Young German Soldier

[DavoT]

Hello all,

I have attached a picture of a young soldier c1918 and also the reverse of the photo and was wondering if anyone could translate the writing please.

Cheers,

David

[headgardener]

I have attached a picture of a young soldier c1918 and also the reverse of the photo and was wondering if anyone could translate the writing please.

'My dear

friend Henry with enduring (or 'lasting' or 'abiding'? - the word looks like 'steten' which I presume is from the adjective 'stet', meaning 'continuous/steady')

memories of his true (or 'genuine' or 'real')

friends

Heinemann

Adolff

Altona-Offensen d. (stands for "datum", or 'date') 3.2.1918

"The sign of Three" '

I seem to remember that Altona is a suburb of Hamburg, so presumably 'Henry' was an allied POW there? "The Sign of Three" looks like 3 billiard cues? I'd imagine that the guy's name is Adolff Heinemann; it's quite common for Germans to record their names in this 'back-to-front' way.

Edit; just thought that a slightly better translation of the last line is "The Sign of the Three".....

[Ken S.]

The "d." would be an abbreviation of "den" (the). It would be more appropriate to translate "Kameraden" as "comrade".

I doubt Henry was an allied POW. Henry is a name that is also used by Germans.

I am wonder if it is possible to get a clearer look at his should boards?

[headgardener]

The "d." would be an abbreviation of "den" (the).

I doubt Henry was an allied POW. Henry is a name that is also used by Germans.

Yes, you're quite right about the "d."

Am very surprised to hear your thoughts about the name, though. I've been aware of what I understood to be a post-war trend for English first-names in Germany, but I've never come across a German 'Henry' in all the years that I lived there (10 years, approx). Plenty of 'Heinrich's, but not a single 'Henry'......

[Ken S.]

There could be one of several reasons why he was named Henry. He also may have been from Hamburg, hence contact with English influences. He may have been born in England or the USA and returned. He may have resided in England or the USA and adopted it in place of Heinrich. It may have been a nickname given to him by his comrades.

If the unit can be identified, and assuming these two were in the same unit, then it should be possible to identify who this Henry was as he would also have been an officer.

[DavoT]

Hi Chaps,

thanks very much for the interpretation. I've had a look at the number of unit and can make out a 1 as the last number but not the first. Enlarging the picture only blurs it further and under a magnifying glass not much better I'm afraid but there appears to be a full or partial loop on the bottom half so, 3, 5, 6, or 8 are all probabilities. Still a nice photo of a young soldier.

Cheers,

David

[ph0ebus]

Hi all,

Great thread, but very curious what the Sign of Three is? Is it a representation of the Holy Trinity? Or does it have some military meaning? It sort of reminds me of how old Revolutionary War soldiers put their rifles together to create a pyramid-shaped structure from which they could hang food to cook over a small fire.

I cannot find anything online about it, and have never seen that symbol/term before.

-Daniel

[Tyrim]

Rather than stacked arms which are connected near their ends, these look more like pencils that are banded together at their centers.

My guess is that there were three school chums, the writer, the recipient and a third unnamed young man.

As for the shape of the figure, someone on the forum is sure to know its significance.

[headgardener]

Do you not think they look like billiard cues? Maybe they monopolised the billiards table in the mess?

Either way, I reckon it's a little 'society of friends' type of thing; a reference that only they would understand.

And I think that Ken is likely to be right when he suggests that the mysterious 'Henry' is German; I thought it showed remarkable over-familiarity between a guard and his captors, and while I know that such familiarity did occur between men on opposite sides of the wire, it would seem unlikely in this case.

I'm so used to seeing these sort of cards from fellow captives in groups belonging to POW's, often with messages in French or Russian, so that's immediately what I thought in this case. I have seen one card like this from a German camp guard to a British prisoner who had clearly become friends, but our man here appears to be an officer and the British POW camp in Hamburg was for OR's, so another good reason to accept Ken's explanation.

Edit; anyone know if it's possible to trace service for Adolff Heinemann?

[Ken S.]

Now I get it. Kameraden is plural, so Heinemann and Adolff are both surnames then. That being the case, it seems likely that Henry is also a surname. The Volksbund database has about 50 burials with this surname from both wars, four having died in 1918 (there are five entries, one being a duplicate). None is an officer, though.

I agree, they do look like billiard cues.

[egbert]

Henry (first name) gets greetings from Adolff (first name) Heinemann (last name). Its just the way they wrote it in those days.....

P.S. Henry is a not too exotic first name in Germany

[DavoT]

Hello thread responders,

many thanks for the interesting information thus far. I certainly opens things up. I was also intrigued with Adolff with the 2 ff's. Only ever seen it with one. Thanks again

David

[SiegeGunner]

Now I get it. Kameraden is plural, so Heinemann and Adolff are both surnames then.

No, Kamaraden is not plural - it's a singular, so-called 'weak noun', so 'Erinnerung an seinen treuen Kamaraden' = 'his true friend/loyal comrade' If it were plural, it would say 'Erinnerung an seine treuen Kamaraden'.

[Ken S.]

No, Kamaraden is not plural - it's a singular, so-called 'weak noun', so 'Erinnerung an seinen treuen Kamaraden' = 'his true friend/loyal comrade' If it were plural, it would say 'Erinnerung an seine treuen Kamaraden'.

And I'm assuming you spelled Kameraden "Kamaraden" three times for a reason, too.

I can't say that I've seen many documents signed in such a manner, and it would seem to me quite a fluke that we just happen to have an example of one of the very few people ever named "Adolff". Or is the "ff" a poorly written "ph"?

Thanks kindly for you're clarification though.

[SiegeGunner]

And I'm assuming you spelled Kameraden "Kamaraden" three times for a reason, too.

Oh yes - the reason is being consistent about spelling it wrong.

'Kamerad' was one of the very first German words I ever encountered - in war comics in the 1960s. It was often mis-spelt as 'Kamarad' and I have a blind spot for it.