Description
Soldat im Weichselland
Berlin, November 1942 · Preis 30 Rpf.
Nachrichten aus Heer, Kriegsmarine und Luftwaffe in Danzig-Westpreußen — herausgegeben unter Mitwirkung von Wehrkreiskommando XX, Küstenbefehlshaber Östliche Ostsee und Luftgau I; Verlag: Wehrmacht-Presse-Verlag Reif & Co., Berlin
16 pages scanned. Instant PDF download.
Cover Page
Caption: “Mühle in Barrenhof bei Neumünsterberg” (“Windmill at Barrenhof near Neumünsterberg”)
Subject: A traditional wooden windmill beside a farmhouse in a rural West Prussian landscape.
Location: Barrenhof, near Neumünsterberg, West Prussia.
Photo credit: E. Grote.
Major Headlines & Content
Deutschlands Wehrmacht ist ihr Kampf — Endsiegziel! (Germany’s Armed Forces Are Fighting Their Battle — the Goal of Final Victory!) — Overview feature on the combined efforts of Heer, Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe across all fronts in autumn 1942: fighting around Stalingrad, the Caucasus and Leningrad, Rommel’s forces at El Alamein in North Africa, U-boat operations in the North Atlantic, and Luftwaffe support of ground troops and Malta operations. Places named: Stalingrad, Kaukasus, Leningrad, Wolchow, Woronesch, El Alamein, Nordatlantik, Malta. Author: Klaus-Ulrich Henning. Photo credits: Kriegsberichter Dressler, Metzler, Klose, Saermisch, Jesse.
Kameraden — ihr habt doch gesiegt! (Comrades — You Did Win After All!) — Commemorative feature for 9 November, reprinting extracts from the Führer’s speech to the old fighters of the failed 1923 Munich putsch, honouring the sixteen dead of that day entombed at the Ehrentempel on the Königlicher Platz in Munich. Location: München (Feldherrnhalle, Königlicher Platz). Photo credit: Scherl-Bilderdienst.
Hanse und Ritterorden im Weichselraum (The Hanseatic League and the Teutonic Order in the Vistula Region) — First installment of a historical series on the medieval history of the Vistula (Weichsel) region, tracing the rise of Danzig, Thorn, Kulm and Marienburg under the Teutonic Order and the Hanseatic League’s trading network across the Baltic. Places named: Danzig, Thorn, Kulm, Marienburg, Elbing, Memel, Königsberg, Lübeck, Rostock, Stralsund, Greifswald, Novgorod, Brügge, Gent, Burg Gollub. Author: Wolfgang B. von Lengercke. Photo/illustration credits: Zeichnung Betkowski (map), Scherl-Bilderdienst, E. Grosse.
Helfer der Front (Helpers of the Front) — Account of Organisation Todt workers on the Eastern Front carrying out emergency repairs to a field hospital damaged by Soviet bombing, felling timber for bridge pioneers, and preparing a hospital train with stoves for the coming winter. Author: Regierungsbaurat Frhr. von Ohlen. Photo credits: Kriegsberichter Guthausen, Jörgensen, Etzold.
Schönes Westpreußen: Fruchtbares Land am Weichseldelta (Beautiful West Prussia: Fertile Land in the Vistula Delta) — Illustrated regional feature on the landscape and traditional half-timbered farmhouses of the Vistula delta region around Danzig-Großes Werder, noting the Teutonic Order’s 1288 land-reclamation and dyke-building that turned marshland into fertile farmland settled by colonists from western Germany and the Netherlands. Places named: Trautenau, Stutthof, Kahlberg, Neumünsterberg, Tiegenhagen, Guteherberge. Photo credits: Landesfremdenverkehrsverband Danzig-Westpreußen, Volk und Reich.
Generalleutnant Strecker (Lieutenant General Strecker) — Profile of Generalleutnant Karl Strecker, born in the Kulm district, tracing his career from Leutnant in 1905 through police service and his 1941 Eastern Front command achievements near Zwiahel, Biełta, Korosten, and the Pripet, culminating in the award of the Knight’s Cross on 26 October 1941. Places named: Radmannsdorf, Kulm, Zwiahel, Bielsta, Korosten, Dowjady, Pripet.
13 Panzer bei Woronesch geknackt (13 Tanks Knocked Out Near Voronezh) — Combat account of Obergefreiter Kurt Schaldach of Danzig, an anti-tank gunner who destroyed 13 Soviet tanks and damaged five more in fighting northwest of Voronezh, earning the Knight’s Cross and promotion to Unteroffizier. Location: Woronesch (Voronezh).
Der Dank des Volkes an seine Soldaten (The Nation’s Thanks to Its Soldiers) — Report on improvements to the wartime disability and veterans’ welfare system, following new OKW regulations effective 1 October 1942 intended to give wounded or discharged soldiers the fullest possible support in returning to civilian working life.
Other Content
Local history feature — Woher der Name “Wiebenwall”? — the story of the 17th-century Danzig fortification named after engineer Adam Wiebe of Harlingen, who devised a cable-hoist system to move earth for the city’s ramparts in 1644, illustrated with a period copper engraving by Wilhelm Hondius.
Song — Auf der Wacht — marching song (text and melody by J. Gabriel) of the 1. Stabskompanie (Wachkompanie) of the Kommandantur Danzig, printed with full sheet music; noted as prize-winner (200 RM) in a Wehrkreis XX song competition.
Sports column — Sport im Wehrkreis XX — football (Fußball) and handball (Handball) league results for Gau-level and Ordnungspolizei teams in Danzig, Marienwerder, Elbing, and Thorn.
Puzzles — …und hier etwas zum Kopfzerbrechen — a crossword (Kreuzworträtsel) and a syllable riddle (Silbenrätsel), with solutions from the previous issue also printed.
Art feature — “Das Meer” — report on the exhibition “Das Meer — Bilder deutscher Maler” at the Berlin Künstlerhaus, organized by the Deutsches Seegeltungswerk with the NSDAP Reichsleitung following an Admiral-von-Trotha painting competition; reproduces prize and exhibited works including “Seemacht” by Karl Blossfeldt, “Fischdampfer holt sein Netz” (first prize) by Leonhard Sandrock, “Netzeinholen auf Hochseekutter” by Diefenbach, “Minensuchboote” by Erich Röhle, and “Auf nördlichem Kurs” by Ludwig Kath.
Advertisements — Pelikan Füllhalter, Hotel Viktoria (Bromberg), Kaffee Wien (Thorn), Haus der Kleinkunst “Eulenspiegel” (Danzig), “Schwan” Großwäscherei (Bromberg), Herbert Roese, Kabelfabrik Schroeder & Co. (Danzig), Rekord Suppenartikel, Kosma Schokoladen, “Ernida” Lederbekleidung (Erich Nissel, Danzig), Michel Papier und Bürobedarf, J. S. Keiler Nachf. (Danziger Liköre), Alte Stargarder Weinbrennerei, R. Deutschendorf & Co., Agfa, Pfannenschmidt-Lacke, Ostland-Werke G.m.b.H., Schichau, Herboda, Peri Kosmetik, Gedenkblätter (Köln), Almeda, Max Rehahn, Danziger Fleischkonservenfabrik.