfahr)/Aufklärungs-Abteilung 36. Published award records independently confirm that Josef Hollekamp received the Knight’s Cross on July 23, 1943, as an Obergefreiter serving with that unit.

The two Hans Goebeler photographs are equally noteworthy. One shows him in Kriegsmarine uniform with the cap tally clearly reading KRIEGSMARINE and is signed and dated May 31, 1997, with Goebeler identifying himself with the control room of U-505. The second photograph shows the seventeen-year-old Goebeler during naval basic training at Beverloo, Belgium, wearing an Army-style field uniform, steel helmet, equipment, and carrying a rifle. Remarkably, this exact stage of his service is described and illustrated in his published memoir, which confirms that he entered the Kriegsmarine at seventeen and underwent infantry-style naval basic training at Beverloo in 1941.

The final piece is a printed card bearing the signature Sepp Hermann. We have not located sufficiently conclusive documentation to connect this signer with a particular WWII serviceman, unit, or decoration recipient. The name is therefore retained exactly as signed without a more specific attribution.

1. Josef Hollekamp Signed Knight’s Cross Portrait

Front Signature:
Hollekamp

Reverse Collector Annotations:
The reverse contains later collector annotations which appear to read approximately:

Uffz.
Obergefreiter (crossed out)
Josef Hollekamp
Obgfr.
geb. 19.08.1920 in [not completed / illegible]
(RK) am: 23.07.1943 als Soldat
Radf.
2 / A.A.-36 = 36-I.D.
133

The abbreviations may be expanded as follows: Uffz. = Unteroffizier; Obgfr. = Obergefreiter; geb. = geboren, or “born”; RK = Ritterkreuz, or “Knight’s Cross”; Radf. = Radfahr, referring to bicycle troops; A.A. = Aufklärungs-Abteilung, or reconnaissance detachment; and 36-I.D. = 36. Infanterie-Division.

Importantly, the principal collector information is corroborated by published award records. Hollekamp received the Knight’s Cross on 23 July 1943 as an Obergefreiter and Gruppenführer, or squad leader, serving with 2.(Radf.)/Aufklärungs-Abteilung 36.

2. Hans Goebeler Signed Kriegsmarine Portrait

Lower Inscription:

Hans Goebeler
N.C.O. control room U-505
31. May 1997

A further inscription in red is faintly visible near the upper left corner. However, it is not sufficiently clear to provide a reliable complete transcription.

3. Hans Goebeler Signed Beverloo Basic Training Photograph

Inscription:

To Ken Hoff “Smooth Sailing”
from,
Hans Goebeler
at Basic Training
age 17
in Beverloo
Belgium

Goebeler’s memoir independently confirms the context of this photograph. He entered the Kriegsmarine in August 1941 at age seventeen and was sent to the Luitpold Barracks at Beverloo in occupied Belgium. There, naval recruits were issued green field uniforms, steel helmets, and Mauser rifles and underwent basic training patterned closely on Army infantry instruction.

His published memoir also reproduces a photograph identifying Goebeler in infantry-style uniform during his naval basic training in 1941, closely corresponding with the photograph included in this lot.

4. Sepp Hermann Autograph Card

Signature:

Sepp Hermann

The card also carries three blue printed insignia-like devices. From the available images, these markings do not provide sufficient information to reliably establish a particular organization, wartime unit, or service affiliation. The signer is therefore identified only as Sepp Hermann, without further attribution.

Josef Hollekamp and Aufklärungs-Abteilung 36

Josef Hollekamp received the Knight’s Cross on 23 July 1943 while serving as an Obergefreiter and Gruppenführer with 2.(Radf.)/Aufklärungs-Abteilung 36. In this Heer context, Gruppenführer referred to his tactical role as a squad leader rather than a formal rank.

Aufklärungs-Abteilung 36 served as the reconnaissance battalion of the 36th Infantry Division. Its 2nd Company was designated Radfahr, indicating bicycle-equipped troops used for reconnaissance, screening, and local security duties.

The reverse notation “2 / A.A.-36 = 36-I.D.” closely corresponds with Hollekamp’s documented unit, while the written date of 23.07.1943 matches the recorded date of his Knight’s Cross award. The crossed-out Obergefreiter and separately written Uffz. appear to be later collector annotations; Hollekamp’s documented rank at the time of the award was Obergefreiter.

The 36th Division underwent reorganization in 1943, when its motorized status was discontinued and it again became the 36. Infanterie-Division. The abbreviated “36-I.D.” notation on the reverse is therefore consistent with the division’s designation at the time of Hollekamp’s award.

The portrait shows Hollekamp wearing the Knight’s Cross at the neck and is further enhanced by his prominent autograph and detailed reverse identification, making it a strong photographic record of a documented enlisted recipient.

Hans Goebeler and U-505

Hans Jacob Goebeler, born November 9, 1923, entered the Kriegsmarine at age seventeen and later served aboard U-505 as a Maschinengefreiter, with duties in the submarine’s control room. He later became well known through veteran appearances and his memoir, Steel Boat, Iron Hearts.

The signed Beverloo photograph corresponds closely with Goebeler’s published recollections. After joining the Kriegsmarine in 1941, he completed basic training at Beverloo, Belgium, where naval recruits were issued field uniforms, steel helmets, and Mauser rifles and received infantry-style instruction before moving on to specialist training. This explains his Army-like appearance in the photograph; the image represents naval basic training rather than Heer service.

Goebeler was later assigned to U-505, a Type IXC submarine. On June 4, 1944, the boat was attacked in the Atlantic by U.S. Navy Task Group 22.3, centered on the escort carrier USS Guadalcanal and commanded by Captain Daniel V. Gallery. Damage from depth-charge and air attacks forced U-505 to surface, after which the crew abandoned ship. A U.S. boarding party entered the submarine and prevented its scuttling.

Goebeler was present in the control room during the final action and later recalled attempting to assist in scuttling the vessel before abandoning it. The capture resulted in the recovery of the submarine together with important naval documents, code material, and equipment. U-505 survived the war and was later preserved in Chicago as a museum exhibit.

The second Goebeler portrait was signed on May 31, 1997 and includes his own notation identifying him with the “control room U-505.” Although he used the English description “N.C.O.”, wartime records more specifically identify his German rate as Maschinengefreiter.