One of my many collecting themes is the Holocaust and in this subject matter there is a subsection: ID booklets of men that served in units that actively participated in the holocaust and other crimes against humanity.
Recently this Soldbuch entered my collection, at first glance not very spectacular just an average “Teno” Soldbuch.
Technische Nothilfe, an organization founded in 1919, a type of auxiliary police force to protect vital public services such as railroad infrastructure, energy supply stations, mail service, food supply,…etc during periods of strikes which often had a violent character.
When Germany became less revolutionary their task changed more in to assisting local governments with keeping vital public services operating in times that they were hit by (natural) disasters.
In 1931 the organization fell under the control of the RAD but in 1937 under Nazi rule it became a part of the Ordnungspolizei, their main task now being that of organizing defense measures against bombing – and poison gas attacks on civilian targets, passive air defense.
When WW2 broke out their tasks were extended to sending qualified technical personnel to assist with repairing vital infrastructure that had been damaged.
This also included areas that were now occupied by Germany, TeNo now operated under control of the Wehrmacht and became more and more a military organization that now also assisted with building and maintaining infrastructure and logistical services for the Army.
It is in this last period that this Soldbuch was issued to Walter Priegnitz.
Walter Priegnitz (°1895) a WW1 veteran and plumber from Braunschweig was in 1940 an “Obervormann” in a TeNo unit operating in Lotheringen; so far nothing spectacular but that changes in the spring of 1941, now Walter P is transferred to the East for the upcoming invasion of Soviet Russia.
The war against the Soviet Union will be a different war, not only a war of conquest but also of racial annihilation; for this purpose the SS organizes the infamous Einsatzgruppe and several other units to provide the necessary muscle to preform their tasks behind the frontline.
One of these units is Polizei Regiment Süd, consisting of Police Battalions: 45, 303 & 314 but Pol Rgt Süd also had a Teno company under its command, the unit Walter P belonged to.
Already in July Pol Rgt Süd begins its campaign against the Jewish population in Ukraine, the list of mass executions is long, the largest and most infamous one is perhaps the one known as the Babi Yar massacre.
At least until October 1944 he is working for “Polizei” related units and we can place him with Pol Rgt Süd the entire time they existed from June 1941 until July 1942 when they were reorganized, what his exact role was we of course don’t know but he at least was a witness and bystander, thus he sure knew what was going on in the East.
According to the Soldbuch he was medically checked by the Res Pol Bat 45, which is a clue that he served with them.
At the end of the war in May 1945 we know that he is in Salzburg and is on duty as an auxiliary police officer, he is discharged on May 8 1945 by the chief of police in Salzburg and once again in July 1947 by the Queens Royal Rgt, which makes me think he kept on working as an auxiliary police officer in the British occupation zone; what is also odd is that he gives up (coffee) roaster as his civilian profession.
Recently this Soldbuch entered my collection, at first glance not very spectacular just an average “Teno” Soldbuch.
Technische Nothilfe, an organization founded in 1919, a type of auxiliary police force to protect vital public services such as railroad infrastructure, energy supply stations, mail service, food supply,…etc during periods of strikes which often had a violent character.
When Germany became less revolutionary their task changed more in to assisting local governments with keeping vital public services operating in times that they were hit by (natural) disasters.
In 1931 the organization fell under the control of the RAD but in 1937 under Nazi rule it became a part of the Ordnungspolizei, their main task now being that of organizing defense measures against bombing – and poison gas attacks on civilian targets, passive air defense.
When WW2 broke out their tasks were extended to sending qualified technical personnel to assist with repairing vital infrastructure that had been damaged.
This also included areas that were now occupied by Germany, TeNo now operated under control of the Wehrmacht and became more and more a military organization that now also assisted with building and maintaining infrastructure and logistical services for the Army.
It is in this last period that this Soldbuch was issued to Walter Priegnitz.
Walter Priegnitz (°1895) a WW1 veteran and plumber from Braunschweig was in 1940 an “Obervormann” in a TeNo unit operating in Lotheringen; so far nothing spectacular but that changes in the spring of 1941, now Walter P is transferred to the East for the upcoming invasion of Soviet Russia.
The war against the Soviet Union will be a different war, not only a war of conquest but also of racial annihilation; for this purpose the SS organizes the infamous Einsatzgruppe and several other units to provide the necessary muscle to preform their tasks behind the frontline.
One of these units is Polizei Regiment Süd, consisting of Police Battalions: 45, 303 & 314 but Pol Rgt Süd also had a Teno company under its command, the unit Walter P belonged to.
Already in July Pol Rgt Süd begins its campaign against the Jewish population in Ukraine, the list of mass executions is long, the largest and most infamous one is perhaps the one known as the Babi Yar massacre.
At least until October 1944 he is working for “Polizei” related units and we can place him with Pol Rgt Süd the entire time they existed from June 1941 until July 1942 when they were reorganized, what his exact role was we of course don’t know but he at least was a witness and bystander, thus he sure knew what was going on in the East.
According to the Soldbuch he was medically checked by the Res Pol Bat 45, which is a clue that he served with them.
At the end of the war in May 1945 we know that he is in Salzburg and is on duty as an auxiliary police officer, he is discharged on May 8 1945 by the chief of police in Salzburg and once again in July 1947 by the Queens Royal Rgt, which makes me think he kept on working as an auxiliary police officer in the British occupation zone; what is also odd is that he gives up (coffee) roaster as his civilian profession.
