Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
08:40:05pm
The interesting thing about this is the signature of Dr. Robert Ley who was head of the German Labour Front. A very high ranking Nazi. Wikipedia Article - Worth the Read
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The Wikipedia article that Poodle Mum links to mentions the Strength through Joy cruise ship, MV Wilhelm Gustloff. One of the pages in my Battle of the Atlantic exhibit:
Bob
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11:21:48pm
Thanks for the extra info Bob 
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11:27:43pm
Oh - and the other reason why this artifact is of great interest to me is the fact that German Labor Front was an extremely controversial aspect of the Nazi machine, as was Robert Ley (as the Wikipedia article touches on). While the individuals under the German Labor Front who had these work permits were Germans, due to the corruption of this arm of the Nazi machine, they ended up working in a somewhat similar situation to those of Poles under German occupation. They were "paid" but placed into situations of extreme poverty.
I welcome any information others have on the workers under the German Labor Front. The motto as stated in the front of the book is that while each man works, it's not his own work but the collective work of all that is important. It also essentially states that every man is replaceable. Boy, that sure would make the worker owning the work permit feel like his work was vital to the advancement of the Nazi party.
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Nice booklet. I am curious if the booklet was advertised on eBay as signed by Ley or as a facsimile signature? You are lucky to have won the booklet as those are forbidden for sale because of the propaganda messages from Hitler and Ley and would be subject to removal...of course such items are listed and manage to slip through eBay's inefficient net quite often.
Speaking of Wilhelm Gustloff, I have a pre 1933 cover sent by Gustloff from his Swiss residence to the Munich NSDAP headquarters in, I believe, 1932. There are tied propaganda labels, Deutschland Erwache or Germany Awake on the cover along with the Swiss franking.
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The Wilhelm Gustloff sinking, eight years after the ship was illustrated on this stamp, was the greatest maritime loss of life up to that time (and indeed since). Gunter Grass's novel Crabwalk is an interesting reflection on the unhappy incident, of which today is the 70th anniversary. RIP those who did not survive.
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I was not aware of the Wilhelm Gustloff stamp, but now I am! Thank you for posting that image, Guthrum!
Bob
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This site might be of interest to you:
http://www.wilhelmgustloff.com/gallery_postcards_mail.htm
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Thanks, Jill. It reminded me that I have this, which I had not immediately identified!
With apologies to the OP, from whose original topic this has drifted, this card and the stamp I posted earlier remind us that not all the workings of the Third Reich need be viewed along the familiar spectrum from horrible fascination to utter disgust. The idea behind the Kraft durch Freude, and the purpose of this doomed ship, seems to have been entirely laudable. But someone will perhaps disabuse me of this thought.
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I'm afraid that Kraft Durch Freude (Strength Through Joy) was entirely political in its conception and operation. This is what Wikipedia says:
"Hitler and Ley were aware that the suppression of the trade unions and the prevention of wage increases by the Trustees of Labour system, when coupled with their relentless demands for increased productivity to hasten German rearmament, created a real risk of working-class discontent. In November 1933, as a means of preventing labour disaffection, the DAF established Strength Through Joy (Kraft durch Freude, KdF), to provide a range of benefits and amenities to the German working class and their families.
"These included subsidised holidays both at resorts across Germany and in "safe" countries abroad (particularly Italy). Some of the world's first purpose built cruise-liners, the Wilhelm Gustloff and the Robert Ley, were built to take KdF members on Mediterranean cruises.
"Other KdF programs included concerts, opera and other forms of entertainment in factories and other workplaces, free physical education and gymnastics training and coaching in sports such as football, tennis and sailing. All this was paid for by the DAF, at a cost of 29 million Reichsmarks a year by 1937, and ultimately by the workers themselves through their dues, although the employers also contributed. KdF was one of the Nazi regime's most popular programs, and played a large part in reconciling the working class to the regime, at least before 1939.
"The DAF and KdF's most ambitious program was the "people's car", the Volkswagen, originally a project undertaken at Hitler's request by the car-maker Ferdinand Porsche. When the German car industry was unable to meet Hitler's demand that the Volkswagen be sold at 1,000 Reichsmarks or less, the project was taken over by the DAF. This brought Ley's old socialist tendencies back into prominence. The party, he said, had taken over where private industry had failed, because of the "short-sightedness, malevolence, profiteering and stupidity" of the business class. Now working for the DAF, Porsche built a new Volkswagen factory at Fallersleben, at a huge cost which was partly met by raiding the DAF's accumulated assets and misappropriating the dues paid by DAF members. The Volkswagen was sold to German workers on an installment plan, and the first models appeared in February 1939. The outbreak of war, however, meant that none of the 340,000 workers who paid for a car ever received one. The entire project was financially unsound, and only the corruption and lack of accountability of the Nazi regime made it possible."
