Hey r/askhistorians. I posted this in r/history and didnt get much of a response. Im out here visiting my girlfriend and her dad brought out box of WWI & II memorabilia, that belonged to his father (WWII) and grandfather (WWI). I was hoping for some help identifying some of the objects and medals. The coolest thing he had thought was a piece of hardtack his grandfather kept from the Great War, over 100 years old!. We were wondering what the medals were for and what the translation is for the german pass/note? Not sure whats in the box, its seems to be full of uniform accoutrements. They both served in the Canadian Army. Any help would be greatly appreciated https://imgur.com/gallery/jf0bO/new
I'm afraid I'm unable to assist with the medals but I can help you out with the German pass. On the front it says Kriegsurlaubschein. A literal translation would be "war holiday pass". Every soldier who left the front line for any type of vacation got one of those. This one belonged to Karl Hirsch, ranking in the Wehrmacht as Obergefreiter. He was allowed to leave the front line in Africa from January 15th 1943 until some time between February 6th and February 9th (hard to read due to green tape) to visit the village of Gornsdorf (Saxony, Germany).
The cover also has some rules for his travels, such as taking the most direct route, no zigzaging and no round trips. He is allowed to travel for free though. The red stamp in the right upper corner certifies that he is free from any contagious diseases.
The next page lists some more rules and regulations. On top you can see someone scribbled "Genesungsurlaub", so it's a vacation with the goal of rehabilitation. He possibly got injured during fighting, as that's the most common reason for a Genesungsurlaub.
The first rule states that the owner of this pass is only allowed to show it to appropriate personnel (read as Wehrmacht, police or the train personnel).
Point 2 states that once he reaches his destination, he has to have someone stamp and sign it, namely the local Wehrmacht commander and if none is available, the local police. In this case, as it's a very small village, someone signed it in the name of the local mayor.
Point 3 is a regulation that says that he should not talk about any details in conversations.
Point 4: If he gets sick, he has to immediately inform a doctor. Either one from the Wehrmacht, a field hospital or a local doctor, depending what's available.
Point 6: If unsure about where to return to after the vacation, always contact the nearest Wehrmacht office, never any civil institutions.
Points 7 through 9 deal with the soldiers provisions. Since he's not self sufficient, point 8 defines what the Wehrmacht gave him in terms of money, food stamps, hygiene items etc. and for what time frame. For the duration of traveling to Germany he was also given some bread. Point 9 deals with a pass where the procurement of tobacco was logged.
Point 10 says he has to return this pass once his vacation has ended.
Point 11 is a field for additional notes. An example would be wearing civilian clothes during his vacation.
The right page is basically an attachment with additional information. The soldier was part of the aviation wing of the Wehrmacht and served in Africa. It also notes that he gets additional food stamps and stamps for use in restaurants, as he gets a Schwerarbeiterzulage. I don't know if the Canadians or Americans had this, it's basically additional benefits for doing hard manual labour. It also states that he will get two eggs per week.
Hope this helps. If you have more questions, feel free to ask.
Thanks for sharing the pictures with us, sounds like you're having an interesting visit!
The box of items looks like it has a mix of First World War and Second World War items (buttons and badges), along with some civilian materials (some buttons look like they are marked "H.M. Prisons", which might make them part of a prison guard's uniform. There also seem to be some civilian shirt studs, cuff links, and tie bars. The enamel badge looks like it has the Canadian coat of arms on it; you should be able to figure out a date range for its manufacture from the details (design and number of provinces included).
The First World War medals are the British War Medal and Victory Medal. If they're the originally issued pair, the recipient's service number, name, and unit will be stamped on the rim. (e.g. 401167 PTE J.B. SMITH 2 CAN INF, for someone who served with the 2nd Canadian Infantry Battalion, CEF.)
The Second World War medals are, left to right:
You can find details on the First World War medals and the first five Second World War medals on the Veterans Affairs Canada website:
http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/medals-decorations/list
It looks like there's another Second World War medal set, consisting of the CVSM and the 39-45 Medal. This would be consistent with someone who volunteered for overseas service ("went active", to use a contemporary term), but who was not sent overseas. Was there another family member who served in the war?
The FSSF has been the subject of a number of books, a Hollywood film, and at least one recent TV documentary. A few books worth consulting are:
Horn, Bernd, and Michel Wyczynski, Of courage and determination : the First Special Service Force, "the Devil's Brigade", 1942-44, (Toronto: Dundurn Press, 2013).
Joyce, Kenneth H., Snow Plough and the Jupiter Deception : the true story of the 1st Special Service Force and the 1st Canadian Special Service Battalion, 1942-1945, (St. Catharines, ON: Vanwell Publishing, 2006).
Ross, Robert Todd, The Supercommandos : First Special Service Force, 1942-1944 : an illustrated history, USA/Canada, (Atglen, PA: Schiffer, 2000).
Wood, James A. We move only forward : Canada, the United States and the First Special Service Force, 1942-1944, (St. Catharines, Ont. : Vanwell Pub., 2006).
Hope this helps!