Auschwitz. WW2 Nazi German Worker ID Papers. Stamped. 1944

[Lee]

Hey all.. Are these Id papers real? The guy wants £200+ for it. 

[Fritz]

Worker?!  Bronislaus Klonowski (Polish name), Eisenbahnbeamter, katholisch, from the region of Thorn, Westpreussen. They are real, where does it say "Auschwitz"?

[Kenny Andrew]

Unless I'm missing  something ,just appears to be an army Wehrpass worth about £50  

[Fritz]

There are no further pages shown, thus further details cannot be seen, so may be worth a lot more.

[Lee]

Here is where it saying it 

[Fritz]

Record of service: 1 Jahr, 10 Monate, 27 Tage with the Polish army (Artillerie)
17.2.-16.10.44  SS-Totenkopf-Wachbataillon Auschwitz

[Kenny Andrew]

Still does not seem to make sense, he joined the German army in 1942 so why would it say in active service Polish army for 27 days? I suppose it's possible but not sure why it's mentioned as the Polish army would be the enemy, also is he meant to be a worker or a guard? It's all very confusing.    

[Fritz]

Service with the Polish army for 27 days in September 1939, then Poland surrendered. He was a Polish national living in Thorn/Weichsel at the time, this was then recovered by the Wehrmacht in September 1939. He was apparently of partial German heritage, despite the Polish name, so he was then recruited and called up by the Wehrmacht, but was alloted to the Waffen-SS, but being not the youngest, was not destined for an active front line unit, so therefore he came to the Waffen-SS-Totenkopf and was given a light duty in Auschwitz as whatever. He was a soldier and not a worker.

[Kenny Andrew]

yes, if the stamp is real, would be happier if there was more provenance such as the Wherpass having the SS stamp to the front which is found on most SS Wherpasses        

[Lee]

So do you guys think it's all real?.. Kenny do you think the stamp could of just been added at a later date / fake stamp? 

[Fritz]

Of course it's real. The candidate here was considered as a "Volksdeutscher", who was not considered suitable for the Wehrmacht, but the SS took all.  The SS had the same Wehrpaß as all others, first of all was the Musterung by the Wehrerfassungsamt, after which he was graded as to health and age, and then posted to an appropriate unit, whether SS, Heer, Luftwaffe or Kriegsmarine. The local Kreiswehrersatzamt was responsible for the Musterung/Erfassung of the candidate, after which was decided for which unit he was suitable for. After 1942-43 the SS had the first choice and even took on unfit candidates, who then were typically selected for unsavoury tasks such as the concentration camp Wachmannschaften.

[Lee]

OK thanks Frits.. Now.. How much would something like this be worth? Guy wants over £200 for it?sound OK? Or way to much? 

[Kenny Andrew]

£200 is a fair price,  however as I said before, I would be happier if there was more provenance such as more entries relating to the SS.  Most SS Wehrpasses had Waffen SS stamped to the front, not always but on most occasions.  Also 90% of Auschwitz related material turns out to be fake.  It could be real but it could also just be someone adding an SS stamp, very difficult to tell without further evidence.   

 

A fake Auschwitz cigarette tin from Eastern Europe and cigarette wrapping with the exact same stamp which is on the Wehrpass 

 

[Fritz]

Note, he served one year, ten months and 27 days with the Polish army, until Poland surrendered in Sept. 1939, presumably becoming a prisoner of war. The Wehrmacht later selected and recruited suitable prisoners, esp. those of German ancestry in occupied territories, the city of Thorn having originally been German till 1918. Surplus personnel usually ended up with the Waffen-SS, especially in the later war years.
He only served 8 months with the Waffen-SS, which is marked with the SS stamp of his unit. Auschwitz was dissolved at around October 1944, as the Red Army was getting closer. The prisoners were mainly evacuated, very few were left behind. What the soldier did after the camp was dissolved, we don't know, unless there are further entries in the book. He may have been transferred to another unit and even received a new book, this less likely, he may have even deserted, which was not unusual for Polish "volunteers". Check if there are any further entries.

[Eddieq]

Hi

Sorry for the delay in adding my two-penneth!

From a story point of view, it just about hangs together, however, I have a hunch it may be a heer wehrpass ‘Upgraded’ - and I don’t personally like the stamps on the photo page nor the Auschwitz stamp- this is only my personal view, it wouldn’t be one for me.

I have a fair catalogue of ss paperwork, including wehrpasses and Soldbuchs and usually if there is doubt, it’s normally wrong.

If it’s not too much trouble, post any other pages you have for further comment.
 

if you are convinced it’s ‘right’ then it’s is a steal at that price, given where and what it says it is - maybe that is another indicator.

[Eddieq]

In addition to the above, I’ve just checked a few items that have that are SSTV related (granted only one to Auschwitz) but several to Sachsenhausen,  and the unit stamps are all with ‘Wachbattalion’ in full type and not the abbreviation- that does not means anything definitive, but I always look for patterns with paperwork- see some of my previous posts

 

E

[Fritz]

I have edited and added further information on my posts above.

[Lee]

All pages after the stamp.. Are just blank with no writing or entrys. SS items /stamps I guess are highly faked because more sort after and rare. I'm not sure it's worth buying. Wanted to check with you guys to see because I'm new to collecting.. Only been doing it for 2 years 

[Kenny Andrew]

Lee I would leave it, the stamp on the Wehrpass is the exact same as the stamp on the cigarette wrapping I posted, why would cigarette wrapping be unit marked?  

[Lee]

Yeah kenny.. I left it.  Thank you.. And thanks all who helped with this one.