Considering that the basic civil and human rights of German Jews were compromised by the Nuremberg Laws of 1933, and elements of the Holocaust began soon after, I'd be very surprised to learn that Jews (or the physically and mentally disabled, or Gypsies, or homosexuals) benefitted in any way from the Strength Through Joy program.
Bob
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German labor front (Deutsche Arbeit Front = DAF)
During the National Socialist era, the German Labor Front (DAF) was the unitary association of workers and employers based in Berlin (from 1935 in the Hohenzollerndamm office building in Berlin-Wilmersdorf).
The DAF was founded on May 10, 1933 after the free trade unions were broken up. Their assets were confiscated in favor of the DAF and the right to strike was abolished. All professional associations of employees and workers were brought together under the Law on the Order of National Labor of January 20, 1934; the DAF became by far the largest NS mass association. In October 1934, the DAF was officially affiliated to the NSDAP. It was organized according to the leader principle down to the block attendant and was subordinate to the Reich Organizing Director of the NSDAP Robert Ley, who acted as "a kind of trustee of the national community". In the place of a trade union representation of interests came the education of workers and entrepreneurs in the sense of the Nazi ideology. Divided into 18 Reichsbetriebsgemeinschaften (later 16 specialist offices) and 33 Gau administrations, the DAF existed until May 1945 with 22 million members. Only those who were able to work had value; excluded were all people who were classified as "Jews" or "first-degree Jewish crossbreeds" according to Nazi criteria and who were considered "inferior" for other reasons or "incapable of community" for political reasons. Forced labor was also part of the persecution practice.
Control Council Act No. 2 of October 10, 1945 banned the German labor front and confiscated its property. With the Control Council Laws No. 40 of November 30, 1946 and No. 56 of June 30, 1947, the National Socialist company and service communities were abolished.
Well I tell you this it is NOT a Work permit book.
It is a German Labor Front membership book.
All those membership books (22.000.000 pieces) have an imprint of Reich Organizing Director of the NSDAP Robert Ley. So nothing spectacular.
Every month the owner of this pass had to pay his contribution, if it was paid the owner got a stamp stuck in his pass and then it was stamped.
So big bussiness :
20.000.000 (members) times 12 (months) times 2 Marks (contribution) is a lot of dough!!!!
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'
The things you can see when you can read the language !
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey
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Very interesting. So, who did the book belong to, what work did he/she do, and what became of him/her during and after the war? Where did he/she live during the war, and did they end up in the East or West side after the occupation?
I find stories like this totally fascinating.
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"Very interesting. So, who did the book belong to, what work did he/she do, and what became of him/her during and after the war? Where did he/she live during the war, and did they end up in the East or West side after the occupation?
I find stories like this totally fascinating."
The person of this membership book :
Name : Ferdinand Ortel
Born : 20-05-1912
Member of the DAF since 02-05-1934
Occupation : Roofer, Slater ( do not know the exact translation )
Works in the district : Hessen - Nassau
The Province of Hesse-Nassau (German: Provinz Hessen-Nassau) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1868 to 1918, then a province of the Free State of Prussia until 1944.
By the Way : His contribution was 1,20 Mark a month in 1936.
And in October 1937 his contribution went up to 1,40 Mark !
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"... And in October 1937 his contribution went up to 1,40 Mark ! ..."
No wonder that they lost the war !
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey
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Thanks HockeyNut. I just could not read that on the book pages. So, Ferdinand was employed as a roofer in 1934, at 21 years old. 5 years later, the war begins, and by late 1944 he would have been drafted into the army (i presume) if he had not joined earlier.
I goog'd his name, but got no hits, except possibly ancestery dot com, which I refuse to join.
I wonder if he survived to see the end of the war, and in any case, what became of him.
Anyone know how to find out, and willing to take a look-see?
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A Service Dog gives a person with a disability independence. Never approach, distract or pet a working dog, especially when (s)he is in harness. Never be afraid to ask questions to the handler (parent).
15 Sep 2014
08:40:05pm
I recently purchased this from ebay - I haven't received it yet, so these are just some of the scans from the auction. I am SO excited about this. It's a 32 page Work Permit Book.
The interesting thing about this is the signature of Dr. Robert Ley who was head of the German Labour Front. A very high ranking Nazi. Wikipedia Article - Worth the Read
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re: Third Reich Work Permit Book
The Wikipedia article that Poodle Mum links to mentions the Strength through Joy cruise ship, MV Wilhelm Gustloff. One of the pages in my Battle of the Atlantic exhibit:
Bob
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A Service Dog gives a person with a disability independence. Never approach, distract or pet a working dog, especially when (s)he is in harness. Never be afraid to ask questions to the handler (parent).
