German Veterans magazines

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Lukens
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German Veterans magazines

#1

Post by Lukens » 21 Aug 2022, 00:11

Hello all,

Recently I’ve been collecting copies of the somewhat controversial “Der Freiwilige” but I was wondering if there is/was any simular magazines for the standard Wehrmacht as opposed to the Waffen SS?

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Poot
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Re: German Veterans magazines

#2

Post by Poot » 21 Aug 2022, 06:20

Signal?
He who lives by the sword, should train with it frequently.


RolandP
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Re: German Veterans magazines

#3

Post by RolandP » 21 Aug 2022, 08:46

I would suggest "Alte Kameraden", later named "Kameraden" magazin

Regards yours Roland

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Lukens
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Re: German Veterans magazines

#4

Post by Lukens » 21 Aug 2022, 16:54

Thank you both!

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Lukens
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Re: German Veterans magazines

#5

Post by Lukens » 21 Aug 2022, 19:02

Poot wrote:
21 Aug 2022, 06:20
Signal?


Hi Poot, thanks for the suggestion - however I should of made it clearer I’m looking for postwar publications.

LAstry2
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Re: German Veterans magazines

#6

Post by LAstry2 » 21 Aug 2022, 19:38

Try any WWII German Veterans Associations.....

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Lukens
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Re: German Veterans magazines

#7

Post by Lukens » 21 Aug 2022, 21:55

LAstry2 wrote:
21 Aug 2022, 19:38
Try any WWII German Veterans Associations.....
Such as? The only ones I knew are the HIAG, which don’t exist anymore and the Verband Deutsches Afrika-Korps which doesnt have any widely known publications, at least not outside Germany. Unlike Der Freiwillige which has quite an international following for collectors.

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Re: German Veterans magazines

#8

Post by aquarya » 24 Aug 2022, 09:11

As far as German Veteran's Associations go, there are very few left. Verband Deutsches Afrika Korps is still operating and putting out their magazine, Die Oase, but it only has one veteran still alive to my knowledge. Die Ordengemeinschaft der Ritterkreuztraeger still puts out its magazine, and has a few veterans left.

How long will these magazines be produced and the last veterans live? Probably not much longer.

The good news is that you can use the Zeitschriften Datenbank to find these magazines in libraries, mostly in Germany. There are dozens of them for general veterans' topics (Alte Kameraden, Kameraden), Afrika Korps (Die Oase) and specific Waffengattungen

For example, Alte Kameraden (published starting 1953) https://zdb-katalog.de/title.xhtml?idn= ... &view=full

Kameraden: https://zdb-katalog.de/title.xhtml?idn= ... &view=full

Die Oase, (published continuously since 1951): https://zdb-katalog.de/title.xhtml?idn=012933708

Der deutsche Fallschirmjaeger (published since 1951): https://zdb-katalog.de/title.xhtml?idn=012844276

My strategy has been to collect them wherever they fall into my hands, and where I have specific needs, to go to the libraries, check them out, and scan them in. It's time consuming, but they can be valuable sources where no other sources are to be found.

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Lukens
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Re: German Veterans magazines

#9

Post by Lukens » 24 Aug 2022, 23:21

aquarya wrote:
24 Aug 2022, 09:11
As far as German Veteran's Associations go, there are very few left. Verband Deutsches Afrika Korps is still operating and putting out their magazine, Die Oase, but it only has one veteran still alive to my knowledge. Die Ordengemeinschaft der Ritterkreuztraeger still puts out its magazine, and has a few veterans left.

How long will these magazines be produced and the last veterans live? Probably not much longer.

