All I always wanted to ask about the Wehrmachtsangehörige...

[Gustavo]

Hi everybody.

I was doing a bit of research about a well known incident on the morning of March 16th, 1940. A RAF Whitley mistakenly landed short of petrol on Germany. The pilot and copilot approached a few astonished locals to ask if they we're in France, when the gentlemen clarified that point, the now even more astonished airmen returned to their plane, double time. They managed to start the engines and fly away landing again, this time in France.

Well, I had the luck of coming across a piece of the Saarbrücker Zeitung (4/02/1990) which tells the German point of view, but, as it usually happens, it not only answered questions but spawned new ones.

Here is one the paragraphs:

"Nur eine knappe Viertelstunde dauert der Besuch der „Whitley", aber das genügt, doch noch
einige Wehrmachtsangehörige auf den Plan zu rufen, die schon damals — bereits zwei Monate
vor Beginn des Westfeldzuges — auch in Niedersalbach in Quartier lagen. Sie geben zwar
noch ein paar Gewehrschüsse in Richtung der startenden Maschine ab, doch sie treffen ihr Ziel
nicht mehr. Und Richard Six, damals Landjäger in Niedersalbach, kommt erst gar nicht zum
Eingreifen, da er zum Zeitpunkt der Landung dienstlich unterwegs ist und erst am „Tatort"
eintrifft, als die Maschine schon längst abgeflogen ist".

Third Reich military has never been my forte (that's why I have been reading this forom for years), so I was quite puzzled to learn that something called Wehrmachtsangehörige existed. What is it exactly?

As far as Google and my rusty German can tell me there are three posibilities:

1.- Family members of Wehrmacht personnel. Which I think it's not the case. It would not make too much sense to have Frau Landseer taking the rifle of his Hans and shooting at die Engländer...

2.- Wehrmacht female auxiliaries. Again,don't think it's the case. I think giving weapons to women was not exactly "Third Reich style" back then.

3.- Some short of military or para-military organization? A kind of reserve/militia formed by older age-group military men? I have seen some pics so captioned and the guys on them seemed pretty old...

I would greatly appreciate the enlightment this great forum could surely provide about those Wehrmachtsangehörige, who where them, what were doing there that night, weapons, whatever...

Also, I understand that Richard Six listed as "Landerjäger in Niedersalbach" is some kind of constable or the like... don't think it has something to do with the sausage of the same name!

Thanks in advance!

Anybody interested can find the Zeitung article here: http://www.flugzeugabstuerze-saarland.d ... albach.pdf

[Simperator]

Hi,

"Wehrmachtsangehörige": in this case, just translate it as "members of the Wehrmacht". And yes, "Landjäger" was a local/rural police officer.

Regards,
Simon

[Gustavo]

Ok, Wehrmacht guys on winter quarters then. Thanks!