15 Sep 2014
11:21:48pm
re: Third Reich Work Permit Book
Thanks for the extra info Bob
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A Service Dog gives a person with a disability independence. Never approach, distract or pet a working dog, especially when (s)he is in harness. Never be afraid to ask questions to the handler (parent).
15 Sep 2014
11:27:43pm
re: Third Reich Work Permit Book
Oh - and the other reason why this artifact is of great interest to me is the fact that German Labor Front was an extremely controversial aspect of the Nazi machine, as was Robert Ley (as the Wikipedia article touches on). While the individuals under the German Labor Front who had these work permits were Germans, due to the corruption of this arm of the Nazi machine, they ended up working in a somewhat similar situation to those of Poles under German occupation. They were "paid" but placed into situations of extreme poverty.
I welcome any information others have on the workers under the German Labor Front. The motto as stated in the front of the book is that while each man works, it's not his own work but the collective work of all that is important. It also essentially states that every man is replaceable. Boy, that sure would make the worker owning the work permit feel like his work was vital to the advancement of the Nazi party.
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09:46:58am
re: Third Reich Work Permit Book
Nice booklet. I am curious if the booklet was advertised on eBay as signed by Ley or as a facsimile signature? You are lucky to have won the booklet as those are forbidden for sale because of the propaganda messages from Hitler and Ley and would be subject to removal...of course such items are listed and manage to slip through eBay's inefficient net quite often.
Speaking of Wilhelm Gustloff, I have a pre 1933 cover sent by Gustloff from his Swiss residence to the Munich NSDAP headquarters in, I believe, 1932. There are tied propaganda labels, Deutschland Erwache or Germany Awake on the cover along with the Swiss franking.
Bruce
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this post
re: Third Reich Work Permit Book
The Wilhelm Gustloff sinking, eight years after the ship was illustrated on this stamp, was the greatest maritime loss of life up to that time (and indeed since). Gunter Grass's novel Crabwalk is an interesting reflection on the unhappy incident, of which today is the 70th anniversary. RIP those who did not survive.
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this post
re: Third Reich Work Permit Book
I was not aware of the Wilhelm Gustloff stamp, but now I am! Thank you for posting that image, Guthrum!
Bob
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09:28:03pm
re: Third Reich Work Permit Book
This site might be of interest to you:
http://www.wilhelmgustloff.com/gallery_postcards_mail.htm
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re: Third Reich Work Permit Book
Thanks, Jill. It reminded me that I have this, which I had not immediately identified!
With apologies to the OP, from whose original topic this has drifted, this card and the stamp I posted earlier remind us that not all the workings of the Third Reich need be viewed along the familiar spectrum from horrible fascination to utter disgust. The idea behind the Kraft durch Freude, and the purpose of this doomed ship, seems to have been entirely laudable. But someone will perhaps disabuse me of this thought.
Login to Like
this post
re: Third Reich Work Permit Book
I'm afraid that Kraft Durch Freude (Strength Through Joy) was entirely political in its conception and operation. This is what Wikipedia says:
"Hitler and Ley were aware that the suppression of the trade unions and the prevention of wage increases by the Trustees of Labour system, when coupled with their relentless demands for increased productivity to hasten German rearmament, created a real risk of working-class discontent. In November 1933, as a means of preventing labour disaffection, the DAF established Strength Through Joy (Kraft durch Freude, KdF), to provide a range of benefits and amenities to the German working class and their families.
"These included subsidised holidays both at resorts across Germany and in "safe" countries abroad (particularly Italy). Some of the world's first purpose built cruise-liners, the Wilhelm Gustloff and the Robert Ley, were built to take KdF members on Mediterranean cruises.
"Other KdF programs included concerts, opera and other forms of entertainment in factories and other workplaces, free physical education and gymnastics training and coaching in sports such as football, tennis and sailing. All this was paid for by the DAF, at a cost of 29 million Reichsmarks a year by 1937, and ultimately by the workers themselves through their dues, although the employers also contributed. KdF was one of the Nazi regime's most popular programs, and played a large part in reconciling the working class to the regime, at least before 1939.
"The DAF and KdF's most ambitious program was the "people's car", the Volkswagen, originally a project undertaken at Hitler's request by the car-maker Ferdinand Porsche. When the German car industry was unable to meet Hitler's demand that the Volkswagen be sold at 1,000 Reichsmarks or less, the project was taken over by the DAF. This brought Ley's old socialist tendencies back into prominence. The party, he said, had taken over where private industry had failed, because of the "short-sightedness, malevolence, profiteering and stupidity" of the business class. Now working for the DAF, Porsche built a new Volkswagen factory at Fallersleben, at a huge cost which was partly met by raiding the DAF's accumulated assets and misappropriating the dues paid by DAF members. The Volkswagen was sold to German workers on an installment plan, and the first models appeared in February 1939. The outbreak of war, however, meant that none of the 340,000 workers who paid for a car ever received one. The entire project was financially unsound, and only the corruption and lack of accountability of the Nazi regime made it possible."
Considering that the basic civil and human rights of German Jews were compromised by the Nuremberg Laws of 1933, and elements of the Holocaust began soon after, I'd be very surprised to learn that Jews (or the physically and mentally disabled, or Gypsies, or homosexuals) benefitted in any way from the Strength Through Joy program.
Bob
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re: Third Reich Work Permit Book
German labor front (Deutsche Arbeit Front = DAF)
During the National Socialist era, the German Labor Front (DAF) was the unitary association of workers and employers based in Berlin (from 1935 in the Hohenzollerndamm office building in Berlin-Wilmersdorf).
The DAF was founded on May 10, 1933 after the free trade unions were broken up. Their assets were confiscated in favor of the DAF and the right to strike was abolished. All professional associations of employees and workers were brought together under the Law on the Order of National Labor of January 20, 1934; the DAF became by far the largest NS mass association. In October 1934, the DAF was officially affiliated to the NSDAP. It was organized according to the leader principle down to the block attendant and was subordinate to the Reich Organizing Director of the NSDAP Robert Ley, who acted as "a kind of trustee of the national community". In the place of a trade union representation of interests came the education of workers and entrepreneurs in the sense of the Nazi ideology. Divided into 18 Reichsbetriebsgemeinschaften (later 16 specialist offices) and 33 Gau administrations, the DAF existed until May 1945 with 22 million members. Only those who were able to work had value; excluded were all people who were classified as "Jews" or "first-degree Jewish crossbreeds" according to Nazi criteria and who were considered "inferior" for other reasons or "incapable of community" for political reasons. Forced labor was also part of the persecution practice.
Control Council Act No. 2 of October 10, 1945 banned the German labor front and confiscated its property. With the Control Council Laws No. 40 of November 30, 1946 and No. 56 of June 30, 1947, the National Socialist company and service communities were abolished.
Well I tell you this it is NOT a Work permit book.
It is a German Labor Front membership book.
All those membership books (22.000.000 pieces) have an imprint of Reich Organizing Director of the NSDAP Robert Ley. So nothing spectacular.
Every month the owner of this pass had to pay his contribution, if it was paid the owner got a stamp stuck in his pass and then it was stamped.
So big bussiness :
20.000.000 (members) times 12 (months) times 2 Marks (contribution) is a lot of dough!!!!
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re: Third Reich Work Permit Book
'
The things you can see when you can read the language !
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey
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10:49:19am
re: Third Reich Work Permit Book
Very interesting. So, who did the book belong to, what work did he/she do, and what became of him/her during and after the war? Where did he/she live during the war, and did they end up in the East or West side after the occupation?
I find stories like this totally fascinating.
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re: Third Reich Work Permit Book
"Very interesting. So, who did the book belong to, what work did he/she do, and what became of him/her during and after the war? Where did he/she live during the war, and did they end up in the East or West side after the occupation?
I find stories like this totally fascinating."
The person of this membership book :
Name : Ferdinand Ortel
Born : 20-05-1912
Member of the DAF since 02-05-1934
Occupation : Roofer, Slater ( do not know the exact translation )
Works in the district : Hessen - Nassau
The Province of Hesse-Nassau (German: Provinz Hessen-Nassau) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1868 to 1918, then a province of the Free State of Prussia until 1944.
By the Way : His contribution was 1,20 Mark a month in 1936.
And in October 1937 his contribution went up to 1,40 Mark !
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re: Third Reich Work Permit Book
"... And in October 1937 his contribution went up to 1,40 Mark ! ..."
No wonder that they lost the war !
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey
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05:45:33pm
re: Third Reich Work Permit Book
Thanks HockeyNut. I just could not read that on the book pages. So, Ferdinand was employed as a roofer in 1934, at 21 years old. 5 years later, the war begins, and by late 1944 he would have been drafted into the army (i presume) if he had not joined earlier.
I goog'd his name, but got no hits, except possibly ancestery dot com, which I refuse to join.
I wonder if he survived to see the end of the war, and in any case, what became of him.
Anyone know how to find out, and willing to take a look-see?
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