The good news is that you can use the Zeitschriften Datenbank to find these magazines in libraries, mostly in Germany. There are dozens of them for general veterans' topics (Alte Kameraden, Kameraden), Afrika Korps (Die Oase) and specific Waffengattungen

For example, Alte Kameraden (published starting 1953) https://zdb-katalog.de/title.xhtml?idn= ... &view=full

Kameraden: https://zdb-katalog.de/title.xhtml?idn= ... &view=full

Die Oase, (published continuously since 1951): https://zdb-katalog.de/title.xhtml?idn=012933708

Der deutsche Fallschirmjaeger (published since 1951): https://zdb-katalog.de/title.xhtml?idn=012844276

My strategy has been to collect them wherever they fall into my hands, and where I have specific needs, to go to the libraries, check them out, and scan them in. It's time consuming, but they can be valuable sources where no other sources are to be found.
Thanks so much for this, You seem rather knowledgable in this subject - is there anywhere you’d recommend to purchase these magazines? I’m in the UK bare in mind, in Germany do you have to be a citizen to use a library?

I’ve purchased a fair amount of Der Freiwillige copies on eBay, it seems to be the most common magazine to find on there and in general, the others you mention are a lot harder but I’ll have to keep a look out.

Generally I’m interested in memories/stories from the ordinary Soldat - while I’ll probably never get to meet an actual German veteran now, at least in these magazines you can find snippets of information that you’d never read in a history book for instance.

Is there such thing as a memoirs book in Germany? For example in the UK there are numerous books recording interviews with veterans etc but I’ve rarely come across any, and if I do it’s usually just one veteran who is usually a politician or officer rather than the average soldier one notable example was entitled “Wehrmacht the last witnesses”

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Westphalia1812
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Re: German Veterans magazines

#10

Post by Westphalia1812 » 25 Aug 2022, 07:16

Lukens wrote:
21 Aug 2022, 00:11
Hello all,

Recently I’ve been collecting copies of the somewhat controversial “Der Freiwilige” but I was wondering if there is/was any simular magazines for the standard Wehrmacht as opposed to the Waffen SS?
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Re: German Veterans magazines

#11

Post by aquarya » 25 Aug 2022, 07:51

Lukens wrote:
24 Aug 2022, 23:21
aquarya wrote:
24 Aug 2022, 09:11
As far as German Veteran's Associations go, there are very few left. Verband Deutsches Afrika Korps is still operating and putting out their magazine, Die Oase, but it only has one veteran still alive to my knowledge. Die Ordengemeinschaft der Ritterkreuztraeger still puts out its magazine, and has a few veterans left.

How long will these magazines be produced and the last veterans live? Probably not much longer.

The good news is that you can use the Zeitschriften Datenbank to find these magazines in libraries, mostly in Germany. There are dozens of them for general veterans' topics (Alte Kameraden, Kameraden), Afrika Korps (Die Oase) and specific Waffengattungen

For example, Alte Kameraden (published starting 1953) https://zdb-katalog.de/title.xhtml?idn= ... &view=full

Kameraden: https://zdb-katalog.de/title.xhtml?idn= ... &view=full

Die Oase, (published continuously since 1951): https://zdb-katalog.de/title.xhtml?idn=012933708

Der deutsche Fallschirmjaeger (published since 1951): https://zdb-katalog.de/title.xhtml?idn=012844276

My strategy has been to collect them wherever they fall into my hands, and where I have specific needs, to go to the libraries, check them out, and scan them in. It's time consuming, but they can be valuable sources where no other sources are to be found.
Thanks so much for this, You seem rather knowledgable in this subject - is there anywhere you’d recommend to purchase these magazines? I’m in the UK bare in mind, in Germany do you have to be a citizen to use a library?

I’ve purchased a fair amount of Der Freiwillige copies on eBay, it seems to be the most common magazine to find on there and in general, the others you mention are a lot harder but I’ll have to keep a look out.

Generally I’m interested in memories/stories from the ordinary Soldat - while I’ll probably never get to meet an actual German veteran now, at least in these magazines you can find snippets of information that you’d never read in a history book for instance.

