Burgenland-kroate(Croat) in Wehrmacht, Gradišćanski hrvat u Wehrmacht-u

 Burgenland Croats settled in todays Austria almost 500 years ago. Estimated 100 000 people arrived there as refugees from Turkish conquest. They survived there until today  with a consciousness of being Croats. Today they number around 35 000 people. Burgenland Croats were always loyal to Austria and men served in its armies during history. In World War 2 , they served loyally in Wehrmacht on all fronts with some even in the Waffen-SS. Mostly they served on the Balkan front, as they speak arhaic Croatian laguage that can be understood by people in the Balkan. It is known that they were used as translators in the Kroatische Ausbildung Brigade. Some 17,500 Burgenland Croats died fighting in the Wehrmacht. 

Some time ago I aquired a collection of letters written by a Burgenland Croat man serving in the Werhmacht.  His name was Thomas Simon, he was from the village Kleinmutschen (croat.Pervane) near Unterpullendorf (croat.Dolnje Pulje), still today these villages are populated by Burgenland Croats. When Thomas writes home to his Simon family he writes in Burgenland Croatian, I was able to read it with some minor problems.

His story in Wehrmacht seen through his mail follows:

21.12.1941 Thomas Christmas card in German mailed home from Troppau(today Opava Czech republic), still civilan on his way to R.A.D unit.

27.12.1941 letter in Croatian without cover, from Gratz uber Troppau(today Hradec nad Moravicí, Czech republic), all letters start with 'Dragi Starlji', dear parents. From R.A.D.

04.01.1942 letter home,text in Croatian, from RAD abteilung K 6/381 from Gratz uber Troppau

01.04.1942 Thomas joined Wehrmacht , cover marked as Feldpost, text in Croatian. Postal cancel Mahrich-Ostrau, Deutsche Dienstpost - Bohmen und Mahren,and big red cancel: Durch Deutsche Dienstpost Bohmen und Mahren. Units cancel Schutzen-Ersatz-bataillon 10/Briefstempel. Thomas adds on the cover  1.kompanie in Frankenstadt, Protektorat.

09.04.1942 letter home, all markings same as above

19.07.1942 letter in Croatian without cover. Place of writing Dillingen, there are no clues in the text what was he doing there. 

02.11.1942 Mahrich Weißkirchen/Hranica(in Czech republic today) to home, text in Croatian. Applied are Postal cancel and units cancel: Pz.Gren.Ers.Btl.2(Panzer Grenadire Ersatz Bataillon 2.) Marschkompanie.

25.11.1942 Mahrich Weißkirchen/Hranica to home. Text in Croatian, he writes he is laeving this place  with marchkompanie, and thinks he is not going to Russian front. Cancels same as above.

26.11.1942 Frankfurt an Oder to home, cover in bad condition. Postal cancel and purple cancel Bahnhofs offizier/ Briefstempel are present. Thomas writes he is travelling to Frankfurt an Oder, probably written on a train.

29.11.1943 (date in text) ,mail via civilian post office to home. Thomas writes that his unit will be transfered to France after training completes. Civilian cancel Zielenzig(today Sulecin in Poland), he writes adress Wandern bei Frankfurt an oder,Lager Narvik

30.11.1942 letter to home with postal cancel Wandern Narvik Lager uber Zielenzig. Truppenübungsplatz Wandern was a  military training camp ,today village Wedrzyn in western Poland.

21.12.1942 letter home from 4.komp. Bau Pionire Ersatz Ausbildungs Bataillon 17 in Engerau ND. (today part of Bratislava,Slovakia). Thomas writes he will be moving to France after Christams

09.05.1943 Feldpost letter from Fp.06224 C - Grenadier Regiment 8. Regiment was formed on 01.03.1943 in France in Pyrenees region. It was part of 3.PANZERGRENADIER DIVISION. In July 1943 division moved from Lyon area in France to Italy, north of Rome. After Italian capitulation division moved south of Rome and was involved in defensive fighting against Americans around Volturno river. This letter writen in Croatian was mailed from France.

18.10.1943 Fp.06224 C to home. Text in Croatian, note on top "Italien 16.10.1943.", at the time 3.Pz.Grenad. divison was fighting on Volturno line.

22.10.1943 letter from home to Thomas on Fp.06224 C . Postal cancel Unter Pullendorf. In red pencil and black cancel noted: "Zuruck"-  back(return) ,  "Neue Anschrift abwarten" -wait for new adress. 

04.11.1943 cover only without content, sent from Thomas Fp.06224 C to home . During this time 3.Pz.Grenad.divison was holding defensive positions on Barbara line.  Battle for this line was fought from 01-09.11.1943 , when German forces retreated to next defensive lines: Bernhard and Gustav lines.

04.11.1943, mail date same as letter above but mailed in opposite direction, from home to Thomas. Postal cancel Unter Pullendorf. In red pencil and black cancel noted: "Zuruck"-  back(return) ,  "Neue Anschrift abwarten" -wait for new adress. Most likely undelivered due to fighting on the front

11.11.1943 last letter from Thomas mailed home. He writtes that soldiers cant sleep during a day or night as Americans can come to their positions. He sends usual greetings home.

19.11.1943 last letter in collection. Mailed from home to Thomas.  Letter was never delivered to Thomas, in red ink is written "Zurück - Empfänger gefallen für Großdeutschland." , (return)back - Receiver fallen for Greater Germany. It seems Thomas died on the Italian front fighting Americans, far from his Gradišće. This is the only letter in collection that was censored.

10.1917 KuK Seefliegerkorps to Sušak, Croatia

 30.10.1917 K.u.K Marinefeldpost card to Sušak, Hrvatsko primorje(Croatian Littoral). Sušak is today a part of city of  Rijeka(itl.Fiume). Photograph of sender was  mailed as a postcard, text is in Croatian. He is a member of KuK Seeflieger korps or  KuK Naval aviation. Mailed via Marinefeldpostamt Pola, see cancel, also present is red censor cancel: Briefzensur/ des k.u.k Seeflieger korps Pola.  Text below photo is "Ratnoj Mornarici" listopadu 1917. - (War)Navy (ger.Kriegsmarine) October 1917.

3.1945 Kampfgruppe Engelbrecht to Reich

 29.03.1945 Feldpost letter from Fp.07571D to Beiersdorf bei Falkenberg(Elster). Late mailing date, text is in german.

Fp.07571 was used by a German unit training Croatian forces in Croatia - (1.8.1943-23.3.1944) Deutsches Ausbildungs-Bataillon 3. bei der 3.kroat.Jäger-Brigade.

From late 1944 or January 1945, these German batallions formed a figthing group 'Kampfgruppe Engelbrecht', and continued using old Fp.numbers. Kampfgruppe fought in Croatia unitil the end of war.

Fp.07571 (7.11.1944-8.5.1945) Stab III u. 9.-12. Kompanie Kampfgruppe Engelbrecht

7.1944 - II.Lovački zdrug to Zagreb.

 17.VII.1944 photograph of Bihać mailed as a postcard from a member of II. lovački  zdrug ( II. Jäger brigade) to Zagreb. Writer notes that he is in Donji Lapac on a course for platoon leaders.  Card was at the right top marked  by sender as Bojna pošta - Feldpost. Bihać postal cancel was applied, often postal officials marked such cards for postage due (potro) to be paid, but not this one. Croatian soldiers were required to pay postage for their mail, even official mail was supposed to be franked by official stamps.

7.1915 K.u.K. Feldpost to Landwehr Inf.Rgt. No.23. Zara

 03.VII.1915 feldpost card mailed from Teplitz Schonau(today in Czech republic) to "Dukaressa" b. Karlstadt Kroatien, this is misspelled "Duga Resa", near Karlovac, Croatia. Adressed to an NCO of II.Ersatz komp. (2.training company), Landwehr Infanterie(infantry) Regiment 23.Zara. 23.Landwehr.inf.rgt. Zara recruited in northern Dalmatia, soldiers were mostly Croats. Text is in German.

Very interesting is the front side of the card, this in an obituary for Italy.  On the Pentecost 23.V.1915 Italy betrayed its former allies and declared war on Austro-Hungary , this is all noted in the text (to translate text in the picture use google translate). Italy was promised large parts of Croatia (Istria,Dalmatia) to join war on Entente side.

4.1943 Waffen SS to Vrbanja, Croatia

 

19.04.1943 letter from SS-Truppenübungsplatz “Debica”/“Heidelager” to Vrbanja ,Croatia. There are following cancels: feldpost cancel 19.04.1943, cancel Waffen SS/ SS Rekr. Depot Debica, AS- SS censor cancel and arrival cancel Vrbanja 10.05.1943. Text is in Croatian an SS-man a Croatian volksdeutsche named Plaff is writing to his wife. He notes that his unit is moving soon to France.  Waffen SS training grounds Debica were on 15.03.1943 renamed Heidelager, hence the old name is in cancel. On the back cover adress is Pustkovo, Distrikt Krakau, G.G (Generalgouvernement). Pustkow is a village near Debica which is a city in Poland, near Krakow.

Gorski zdrugovi Domobranstva - Mountain brigades of NDH

I posted a new article about Mountain brigades - Gorski zdrugovi (click!) or use link at Articles in English at the top right of the page. 

 Here i will post some photos of mail from Gorski zdrugovi:

28.06.1943 I.battalion II. Gorski zdrug

12.08.1944 cancel in green colour : Stožer 9.gorske pukovnije (Headquarters of 9th mountain regiment) 2.Gorski zdrug

12.06.1942 3.Gorska pješačka pukovnija(Mountain infantry regiment), III.Gorski zdrug

10.1944 I.bojna II.Gorskog zdruga, written in old numeration, it should be I.bojna 2.Gorskog zdruga. (I.battalion 2.Mountain brigade)

11.06.1943 2.satnija II.bojne V. Gorskog zdruga (2,company,II.battalion, V. Mountain brigade),official mail with unit cancels.

13.02.1943 Osnutak doknadne bojne II.Gorski zdrug Požega (replacement battalion II.Mountain brigade)

 

4.1943 - Zemun, Croatia to Regia Scuola Tecnica di Polizia, Roma, Italia

 21.04.1943 Easter card from  a member of Zapovjedničtvo redarstvene straže in  Zemun, Croatia (Headquarters of police guards) to tenente (Lieutenant) in Regia Scuola Tecnica di Polizia in Roma, Italy. (Police academy in Rome). 

Members of Croatian military(domobranstvo), gendarmerie(oružništvo) and police(redarstvo) were trained in Reich and Italy as well. Huge part of those men were trained in Germany , therfore mail from and to Italian military and police schools is very rare.

When Italy surrendered in 9.1943  there were 125 Croatian police and gendarmerie members training in Rome, this card is most likely from a former pupil of this police academy in Rome.

04.1916 K.u.K Maschinengewehr Abt.Inf.Rgt 53 to Croatia

 06.04.1916 KuK feldpost card from Maschinengewehr Abteilung No.5, I.batallion, 53.Infantry regiment to Novi Slankamen , Syrmia , Slavonia. At the time Novi Slankamen was inhabited mostly by Croats and this card is written in Croatian. Inf.regiment 53. von Dankl was common army unit that recruited mostly around Zagreb but Croats from other areas were also included in the unit. Mailed via Fp.71 that served XI. corps on the Russian front, sender writtes that he is looking at domes of Černovica(Czernowitz,Bukowina).

2.1944. Waffen SS to Zemun Croatia

 25.02.1944 Fp.59922 to Zemun Croatia (Semlin,Kroatien). Fp.59922 was used by Sammellager II der Waffen-SS Kroatien, later by  SS-Sammellager Agram(Zagreb) and Esseg(Osijek). This letter is from SS-Sammellager Agram(Zagreb). Text is in German , sender was Croatian Volksdeutsche, and probably member of SS division Prinz Eugen(see text). Feldpost and units cancel with Fp.59922 are present as well sa SS censor cancel AS in green

About blog - 20 000 visits and 2 interesting NDH covers

This blog started on 17.08.2019,  3 years later on 24.08.2022 the blog reached 10.000 visits. 

Today 21.03.2024 we reached 20.000 visits. Thanks to everyone who has visited this blog.

I'm posting today two interesting items,  though not a feldpost.

26.06.1942  card from Sarajevo to Bystricem pod Hostynem , Protektorat Morava, today Czech republic. Wehrmacht censorship.

Intersting is rare purple cancel in Croatian: "Čuvajte se pjegavca - Čistoća čuva život" or "Beware of typhus - Cleanness(hygiene) saves life"

01.04.1942 letter from Zagreb to Belgrade, Serbia. During WWII there was no postal service beetween Croatia and Serbia, written contact with people on the other side was possible through the International Red Cross. This letter has red cancel "Croatian Red Cross, main office Zagreb", at the back is the Wehrmacht censorship tape. There are contents in the cover but censor (green)numbers on the cover and paper are not the same, therefore the contents are not from this letter.

2.1944 Panzerarmee Nachrichten Regiment 2 to Ogulin, Croatia.

 

19.02.1944 letter from Fp.38558 or 8.Kompanie Panzer Armee Nachrichten Regiment 2 to Ogulin Croatia. Panzerarmee-Nachrichten-Regiment 2 served with 2. Panzer-armee in Croatia during its stay  8.1943-2.12.1944. This letter was mailed via Fp.59819 - Feldkommandantur 1036 , see purple cancel at the front. Feldkommandantur 1036 was under the command of German Plenipotentiary General in NDH and this feldkommandatur was stationed in Karlovac and had  additional Platz-Kommandanturs  in Sisak and Bihać. Letter has contents written in German.

Contents: