Greetings all -
My g-grandfather, a shoemaker, had a "Wanderbuch" for the period 1857 until he emigrated to the USA in 1860. Inside the cover of the Wanderbuch is a small notice, about 2-1/2 inches by 2 inches. The wording is as follows (auf Deutsch):
District
2ten Jager-Batallions
Loosung fur das Jahr 1860
No 849
It is signed by Distrikts-Commissair Wenzel.
The document is not dated.
On the second page of the document, dated October 1857, words similar to Militariafliest frei appear. My ability to read this old script is liited, but this is at least close.
So there are two questions. 1. What does the line beginning with Loosung in the small document say and what did it mean for my g-grandfather's military commitment? 2. What does the phrase in from the second page mean? I can attempt to get more words if it would help.
Thanks in advance for any help.
Dick
Hi Dick,
Dont take my posting to serious - I just served 10 month and graduated as
lance-corporal, no more military (Bundeswehr) knowledge I have:
I have no clue what a Wanderbuch is but I would say that the District Chief
Wenzel signed that the password is 'military flows free'. Ya well, in the
case of the case there are no borders in war.
Nowdays at least Ja"ger have green barrets - and you definitively should
greet them, I had a blue one - which might explain my lack of further
knowledge 
Sven
PS: I served in the Dienstvorschriftenstelle, the library for all kinds of
Instruction orders how to do what ever (like job descriptions and manuals)
and all who are out there and who served in the Bundeswehr and talked about
'Täuschen, Tarnen und Verpissen' - this exists, actually it is ZDV number
something 'Täuschen und Tarnen'.
the answer to the second question is "militaerdienstfrei", meaning that the
person was either exempted from military service or that he had finished
military service.
Greetings from cologne, almost the cultural capital of Europe.
Karlheinz Steimel
Dick Halberstadt schrieb:
Hi Karlheinz,
Fine, but what is with Loosung (Losung), isn't that something like 'Parole'
or password in English?? Why a password when getting freed of military
service??
Does no one know what a Wanderbuch is?? That should clear it up.
Sven
A Wanderbuch was typically carried by journeymen as they went from
Master to Master to learn their trade. It was a record the journeyman
could use along with letters of recommendation or accomplishment
from those various masters to earn their own master in their trade.
For example: My father was a Schneidermeister or master tailor. He
spent three difficult years as an apprentice starting with sweeping the
floors at 14 years of age. At 17 or 18 he became a Geselle or
journeyman and started his travels around Germany to learn from new
skills from master tailors. This was in the 20 when times were
generally tough so his time with any one tailor was sometimes short as
they didn't have enough work even for themselves. All these jobs were
recorded in his Wanderbuch which unfortunately was lost along with
all of our possessions as we fled from the Russians just trying to save
our lives. Dad was in POW camp in Russia.
Yet in a short recap of his work experience to document his request
for compensation he referred to his Wanderbuch as he tried to recall
from memory that which was in there. He finally wound up in
Marienburg in West Prussia where he met my mom on an excursion
boat in the Baltic Sea (actually the Frisches Haff) and therefore I am.
He then worked in Elbing where he eventually passed his own
masters exam in Königsberg. Only then was he able to hang up a sign
and start his own business.
Another use of the word Wanderbuch was used in the Catholic
Kolping Society. It was mostly called a Gesellenwanderbuch but it also
documented the travels of members of the workers society as they
travelled from place to place while staying at local Kolping houses in
the various cities they travelled through. It served as an admission
card from one place to the next.
Fred
26 Warren St.
Beverly, NJ 08010
FredRump@earthlink.net
609-386-6846
"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority,
it's time to pause and reflect." - Mark Twain (1835 -
1910)
Hello Sven Honerkamp,
a Wanderbuch is a book which every travelling craftsman had to carry like a
passport. In former times a young craftsman (baker, butcher, blacksmith,
carpenter, mason, potter, shoemaker, tailor, etc. etc. and all other manual
workers in the
skilled trades) after his 3 - 5 years apprenticeship had to travel for a few
years throughout Germany and sometimes other European countries in order to
learn more in their specific trades. The Wanderbuch was a proof documenting when
and where the young man had worked in his trade and gained new experiences.
Returning home (or settling somewhere else) he then was in the position to
become a master of his trade and to start his own workshop or to take the
daughter of an etablished workshop as his wife.
The Wanderbuch in addition served as an identification document when crossing
the multitude of borders in those times.
I have no definite explanation for the word Loosung (for the year 1860). It is
in this context not the equivalent to "Parole". I can only guess that it means
"Loesung" which could possibly mean that the person involved was freed from
military services for the year 1860 by the 2nd rifle battalion.
This would indicate that the person was only temporarily freed from military
services in 1857, and that his status had changed in 1860. An emigration permit
on the other hand would have required a permanent discharge.
Maybe I can better interprete the notices in the Wanderbuch if I can get a
scan copy by e-mail (karlheinzsteimel@t-online.de).
Greetings from Cologne
Karlheinz Steimel
Sven Honerkamp schrieb: