German WWII Funeral Cards (Group E)

Description

Usually no bigger than a postcard or half a postcard, and known as ‘Death Cards’, every one of these 80+ year old slips of printed paper represents a fallen German member of the Wehrmacht who fought for his country.  There are a number of civilian cards amongst them – for a station master at a railway station, priest, factory workers etc… every card is different.  Most of the cards remaining are Army – artillery & infantry.

Thirteen million German men fought for the fatherland during WWII.  3.1 million dead and another 1.2 million remain missing.

Each card can be useful for those trying to find an ancestor, researching the uniform from a particular Wehrmacht unit.  Linking the fallen to certain battles, with dates and information.  Many of these soldiers were recipients of bravery medals and wound badges.  They were fathers, sons, brothers.  All this information can be gleaned from their funeral cards, handed out to those who attended a service, or posted to relatives in another district of Germany.

These 200+ cards came to Morpeth Antique Centre as one grouping.  It was once some ones lifetime collection who lived in Europe.  It’s taken an age to put them back up for sale, because you can learn so much from the information written on them.  Translating each one gives a deep connection to a single man, who served his country – Deutschland – with honour.