Here is an idea for a new thread (unless I have missed one already)....diaries!
I have been collecting diaries for some time now. My idea of a perfect group is one with medals, documents, a photo album, and a diary. I am fortunate enough to have several groups like this.
I also collect single diaries. Below is my favorite. It covers the man's service during the Poland campaign. It is absoultely beautiful. The guy must have been an artist. The pics speak for themselves.
Sadly, I have not had the time to translate it yet! One of these days....
How about you guys? Have any to share??
Rick
Last edited by Rick White; 05-23-2002 at 01:09 AM.
Here is another nice little diary. This one is to a Lt. who was WIA while serving with the 19. Pz. Pio. Bat. (part of 19. Pz. Div.) on Dec. 11, 1942. He records that 13 shell splinters were removed from his body in the field hospital but 28 were still left when they shipped him out. He recovered and later went on to serve with the Pz. Div. "Feldherrnhalle."
François, I thought for sure you would have a good LW diary with some of your more extensive groups. But then, when you have Flugbucher and photo albums, that is as good as a diary!
OK, let's start with an "armored" one (Stijn stay calm, you'll get what you want to get... probably by Sunday ). Here's a photo album and a typed diary of a soldier from Panzer-Aufklärungsabteilung 57 (6.Panzer-Division). They describe the battle from the beginning of Barbarossa to the assault into Leningrad.
Diary and photo album
A page from the diary
It includes a map
Photo album includes many interesting pictures
Last edited by Akira Takiguchi; 05-30-2002 at 10:46 AM.
That is a great diary. You can tell the owner went to great lengths to put it together. Is it an operational diary, or the man's diary of his personal experiences? I don't think I have seen the vehicle you have pictured there. It looks like a Sd.Kfz. 222, 232, or 233....?
Dear Rick, it is his personal diary. As you may have read in the pictured page, diary seemed to have been an important part of his life in russia.
The vehicle is an Sd.Kfz.231 (8 wheeler), with an interesting "mouse" marking (not visible in the scan). Some loose photos from this grouping were split off before my purchase. I managed to restore a few. I know where some still are, I hope I'll get them in the future
Well, here goes the next one --- this one's pretty official; a copy of Kriegstagebuch personalized for Oberst Enno Erich von Limburg-Hetlingen (RK May 3, 1945). He was the commander of II./Infanterie-Regiment 6, 30.Infanterie-Division during the Poland campaign in 1939. Contact prints are pasted on to the KTB pages, making the diary very much "colorful" (Stijn, I hope you have a bit more patience, I'm posting these from my already-scanned library ).
Guys, these are really great! I must admit that in my years of collecting, I have never run across any diaries, only photo albums that may have had some personal notations made in them. These look very interesting and have to be a blast to read and go through. Rick, I really like the first one you have listed. It seems to cover this individual's entire history in the campaign up to and including the EK2 he won. Really nice artwork and looks very professional.
Richard V
Akira - another great one! I like the photos that are added. Are they official photographs from the unit or ones von Limburg-Hetlingen took personally? You can certainly see that they had a lot more time on their hands during the Poland campaign to make pretty little diaries like mine and yours. I couldn't imagine somthing this elaborate, say, during the later months of the war.
Do you specialize in collecting diaries?
Richard - thanks for the kind comments. They are tough to find but a real joy when you can get a good one.
Thanks for sharing these great pieces with us , you really know how to make people wait i must say +> and yes im trying to be patient to see the one we are talking about , altough it is not easy .
Friendly greetings,
ps : Akira, can you send me a email at : stijnd@gmx.net , it seems that some persons are having problems with contacting me so i would like to know if this is also the case with you , have you received my last email ?
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my collectionfield : German glider pilots
Hello everyone, weekend at last (at least in Japan )!
Richard, I agree with you, Rick's first diary is very decorative, something I would try to complete if this is an auction!
Rick, the photographs are of very good quality and I would say they are taken by Bildberichters of the unit. I believe that usual KTBs do not come with photos (aside from Anlagen), so one can say that this is rather a rare find.
I do collect Tagebücher whenever possible. My main collectable is photo lot and photo albums, but if they come with Wehrpässe, Soldbücher or such diaries... That's my true pleasure. Identification of photos are really interesting hobby with these additional paperworks.
Let's move on, first from a Panzer-Aufklärer.
Already described to a certain degree in my webpage, these photo albums and a diary of an NCO is a quite interesting lot.
Photo albums and diary
He started the war as a member of Aufklärungsabteilung 4, then moved to Panzer-aufklärungsabteilung 92 (20.Panzer-Division).
The diary describes his life in Pz.A.A.92 (private diary).
As seen in the earlier picture, the diary has a Stahlhelm on its cover. This was actually something sold for the soldiers from renowned Großdeutschland division --- yes, he was again transferred to G.D.
DIARIES...New Thread Idea
Diaries
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Linear Mode