Is there such thing as a memoirs book in Germany? For example in the UK there are numerous books recording interviews with veterans etc but I’ve rarely come across any, and if I do it’s usually just one veteran who is usually a politician or officer rather than the average soldier one notable example was entitled “Wehrmacht the last witnesses”
I don't know if I'm knowledgeable - given the deficit on German archival records in some areas and my desire to meet the veterans in person - the magazines could be used to discover, verify, and correlate stories, locations, details, etc. as well as give some background flavor. I, also, while they were alive, benefited from a fellow historian's combing of certain of these magazines to find the veterans themselves, and he made long lists of men whom I actually successfully met.

If you must, you can buy them on eBay or on https://www.zvab.com/ of course, if you have the money to do so. Sometimes they are super expensive. Libraries in Germany are open to the public to visit, but to check out, you may have to see what requirements the library has. I found great collections in the Wuerttembuergische Staatsbibliothek in Stuttgart and they let me check out an entire collection of one of these magazines from the 1950's until the 2000's even with my northern German residency. I had to use crates to get them all in my car, and I scanned 20 hours a day in my hotel room for days on end and only got about 20 years scanned in. I've developed another source since then and still scan in several hours a week - in the end, it's been a VERY expensive, VERY time-consuming, 8-month project.

There are small German presses which print the experiences of the veterans, generally from their mouths' directly onto paper, often without verification. For both magazines and books, caveat emptor is always a good motto to follow.

I've always enjoyed reading Tony LeTissier's books on the common German soldier. They are in English, and he did quite a bit of background research on battles like the Battle of Berlin and the Battle of Halbe. That's where I would start.

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Re: German Veterans magazines

#12

Post by LuckyStrike23 » 28 Aug 2022, 10:46

Lukens wrote:
21 Aug 2022, 19:02
Poot wrote:
21 Aug 2022, 06:20
Signal?


Hi Poot, thanks for the suggestion - however I should of made it clearer I’m looking for postwar publications.
I know (and collect) such magazins. I know of magazins of the follwing panzer units:

1. Panzerdivision
2. Panzerdivision
5. Panzerdivision (only very few)
6. Panzerdivision
7. Panzerdivision
8. Panzerdivision
9. Panzerdivision
16. Panzerdivision
18. Panzerdivision
23. Panzerdivision
24. Panzerdivision
116. Panzerdivision
Panzerregiment 11+27
Panzerregiment 35
Panzerregiment 33+39

They were publuished usually 3-4 times a year. Start often in the 1950s, end usually around 2000-2010. You will find such magazins from other branches as well.

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Re: German Veterans magazines

#13

Post by FlyingStukas » 29 Aug 2022, 02:50

Lukens wrote:
21 Aug 2022, 00:11
Hello all,

Recently I’ve been collecting copies of the somewhat controversial “Der Freiwilige” but I was wondering if there is/was any simular magazines for the standard Wehrmacht as opposed to the Waffen SS?
I can recommend the "Soldatengeschichten aus aller Welt". Veteran accounts (in the form of short books) from many fronts, great stuff.

But you will have to know German! :milwink:

Cheers,
Filip

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Hans1906
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Re: German Veterans magazines

#14

Post by Hans1906 » 01 Sep 2022, 14:57

Hi Lukens,

there are hundreds of websites that have published the veterans' reminiscences.

Likewise, almost an infinite number of videos in which veterans have told stories, many of which are unfortunately no longer online, which is a pity.

The culture of remembrance ("Erinnerungskultur") is a relatively new topic in contemporary history, there are even videos by veterans of the First World War, who reported many years ago, these are rare and difficult to find, or have unfortunately been deleted in the meantime.

These often brief interviews are widely scattered, very difficult to find, but still exist if you search hard...
As a young person you will have your time to seek this material, often these memories are just around the corner, just a step away...

Talk to the old people, everywhere, there's a story behind every person.


Hans
The paradise of the successful lends itself perfectly to a hell for the unsuccessful. (Bertold Brecht on Hollywood)

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